The Queen has described her coronation as the “beginning of one’s life as a sovereign” in a new documentary.
The BBC programme, which tells the story of the crown jewels and the ceremony of crowning a new monarch, features the Queen chatting with royal commentator Alastair Bruce.
In the hour-long film The Coronation, which will be screened on BBC One on January 14, the Queen also recollects that the gold state coach, which carried the monarch on her coronation day, did not provide a pleasant ride.
The Queen smiling in the Royal State Coach leaving Westminster Abbey for Buckingham Palace after the coronation (PA)
The head of state says in an extract from the documentary her crowning was the “beginning of one’s life as a sovereign”.
The Queen acceded to the throne on February 6 1952 when her father died unexpectedly in his sleep at Sandringham in Norfolk.
Despite the country being in the grip of post-war austerity, a glittering coronation was staged on June 2 the following year at Westminster Abbey.
Thousands lined the streets of London to see the procession and get a glimpse of the crowned Queen as she passed in the coach.
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in the Royal State Coach (PA)
In the extract, released as part of a trailer for the programme, the Queen described the carriage as “horrible, it’s only sprung on leather, not very comfortable”.
The gold state coach was commissioned in 1760 by Francis Hasting, Earl of Huntingdon and the King’s Master of the Horse, for George III’s coronation and wedding to Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz in 1761.
But it was first used for the state opening of parliament in 1762 and has featured at every coronation from George IV onwards.
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh waving from the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the coronation (PA)
The format of the programme is similar to the BBC documentary Elizabeth At 90, with the Queen filmed in conversation with Mr Bruce as they watch private and official film footage.
The film also features eyewitness accounts of those who participated in the 1953 coronation, including a maid of honour who nearly fainted in the Abbey, and a 12-year-old choirboy who was left to sing solo when his overwhelmed colleagues lost their voices.
A spokesman for Buckingham Palace said: “In the programme, part of the Royal Collection season, the Queen reflects on various aspects of the coronation ceremony and the significance of the crown jewels.”