The Story of Queen Victoria & Her Comical Coronation. Funny Royal Stories. What Is a Coronation Like?

From History Calling

The STORY OF QUEEN VICTORIA and her record-breaking reign began with a COMICAL CORONATION in Westminster Abbey on 28 June 1838. Indeed it is one of the fun facts about Queen Victoria, a woman who would go on to become arguably Britain’s most famous monarch, that her time on the throne began in such a haphazard fashion, with a peer of the realm who literally fell at her feet (though not on purpose), a painful mishap with the coronation ring, an altar which was turned into a buffet table and an ill-prepared and perhaps rather dozy Bishop, who managed to miss out crucial bits of the ceremony when he accidentally turned two pages in a book at once. The British coronation ceremony is supposed to be a sombre affair, full of meaning and centuries of tradition, but this young woman’s became one of the many funny royal stories which pop up within the British royal family through the ages. This teenage monarch and record breaking royal took it all in good spirits however and it certainly had no negative impact on the life of Queen Victoria. If you’ve ever wondered though, what is a coronation like, especially when it goes wrong, this History Calling video is for you. It will also explain how the ceremony was altered because of Victoria’s gender, mention the Crown jewels of England and show what is perhaps the most famous throne in the world; St Edward’s Chair. Much of the history you’ll hear here will be drawn from Queen Victoria’s diary, in which she provided an insider’s view of the whole ceremony and its many idiosyncrasies.