#067 SPECIAL: A Brief History of Coronation Broadcasts

The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa

Episode 67 is a special:

A Brief History of Coronation Broadcasts (or Broadcast Coronations)

How the BBC has brought two such ceremonies to the air, as they (and others) now tackle a third, for King Charles III.

We'll tell you all about the two previous on-air crownings, of George VI and Elizabeth II, both on radio and TV - but first we'll go back to the four monarchs before them:

• Queen Victoria's (1938) used a certain technological advancement to bring more eyes than ever before to a coronation procession.
• Edward VII's (1902) had a film made of it, though a simulation using actors. (Had director Georges Méliès got his way, it would have included Queen Victoria's ghost!). Edward's wife Princess Alexandra had a few links to broadcasting too.
  • Watch Georges Méliès' film The Coronation of Edward VII (1902): https://youtu.be/ME6z810Zre8
• George V's (1911) was filmed for newsreel.
  • That newsreel footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8SoUPxIkZ8
• Edward VIII's (1937) was planned then canned after his (broadcast) abdication.
• George VI's (1937) took the same coronation day, same plans, changed the name etched onto the crown (I think that's how they do it), and his state occasion made it to radio and TV: the first broadcast coronation. We'll meet the engineer who taught him to conquer his stammer for the microphone, but had to sleep in Westminster Abbey. And learn how many (or how few) cameras were available to use. You probably have more in your house right now...
  • BBC radio's coronation broadcast - Stuart Hibberd, John Snagge etc: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWPE4GIp9kE - thanks to Random Radio Jottings blog
  • BBC website inc making-of film: https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/100-voices/birth-of-tv/two-coronations/
  • George VI's coronation speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfD14kL2XAk
• Elizabeth II's (1953) was "the OB of all OBs", aka "C-Day". Hear from Richard Dimbleby, John Snagge... and learn why we should toast him at hymn 9 (don't worry - there aren't that many)
  • The complete ceremony, televised: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52NTjasbmgw
  • Coronation Day Across the World, courtesy of Random Radio Jottings/Andy Walmsley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Jg4uK2DGFA
  • BBC website on Elizabeth II's coronation, inc behind-the-scenes film: https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/anniversaries/june/coronation-of-queen-elizabeth-ii/
• Charles III's (2023): Well that's not history enough yet for our liking...
  • Here's a nice guide to the televised coronation, past and present: https://news.sky.com/story/the-kings-coronation-will-be-televised-and-much-more-how-ways-to-watch-have-changed-since-the-queen-was-crowned-12848891

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This podcast is nothing whatsoever to do with the BBC. We believe the clips used are no longer in copyright due to age. It is possible that some somehow retain BBC or Crown copyright, in which case the content belongs to them, and certainly not us.

It's all here purely to inform, educate and entertain.

For more on this deep dive project into broadcasting's back-story, see paulkerensa.com/oldradio, including details of the live show and novel.

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NEXT TIME: Major Arthur Corbett-Smith - Reith's maverick rival of 1923.

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