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page sov coronation supplement may ism queen mothers stoical conduct greatly strengthened monarchy before the departure of the 1st battalion the blacky watch for active service in korea queen elizabeth the queen mother inspected and addressed the battalion at grail camp fife it was may 1952 less than four months after the loss of her husband king george vi but she had insisted on bidding godspeed to the famous battlion of which she is colonelinchief the men on parade saw the same gracious lady who had come on three previous occasions when they had left to take up arms in a distant land here was the same poise the same quiet open smile the same encouragement and interest in the regiment no hint of the almost intolerable strain she had undergone here was the same charming lady who was able during the war to visit londoners with her husband to com fort them after the air raids cool and unruffled after a de liberate bombing of buckingham palace which had almost cost their lives ten days later the queen mother with her daughter princess margaret made a fourhour flight in a de havilland comet jet airliner travelling a distance of 1850 miles and flying over france switzerland and italy much of the flight was at a height of 10000 feet at a speed of 500 miles an hour during the flight the queen mother took over the controls as first pilot her majesty the queen mother was born on august 4th 1900 her father was the late earl of strathmore who died in 1914 her mother cecilia died just before the war at the age of 76 most of her majestys early days were spent at glamis lady elizabeth boweslyon as a young woman was petite full of vitality and of quite extraordinary beauty a very scottish type of beauty with her bright blue eyes splendid complexion jet black hair and easy aristocratic carriage a lively interest in everything about her and a frank friendly manner were the main features of her tem perament met young duke she had met the man who was to become her husband when he was a boy of six at a childrens party he was a frail boy and before he became duke of york his strength had been overtaxed in the navy and the royal air force as a youth he was shy kindly religious and keen but with little appetite for public life he was afflicted with a defect of speech which caused him embar rassment and frustration he pro posed three times before lady boweslyon was able to accept his hand but from the outset their marriage which took place at westminster abbey on april 26 1923 was supremely happy given koyal title their marriage was a precedent insofar as she was not of royal birth though her family is of course of very ancient lineage in fact she has royal blood in her veins dating back to the time when sir john lyon of glamis married princess jean daughter of king robert ii in 1377 at the wedding breakfast king george v conferred upon the duchess of york the dig nity and title of royal highness the royal couple spent their honeymoon at a beautiful country house in dorking surrey which once belonged to the playwright sheridan she was now a public figure and at 22 was still as sweet and sedate as the villagers at glamis and st pauls walden bury in hertfordshire ca friendly home where she had spent so much time with her brothers and sisters al ways remembered her war blighted happiness by this time her life hadnt been altogether carefree the first world war had blighted her happi ness by the death of her brother fergus killed at loos and by the sufferings of michael at first re ported killed but in fact a prisoner but in marriage she found a per fect outlet for her genius as a mother and head of a family the birth of a daughter elizabeth on april 21 1926 saw her radiantly happy travelled widely kven as duchess of york how ever and without there seeming any chance that her husband would ever be king the round of public duties was onerous enough the duke and duchess visited kenya colony and uganda in 1024 return ing via the sudan and egypt and a year later visited ulster in 1927 they sailed in hms renown for a tour of australia and new zea land two years later they visited scandinavia in all their travels they were noted as the ideally- matched couple and her smile that pleasant genuine smile be came worldfamous her favorite pastime is reading the works of sir walter scott j m banie and jane austen luing her main preference she likes flowers and dogs she rode to hounds occasionally but on the whole was not overfond of sport except perhaps angling the abdication and her husbands accession to the throne meant im mense responsibilities for her king george vi was not robust and his consorts support as he so often remarked meant a great deal to him with loving patience she helped him to surmount his speech defect the happy family life she was able to provide and the keen personal interest she showed in all his duties did much to sustain him especially through the war years remained in london that famous smile meant a lot during the war bombedout fami lies saw it when the royal couple appeared as if by magic after a heavy airraid once in east lon don another airraid started when they were out comforting the homeless and they were forced to 400 chorister blend voices for coronation service a choir of 400 voices will lake part in the coronation service in westminster abbey the choral ensemble will consist of the com plete choirs of westminster abbey hm chapels royal st paul cathedral and st georges chapel windsor together with representa tives of a number of other choirs including some choristers from the commonwealth the orchestra of 60 players will be drawn from the leading english orchestras and the fan fares will be played by the trumpeters of the royal military school of music kneller hall the director of music for the service is dr william mckie organist of westminster abbey british travel association pnoto the queen mother take shelter the people remember their calm behavior on that occa sion and admired greatly their de cision to stay in london during the blitz despite the alltooreal haz ards those war years had been an immense strain on the king and she knew it she did her best in the years to follow to spare him physical fatigue and throughout his illnesses she never once be trayed the anxiety she must of necessity have been feeling but the nation knew as it knows now how much it owes to her patient good humor and acceptance of duty so now although her daughter is now queen elizabeth the second and although the queen mother in terms of precedence plays a sec ondary role the commonwealths affection for her is undiminished during her 29 years of marriage she strengthened still further the unifying influence of the british monarchy the assurance of our new queen and the loyalty her name invokes are the fruits of the queen mothers example and ser vice the historic court claims queen elizabeth gave approval to invitation design design of the invitation card sent to guests who attend the coronation ceremonies in west minster abbey were personally approved by the queen miss joan hassall re wellknown illustra tor and woodengraver designed the card and mr s b stead the official artist and scribe of her majestys stationery office was responsible for the lettering in the panelled offices of the privy council in whitehall meets one of the strangest courts in the whole of the british commonwealth nine of the highest dignitaries in the land appointed by her majesty queen elizabeth to hear and determine claims of services to be performed at the corona tion hold court the court of claims as it is called meets before every coronation to hear and decide appeals from the numberless people who wish to perform some service in connection with the coronation the lord chancellor lord simonds presided over the court and the other commissioners were lord woolton lord president of the council the duke of norfolk earl marshal of england lord clarendon the lord chamberlain lord jowitt a former lord chancellor lord porter lord of appeal ordinary lord goddard lord chief justice of england lord macdermott lord chief justice of northern ireland sir raymond evershed master of the rolls the court of claims was constituted in 1377 because richard ii who had only recently come to the throne was a boy of ten and the arrangements for his coronation had to be arranged by his uncle john of gaunt to him came people seeking permission to perform services at the ceremony these rights included acting as a constable being kings champion offering to fight any disloyal subject before the commencement of the coronation banquet and carrying the canopy over the king during the service dealt with petitions the court of claims last year made an early decision on the procedure by which it would judge claims all were made by petition sent to the court those who made claims did not have to appear in person unless summoned some were represented by counsel solici tors or agents and if a previous claim at the last coronation was admitted by the court and the same person made it again on this occasion it was customary for the claimant to mention that restricts claims if no counter claim was made by somebody else a person granted rights at the last coronation and after proving to the court that he was in fact that person was allowed his claim without further fuss claims in the case of this coro nation related to the ceremony in westminster abbey only not since the clowning of george iv in 1s21 manor of liston was not able to claim to bring wafers for the queen to eat during the second course nor was the lord of the isle of man able to ask to bring two falcons no knight in armor many regret that the banquet is no longer held it must have been a stirring sight to see the greatest dignitaries of the land celebrating the coronation in the vast hall in the presence of the sovereign the arrival of the kings champion actually riding into the hall in full armor and on a white horse fling ing down the glove of defiance must have been a stirring spectacle even if no man had the temerity to accept the challenge a pity too that the lord mayor of london was denied his historic privilege to serve in hotelry ie look after the drink and assist the chief butler many seek honors between 1901 and 1902 before the coronation of edward vii the court of claims was particularly hardworked and there were so many contestants for privileges that the court proceedings filled a bulky volume but in both 1910 and 1936 the only claim to be actually disputed related to the carrying of the great spurs emblems of the kings knighthood the muddle arose from the fact that the first person recorded as carrying the spurs was john marshal at the coronation of richard i in 1189 he had the privilege by virtue of being master of the horse but this right reverted to the crown and was re- have the banquet and state pro cession been features of the coro- 1 granted to various families nation the great banquet which used to he held in westminster as a result many thought the hall was discontinued through the right was hereditary instead of to appoint a deputy to carry out the duty on their joint behalf and by two single claimants lord hastings and lord churston the last two were eventually granted the privilege one ancient tradition will cer tainly be retained though in modi fied form and that is the right of the barons of the cinque ports five famous ports which in the long ago rendered service to the crown to carry a canopy over the queen centuries ago this fine canopy in clothofgold or purple silk and with a silvergilt bell on eh corner and supported by four silvercovered staves was borne aloft in the procession from west minster hall to the abbey and then inside the abbey as far as the dais where the coronation took place barons lords share honor at the last coronation the barons claim was allowed but could only be enacted within the abbey the procession being no longer a feature of the ceremonies but as things turned out canopies were only held over the king and queen during the anointing when the barons according to ancient custom should be waiting at the foot of the dais as a compromise the kings canopy was held by four knights of the garter and the queens by four peeresses as the various standard bearers passed to their places they handed their staves to the barons an unusual case one curious precedent will be set during this coronation many privileges are vested in the owner ship of land because centuries ago kings granted tenures in return for personal services rendered but in the course of time land neces sarily changes hands for instance the duke of newcastle who is the lord of the manor of worksop nottinghamshire inherits the right to present the glove for the queens right hand at the corona tion but the duke has merged the manor into a limited liability com pany so for the first time in history a commercial concern requested the court of claims to grant it the privilege asking that the duke of newcastle be permitted to act as the companys deputy parsimony of william iv who even wanted to abolish the coro nation ceremony itself this meant thut the loid of the official and a multiplicity of claims resulted in 1936 three claims were made one by five petitioners who claimed the right thames during coronation week canadian wrote anthem among the music to be heard in westminster abbey during the coronation service is an anthem specially composed for the event by dr healey willan distin guished canadian composer riverbank concerts orchestral and band concert will be held twice daily on the south bank of londons river