Queen Elizabeth was "rather bored" at her father’s coronation.
The British monarch was just 11-years-old when her father King George VI became the ruler on May 12, 1937, and in newly-published extracts from the Queen’s diary, she recalls how she felt much relief when the day was over.
The day begun with the now Queen – who was known as Princess Elizabeth of York at the time – having an early breakfast as she had to be awake at 5am. She then got changed into her dressing gown which was "silk and cream lace [with] little gold bows all the way down the middle and puffed sleeves with one little bow in the centre".
Joined by her little sister, Margaret, the pair headed to Westminster Abbey by carriage.
She wrote at the time: "I thought it all very, very, wonderful and I expect the Abbey did, too. The arches and beams at the top were covered with a sort of haze of wonder as Papa was crowned, at least I thought so."
However, the event soon became incredibly boring for the youngster and she recalls how she and her grandmother "smiled at each other" in relief when it was over.
She added: "[It was] inordinately long. At the end, the service got rather boring as it was all prayers."
After such a long day with legs that were left "aching terribly", the young girl decided to get an early night and was tucked up in bed by 6pm.
It comes after it was claimed Queen Elizabeth didn’t really celebrate her Sapphire Anniversary, which marked 65 years on the throne, as it only serves as a "reminder" of her father King George VI’s death at the age of 56.
Royal historian Robert Lacey said: "She’s naturally shy and is the opposite of showy. And, of course, the anniversaries of the accession remind her of her father’s premature death.
"There is only so many of these landmark dates that people will want to mark. I’m sure she would rather people were asking why isn’t it being celebrated rather than, ‘Oh no, not another royal anniversary.’ She always plays safe – and that is a good instinct.
"The Queen is always wary of the commercial aspects, and doesn’t want to appear ‘on the make’ – though she doesn’t mind if charities use anniversaries to raise money. She’s got a well-developed sense of not wanting to exploit these royal anniversaries."
Queen Elizabeth recalls father’s coronation
