Queen Elizabeth has revealed she believes the coronation ceremony is "old-fashioned".
The 91-year-old monarch was just 25 when she became Queen after the death of her father George VI in 1952, and said that the traditional ceremony – which took place for her the following June – carried out to mark the start of a monarch’s reign is a "pageant of chivalry" which would be outdated in today’s society.
She said: "It’s the sort of, I suppose, the beginning of one’s life really as a sovereign. It is sort of a pageant of chivalry and old-fashioned way of doing things really. I’ve seen one coronation and been the recipient in the other, which is pretty remarkable."
Queen Elizabeth also bemoaned the part of the ceremony in which the monarch travels across London in a golden horse-drawn carriage, as she revealed the journey is slow and uncomfortable.
Speaking of the ride in the four-tonne carriage – which travels from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey – she said: "Horrible. It’s not meant for travelling in at all. I mean, it’s only sprung on leather. Not very comfortable.
"Halfway around London. It can only go at a walking pace. The horses couldn’t possibly go any faster. It’s so heavy."
During her coronation the Queen wore two crowns, the St Edward’s Crown, which she has never worn since, and the diamond-encrusted Imperial State Crown which she wears at formal occasions such as the opening of parliament when she delivers a speech outlining the government’s legislative plans.
And the monarch admits that the heavy headwear has it’s "disadvantages".
Speaking for the BBC’s ‘The Coronation’ documentary which aired on Sunday (14.01.18), she said: "You can’t look down to read the speech, you have to take the speech up. Because if you did, your neck would break and it would fall off. So there are some disadvantages to crowns but otherwise they’re quite important things."
Queen Elizabeth: The Coronation is ‘old fashioned’
