What were you doing when the Princess Elizabeth became Queen.

Remember people walking round with black arm banks and asking my mom why, also the coronation as we had the only tv, probably radio rentals, everyone crowded in our small sitting room, standing room only for many, to peer at the tiny screen.
I remember how my mom made everyone welcome. It didn’t mean much to me as I was young, but mom always loved the Queen and she was thrilled at it all. Dad wasn’t in the least bothered and would rather have been out of the way but couldn’t as host. I so wish she could have lived to see the Jubilee etc but died young.

Lovely thread. I remember nothing of either the Accession or the Coronation, being only 10 months and just over 2 respectively. Added to which we had no television and lived on an isolated farm in a remote area, so no memories.
However, I have just today finished reading Lady Anne Glenconner's autobiography, Lady in Waiting, which describes her role in it all in marvellous detail. A good read.

I was 11 and in a French lesson at the grammar school when a message came round and the teacher told us the King had died. I think we were sent home early. My grandfather had died a month before.
I remember going to a Guide meeting and being reminded it would be Queen when we sang the National Anthem and said the Promise. I too remember the somber music which was on for a few days at least but felt like an eternity.
My mother had remarked when Elizabeth set off for Africa how ill the King looked - he was photographed outside near the plane waving to her and he wore no hat.
The following year we had a street party and other activities after the actual Coronation which was in fact a dismal dreary day. The schools within striking distance of London were given seats along the route of the procession. In out school there were two tickets per class and there was a draw for the tickets - one girl one boy. A girl called Valerie went from our class.
We went to a neighbour to watch the coronation on a 9 inch TV - my mother and the neighbour had made loads of sandwiches and cakes as we sort of picnicked all day. They wrapped the sandwiches in greaseproof paper and put them in biscuit tins! My friend from the neighbouring family had gone to watch the procession and she came back drenched sitting in the rain for hours - she had left home about 6 am! She said she would rather have stayed home with us - she was one of 4 and we were 2 so had a good day.
We had a number of things for the street party - tables in the road for a tea party, a fancy dress competition, a sports afternoon and we had a couple of double decker London Transport buses hired and had a trip to London to see all the wonderful decorations - flags and flowers everywhere. All the lamp posts were covered with blooms - Oxford Street shop windows wonderful.
We were given the mugs at the street party - my sister had a cup and saucer from her infant school and I had a leather bound copy of The Mill on the Floss from my school - we had a list of books to choose from.

Actually I do have a model coronation coach! My mother gave it to me when I bought my first house. I had a small collection of historic vehicles.

Oh yes,I had a coronation mug as well. The coronation coach was as has been described, I don't know what happened to it in the end! My mother cooked Coronation Chicken on the day,and it became a regular meal as it was delicious!

I was 10 and at school. The nuns herded the whole school into the hall to announce it. It didn’t mean all that much to me but the nuns seemed very upset. By the time of the coronation we were very excited, partly because we were going to watch a TV at a neighbour’s house for the very first time. We kids gave up on the long procession on the very small TV set and went off to play.

I was 5 at the accession but remember nothing about it. My parents always thought children were too young for sad news.
I do remember the coronation. One of our neighbours had TV and the whole close was invited in to watch.
I liked the Queen's dress and the crown but the rest of it was very boring.

I was born in July 1952.

My four elder siblings were all at school and were giving a Coronation mug which I was envious of for quite some time while growing up!

I was getting ready to go on a first date with a boy I had 'fancied' for some time. The news was on, as usual in our house, and this is when we heard the sad news. Our date was not to be as planned as cinemas would be closed.. We did meet up and spent a chilly evening walking round the local park.

I was five and we were staying with my grandparents before joining my father who had been posted to Malta.

My grandmother called me in from the garden and we gathered around the radio to hear the announcement. She told me to remember we now had to say, God Save the Queen instead of King as though it was something I blurted out every day.

My first memory of Malta is that it was gripped by Coronation fever. I still have the album we were all given at school. My younger brother was born on Empire Day at the end of May and Lady Mountbatten visited the hospital to give all the new babies a celebration mug.

When we returned to England I joined the Brownies and noticed the handbook had pencil crossings out wherever the word King appeared, replaced by childish writing of Queen.

I was nearly eight years old and a pupil at Rookery Road Junior School, Handsworth, Birmingham, on the day the king died. We had normal lessons in the morning and our school dinner and playtime. When we came in we were sent to the school hall as for assembly and the Headmaster gave us the news. We then had to sing the National Anthem and were sent home. It was definitely assumed in those days that there would be someone at home when you got back early.

My parents hadn't even met.

I was 2 years 10 months old and we had just moved to Bristol. I don't remember anything about the King's death but I do remember a time afterwards when the grown ups were chatting about similarities with the royal family!

This was because my Grandmother was roughly the same age as the Queen Mother, my mum similar age to Elizabeth, my Aunt similar age to Margaret, and my Grandmother had been widowed a few years before when her husband was 52.

Following this theme as a small child I thought I may be in line to marry Charles as he was only 4 months older than me but sadly it wasn't to be!

I remember coronation day as I'd been bought a small painted model of the Coronation coach and the horses. It had little figures of the coachmen on it and a lot of details, quite realistic. I saw pictures of the occasion in the newspapers, no tv in our house but we may have listened on the radio. I was too busy playing with my model I expect. From then on it came out every Christmas and stood under the Christmas tree for years.

My parents had decided we were moving from Aberfan to a
village in Mid Wales, I was devastated.

On the day the king died the head master came into the classroom, asked us to stand then told us the king has died, . My cousin sitting behind me whispered’whose the king’ , I snapped ‘that man in uniform, he won’t be made to move to X’

Another who remembers the Coronation rather than the accession. I was nearly 4 and was given a model of the state coach- no idea what happened to it.
We had a TV set on hire for the day and all the family came round to watch,we had a big red,white and blue decoration in the front window. Don’t remember much about the actual tv programme but we had relatives over from America who I had never met before- my maternal grandmothers sister and husband. They seemed to me, as a small child, very sophisticated and they spoiled me no end. They had sailed over on The Queen Mary and we went to wave them off at Liverpool on their return to America.

I was in school and when we went out for break time we saw the flag on the church being lowered to half mast. We were hastily shepherded back inside and told that the king had died.

On Coronation Day our house was full. We had previously had a table top tv, but we had a new one in a cabinet for the big day. There was a great ceremony of opening the doors and switching it on! (Every house, every building was immersed in red white and blue).

I hadn't arrived

The crown had an image of the Queen riding Burmese,her horse,can't remember the other side!!

I was just 9 the day the king died. We were told at school and everyone was very shocked and upset. I remember the Coronation quite well. It was a cold wet day,and we watched it on our newly acquired TV . I can remember getting very bored and playing ball against the side of the house! In the evening we went up to the town hall for the bun throwing, and then to the ox roast and queued for a slice to put in our bun. Everyone was so happy,I do remember that. I had a coronation coach,and a silver crown (5/-) .

I was six too. I remember going to Caerphilly to se the new Queen drive by when she did her tour. My sister and I had new red coats. I also remember being told in school that the King had died .

I was not even born.my older sister was born october 1952 though.My late mother told us about it all.About the young Princess, and the coronation the year after, how she made my sister a new knitted outfit in primrose for the occasion.?

I wasn’t even a twinkle, either.
I do very vaguely remember the occasion of the coronation, but we didn’t have a TV or (as far as I remember) access to anyone else’s, so I dare say my folks were listening on the ‘wireless’.

I was in secondary school , it wasn’t mentioned !

CraftyGranny

I don't actually remember it, but we were living in London at the time. Apparently, I sat on my Dad's shoulders to watch the procession and tinkled down his neck!

I have the same memory but I didn’t tinkle ?

I was 7 months old.