Queen Elizabeth's 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne. BTS has the "Blue Book" on English monarchs, inherited from the other Anglophile in my family

Reading from the family blue book, QE II and more

Today marks the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's accession to the throne. It's different from the coronation - the formal ceremony at Westminster Abby with all the pomp and circumstance - which followed fourteen months later. February 6th is the day George VI died and his oldest daughter, only 25 years of age, married with two small children, took over as reigning monarch. This day in February, the Queen, historically, observes with quiet reflection. Most of England's celebrations will be during a "bank holiday" the first weekend in June. 

Queen Elizabeth - photo in the blue book before Coronation

I'm also marking the day in quiet reflection with a cup of tea and a blue velvet covered book titled, "Britain and her Coronations", a tiny tome packed with the short history of the coronations of fifty-nine Monarchs of Britain (two were not crowned). This book belonged to my Dad and although I knew vaguely of its existence on one of our bookshelves, only recently did I delve it. It's a treasure on many levels.

My Dad was a collector - stamps, coins, and a big lot of miscellaneous. I've also uncovered that he was bit of an Anglophile, with an emphasis on the Royals.  It's without question that I inherited the "collecting" and "royal interest" genes from him as my Mom viewed collections as an upkeep burden (except for books) and was thoroughly not amused with English Kings and Queens.

A history of English monarchs and 1953 time capsule  next to gold-rimmed sherry glass

Although my Dad passed away over 40 years ago, at only 55, we were close in all the twenty two years I had with him and it's great to continue the connections. I remember going to coin and stamp shows with him and the real treat, for me, were the booths that sold something beyond coins and stamps. One of my all-time favorites was a stall selling miniature pop bottles filled with real soda. I came home with four tiny Sprite bottles. What a coup! (And, that's how my Dad kept me interested in coin and stamp shows.)

My Dad also ventured to the other booths and he'd come home with an odd assortment of gold-rimmed sherry glasses or old periodicals and books, such as this blue velvet coronation edition. Fortunately, he was selective, organized and not a hoarder so my Mom never complained. But, finding and digging into some of these Queen Elizabeth II mementos among boxes of quirky first-day issue stamps, I found another connection to my Dad, which brought on both smiles and a bit of verklempt-ness. 

Of all our talks, I don't recall my Dad referring to these QE II items - it could be because, at the time, there wasn't much of a home audience for them.  But, this blue book is a trip back through centuries of English history as well as a 1953  time capsule.

Throne chairs across from an ad from The Colony in Palm Beach - all still in place

At the time of this book's publication, Queen Elizabeth II, was still months away from her own coronation.  It was put together as a charitable endeavor by the British American Society of America, Inc. with proceeds going to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children in London. It's like a fancy program with great content in the front and ads in the back. The ads, though, are really the 1953 time warp. They feature hotels and restaurants in Palm Beach, Florida and New York City. My favorites are the "coronation themed" ads such as "Attend the Coronation in your new Austin" (only $1945). There's even a "Coronation Cruise" leaving New York on May 5, 1953!

 

Attend the Coronation in your fancy new car!

If I could go back in time, I'd skip the Delorean and head right for the R.M.S. Caronia, calling Murry Hill for reservations.

If I could go back in time, I'd call Murray and book a coronation cruise.

Curious to see if there were other books like this, I got a match on E-bay. Current value of the same book in relatively the same conditions, is listed at $20.00. 

Today, the Queen and I have something in common. We're reflecting on fathers who were admirable and gone too soon.

Britain and her Coronations book:  $20.00, an Austin auto: $1945 (in 1953 dollars), connecting family ties with timeless treasures: priceless!