For centuries, Kings and Queens have been crowned in ceremonies to formalise their position as Sovereign.
Since Queen Elizabeth II's accession on February 6 a year earlier, this day had been planned in great detail.
King George VI had been the last monarch to be crowned on 12 May, 1937. Sixteen years later, people gathered together to watch the Coronation of his eldest daughter, Elizabeth, as she prepared to take part in the very ceremony she herself had watched as an 11-year-old girl.
On 2 June 2003 a church service will be held at Westminster Abbey to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Coronation.
This will be followed by a children's tea party at Buckingham Palace for underprivileged children.