Coronations – real and imagined – on the screen: the outrageously disrespectful, the controversial and the tasteful

• Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953 drew 20 million viewers on the BBC.
• But one thing was clear: the cameras would avert their gaze at the most sacred moment of the ceremony.
• In 2023, coronation planners feel the same: the cameras will again avert their gaze as Archbishop Justin Welby anoints Charles III.

Coronations on the screen

• The King’s Speech (2010) showed behind-the-scenes preparation for George VI’s coronation in 1937, including George’s concerns at speaking without a stutter.
• The tasteful planning in 1953 to preserve the holiness of the coronation contrasts with other versions of the coronation on British television.
• One of the most outrageously disrespectful depictions of a televised coronation is a 1977 episode of the famous comedy series The Goodies.
• Whether we laugh at comedy or are absorbed by drama, we have seen television as less than respectful of sacred mysteries.
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