Canada Coins 25 Cents 2007 60th Wedding Anniversary Elizabeth II and Prince Philip
To celebrate the 60th wedding anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the RCM has created an oversize nickel-plated steel coin adorned by a fully painted reproduction of the British Royal Family's Glass State Coach, which transported a young Princess Elizabeth to her wedding at Westminster Abbey. The design of this coin is the work of Robert Ralph Carmichael, the famed artist behind Canada's celebrated "Loonie".
Obverse: Susanna Blunt’s design of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Reverse: The Gold State Coach.
Diameter: 35 mm.
Weight: 12.61 g.
Face value: 25 Cents.
Manufacturer: Royal Canadian Mint.
Princess Elizabeth (Queen Elizabeth II) and Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh on their wedding day.
The wedding of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh took place on 20 November 1947 at Westminster Abbey in London.
Engagement
Elizabeth and Philip are second cousins once removed (by descent from Christian IX of Denmark and Louise of Hesse-Kassel) and third cousins (by descent from Queen Victoria and Prince Albert). Elizabeth met Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark in 1934, at the wedding of Philip's cousin Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark to Prince George, Duke of Kent, paternal uncle of Elizabeth, and again in 1937. After another meeting at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth in July 1939, Elizabeth—though only 13 years old—fell in love with Philip and they began to exchange letters. An entry in Chips Channon's diary made reference to the future marriage of Elizabeth and Philip as early as 1941, "He is to be our Prince Consort, and that is why he is serving in our Navy." The couple became secretly engaged in 1946, when Philip asked King George VI for his daughter's hand in marriage. The King granted his request providing any formal engagement was delayed until Elizabeth's 21st birthday the following April. Their engagement was officially announced on 9 July 1947.
The King gave his formal consent to the marriage in his British Privy Council, in accordance with the Royal Marriages Act 1772. The same was done in Canada at a meeting of the King's Canadian Privy Council, with the Chief Justice, Thibaudeau Rinfret, standing in as deputy to the King's representative, the Governor General of Canada.
Before the marriage, Philip renounced his Greek and Danish titles, converted from Greek Orthodoxy to Anglicanism and adopted the style "Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten", taking the surname of his mother's British family. The day before the wedding, King George VI bestowed the style "His Royal Highness" and, on the morning of the wedding, 20 November 1947, he was made the Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, and Baron Greenwich of Greenwich in the County of London.
Wedding
Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip were married at 11:30 GMT on 20 November 1947 at Westminster Abbey.
Princess Elizabeth was attended by eight bridesmaids: HRH The Princess Margaret (her younger sister), HRH Princess Alexandra of Kent (her first cousin), Lady Caroline Montagu-Douglas-Scott (daughter of the Duke of Buccleuch), Lady Mary Cambridge (her second cousin), Lady Elizabeth Lambart (daughter of the Earl of Cavan), The Hon. Pamela Mountbatten (Philip's first cousin), The Hon. Margaret Elphinstone (her first cousin) and The Hon. Diana Bowes-Lyon (her first cousin). Her cousins Prince William of Gloucester and Prince Michael of Kent served as page boys.
The royal parties were brought in large carriage processions, the first with The Queen and Princess Margaret and later a procession with Queen Mary. Philip left Kensington Palace with his best man, the Marquess of Milford Haven. Princess Elizabeth arrived at the Abbey with her father, King George, in the Irish State Coach.
The wedding ceremony was officiated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher, and the Archbishop of York, Cyril Garbett. The ceremony was recorded and broadcast by BBC Radio to 200 million people around the world. Elizabeth and Philip then proceeded to Buckingham Palace, where a breakfast was held at the Ball Supper-room. The couple received over 2,500 wedding presents from around the world and around 10,000 telegrams of congratulations.
Upon their marriage, Elizabeth took the title of her husband and became Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh. They departed for their honeymoon at Broadlands in Hampshire, home of Philip's uncle, Earl Mountbatten.
Clothing
On the morning of her wedding, as Princess Elizabeth was dressing at Buckingham Palace before leaving for Westminster Abbey, her tiara snapped. The court jeweller, who was standing by in case of emergency, was rushed to his work room by a police escort. Queen Elizabeth reassured her daughter that it would be fixed in time, and it was. For her wedding dress she still required ration coupons to buy the material for her gown, designed by Norman Hartnell. Elizabeth did her own makeup for the wedding.
Gold State Coach
The Gold State Coach is an enclosed, eight horse-drawn carriage used by the British Royal Family. Commissioned in 1760, it was built in the London workshops of Samuel Butler. It was commissioned for £7,562 (£1.08 million = US$1.57 million in 2014, adjusted for inflation).
This coach has been used at the coronation of every British monarch since George IV. The coach's great age, weight, and lack of manoeuvrability have limited its use to grand state occasions such as coronations, royal weddings, and the jubilees of a monarch.
The coach is housed at the Royal Mews of Buckingham Palace. It is on view for the public.
The coach weighs four tons and is 24 feet (7.3 m) long and 12 feet (3.7 m) high. It is gilded and features painted panels by Giovanni Battista Cipriani and rich gilded sculpture including three cherubs on the roof (representing England, Ireland and Scotland) and four tritons, one at each corner (representing Britain's imperial power). The body of the coach is slung by braces covered with Morocco leather and decorated with gilt buckles. The interior is lined with velvet and satin. The Gold State Coach is pulled by a team of eight horses wearing the Red Morocco harness. Originally driven by a coachman, the eight horses are now postilion-ridden in four pairs. The coach is so heavy it can only be pulled at a walk. The coach has (gilded) brakes, these have to be operated by the grooms.
As the coach is suspended from braces, it lacks more modern comfort. Modern coaches such as the Australian State Coach and the Diamond Jubilee State Coach have electric windows, heating and hydraulic stabilisers.
In the words of King William IV, a former naval officer, being driven in the Gold State Coach was like being on board a ship “tossing in a rough sea”. Queen Victoria complained of the “distressing oscillation” of the cabin. She would often refuse to ride in the Gold State Coach. A later monarch; King George VI said that his journey from the palace to Westminster Abbey for his coronation was "one of the most uncomfortable rides I have ever had in my life”.
King George VI had the coach overhauled after the Second World War to rubberise the iron-bound wheels. This would afford at least some comfort to the passengers.
The Gold State Coach has been used since the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. She used it on the days of her Silver and Golden Jubilees.
The coach is managed by 4 postilions, 9 walking grooms (one of whom walks behind the coach), 6 footmen, and 4 Yeoman of the Guard carrying their long partisans. Eight of the grooms walk beside the horses. The more ornately dressed footmen walk beside the body of the coach. The postilions have to handle the horses when the animals are unruly, and they carry crooked walking-sticks to hold up the traces that may become slack when the coach is taking a corner. The royal coachmen are traditionally clean-shaven. The horses are always grey.