The illustrated poems need to be in portrait format and no longer than one sheet for A4 paper or in an equivalent digital format. The council is accepting entries until 12pm on Friday April 21. This was a great moment. Carrying the sceptre in one hand, the Rod in the other, with a golden train, and with a heavy Crown on her head, she ascended the Throne. There was no sense, to put it bluntly, of this being a balancing feat. The concepts of kingship and the crown are not uncommon in literature. From Tolkien’s fantastical Kingdom of Gondor to Shakespeare’s representation of historical English monarchs, there is plenty of literary material to explore and debate. The coronation of King Charles III offers a rare insight into the non-fictional world of royal ascent and, for teachers, an opportunity to ground classroom activities in the experienced reality of current events. The poem was also influenced by a scene in Meghadūta in which an exile sends reassuring words to his wife in the Himalayas via a passing cloud. The Library's buildings remain fully open but some services are limited, including access to collection items. We're

The poem needs to be in portrait format, but should be no longer than one side of A4 paper or in an equivalent digital format. Poetry is “by definition consoling” because “it often asks us just to focus and think and be contemplative”, said Armitage.When the Queen has had the symbols of all the cares of being a Queen given her, those Regalia of which you will have read elsewhere, the Archbishop goes to the Altar and fetches the heavy glittering Crown of St. Edward which outshines all the diamonds in the Abbey, and he puts it reverently on her head. Then we all shout, “God save the Queen.” The Archbishop blesses her, the choir sings, and the Archbishop blesses us as we kneel, and she is led to the Throne. This short poem was written late in Betjeman’s life and reflects the mixture of tender melancholy and humour that pervade his other work, though there is a deeper awareness of death and (like his friend Philip Larkin) a terror of dying lurking behind the poem. All upcoming public events are going ahead as planned and you can find more information on our events blog

Please note that entries will not be returned, therefore, make a copy if you wish to retain a copy. We had to leave John Betjeman’s 1960 blank-verse autobiography, Summoned by Bells, off the list, but if you’ve feasted on the ten shorter poems listed above and are hungry for more of Betjeman’s quintessentially English loveliness, you can read Summoned by Bells, and all of his other best poems, in John Betjeman Collected Poems , published by John Murray. The formal investiture of King Charles III of his regal powers in a religious Coronation ceremony conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury in Westminster Abbey is a significant event in the country’s history and could be used to frame reflections from students on significant events and places in their own history.At all times, East Cambridgeshire District Council reserves the right in the event of circumstances arising outside of its control to cancel or change the competition at any stage.

Prof Nagra is often described as a national treasure and received an MBE for Services to Literature in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2022. He was BBC Radio 4’s first Poet in Residence, and he presents the BBC Radio 4 Extra’s weekly Poetry Extra. We’re Lighting Up The NationThe Coronation has already inspired the production of resources for schools, freely available for teachers. The British Coronation Project, a collaboration between King's College London, University of Roehampton and Arts Projects for Schools offers a curriculum-based scheme of work for primary aged children while The Eden Project’s Coronation Big Lunch includes a range of arts and teaching resources to commemorate the occasion. The Royal Collection Trust has produced materials for schools and also offers opportunities to visit the official royal residences throughout the year and for school groups to experience Coronation-themed workshops. A man touches the boundary stone in Eyam from which no resident could pass during the village’s isolation in 1666. Photograph: Gary Calton/The Observer