For instance, in Hammersmith, in West London, King Street will be closed between 11am and 6pm for a coronation street party. The King and Queen were joined by the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children for a Coronation rehearsal at Westminster Abbey this morning. The recipe for the Anointing Oil contains oils of orange, roses, cinnamon, musk and ambergris. Usually a batch is made to last a few Coronations, but in May 1941 a bomb hit the Deanery destroying the phial, so a new batch was made. Some roads in Westminster will be closed, affecting several bus routes. Five London buses will also feature commemorative wraps on routes serving locations linked to the royal family, such as Horse Guards Parade and Hyde Park.

Many people camped in The Mall to catch a glimpse of the procession, including a family who had sailed all the way from Australia in a ketch for the occasion. Thousands more celebrated throughout the country and the Commonwealth with street parties. The principal decorations for the processional route were in The Mall where there were four twin-spanned arches of tubular steel that were illuminated at night. The arches were lifted into place by giant mobile cranes. Linking the arches down the route were the long lines of standards mounted with golden crowns and each hung with four scarlet banners bearing the Royal Monogram. The Queen's Lord Lieutenants commissioned artist Terence Cuneo to paint the Coronation ceremony and in 1954 Herbert James Gunn painted a State Portrait of The Queen in her Coronation outfit.

Prince William gave photographers a nervous smile as the family was driven away from the Abbey after the rehearsal. The items that are most exciting for us are those that played a part in the Coronation – such as programmes from the event and flags hung up along the Mall,” explains Laura.

The Archbishop of Canterbury conducted the service, a duty which has been undertaken since the Conquest in 1066. For the first time in 1953, a representative of another Church, the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, also took part. The Queen Salote of Tonga won the hearts of the waiting crowds by refusing to raise the roof of her carriage for protection despite the rain.

Coronations have been held at Westminster Abbey for 900 years and The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was to follow suit. But the Coronation of 1953 was ground-breaking in it's own right – the first ever to be televised, it was watched by 27 million people in the UK alone and millions more audiences around the world. Here are 50 little known facts about that remarkable day on 2 June 1953: The King and Queen also gave cheery waves from their vehicles, hiding any hint of nerves about the big day. The crowndels feature a likeness of St Edward’s Crown, which will be used to crown the King at Westminster Abbey.