The Hindu : dated May 31, 1953: London dolled up for coronation

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, May 31, 2003

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Miscellaneous - This Day That Age

dated May 31, 1953: London dolled up for coronation

Looking thoroughly fit and refreshed — he had been catching up on much lost sleep during the flight, he said — India's Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru arrived on the 29th to see a London transformed to provide the setting for the greatest show in the world — the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The grimy capital had been dolled up and looked like some dowager decked out for a fancy dress ball. Buntings, gilded decorations, flags, and pennants hid smoke-stained walls, and overhead, spanning the streets, were gay arches and festoons of metal or wood covered with multi-coloured fabrics. Golden crowns and plastic flowers were on display, with coats of arms and heraldic beasts — even the lamp-posts had had a fresh coat of paint — blue, green or silver — with their bare lines softened with circling wreaths and trimmings. Fleet Street and Strand, Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly, Whitehall and Regent Street — these and other world famous thoroughfares were loud with noise and glitter. London was like a vast fair-ground and had all the usual accompaniments, including shirt-sleeved hucksters bawling out their wares, screaming children, and perspiring parents.

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