Six books about the British Royal Family and the coronation

Coronation: A History of the British Monarchy

Coronation: A History of the British Monarchy by Roy Strong

Roy Strong, historian and former director of the Victoria Museum, was just 16 when he stood on London's Victoria Embankment on June 2, 1953, watching the “gold-encrusted carriage” carrying Queen Elizabeth II to her coronation: “The Queen's smiling face and the sparkle of her diamonds are still etched in my memory.”

And in his novel prose, he takes readers through every English royal coronation since Edgar's coronation in 973 AD. He shares anecdotes about the jewels, myths, and ceremonies from historical records. He shows how some of the traditions of Charles III's coronation can be traced back to Edgar's 10th-century ceremony.

Crowns and Coronations: A History of Regalia by William Jones

Crowns and Coronations: A History of Regalia by William Jones.

If the reader wants to know more details about the coronation, the official names for the orbs, crowns, spoons, swords and the like during the ceremony, he might try reading the work of William Jones.

The book was first published in 1883 and is still on sale. William Jones was quite stubborn in his opinion, asserting that Queen Victoria's crown was "very expensive and elegant, and of much better design than those of George 3 and William 4.

Treasures of Westminster Abbey

Treasures of Westminster Abbey by Tony Trowles

Since 1066, every English monarch except Edward 5 and Edward 7 has been crowned at Westminster Abbey, a medieval church in London that is also the center of English culture.

And this book outlines its remarkable history through many wonderful photographs. Not only does it offer a panoramic view of the cathedral’s interior, it also includes stunning close-ups of its many intricately carved screens, floor mosaics, stained glass windows, bronze and marble decorations, and in particular the Coronation Chair, which is over 700 years old.

Crown & Sceptre

Crown & Sceptre: A New History of the British Monarchy, From William the Conqueror to Charles III by Tracy Borman. Photo: NYT.

The author sketches in vivid detail kings and queens who lived in luxury, glittering diamonds, but also in times of hardship and turmoil, war and plague. Some coronations Borman describes as particularly memorable: Henry VII, crowned at the age of seven, “looked around sadly and wisely as the crown was placed on his head; Edward I, according to one account, “took off his crown during the ceremony and vowed never to wear it again until he had regained all that his father had lost”; and George II, furious during the parade because “his crimson velvet cap, lined with sable, was too large for his head and kept falling over his eyes.” The reigns of 12 centuries are packed into 500 pages – the size of a standard biography.

Prince Charles

Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life by Sally Bedell Smith

“I found that much about Prince Charles was still poorly understood, not least his uniqueness,” the author writes in the 2017 preface to the book. She notes that “his every move” has been “examined and analyzed: his promises, his awkwardness, his happiness, his suffering, his embarrassments and mistakes, his loneliness and his success.” According to critic William Boyd, who attended school with Charles, Bedell portrays the new king as “complex, slightly troubled, sincere and questioning.”

Queen Consort

Queen Consort: The Life of Queen Camilla by Penny Junor

Originally published as The Duchess: Camilla Parker Bowles and the Love Affair That Rocked the Crown, Penny Junor's book is a biography of the new Queen and her relationship with King Charles. A British journalist, the author has followed their relationship since the 1970s, covering divorce, scandals and tragedies as she notes the couple's enduring love.

The Duchess also provides a basic explanation of the titles and a short glossary of important locations to help royal newcomers better understand the momentous coronation day.

According to Zing