Gavin Whitelaw

June 2013 sees the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation, only the second time in British history a monarch has reached this remarkable milestone. As the event was famously the first of its kind to be televised images from the ceremony inside Westminster Abbey are instantly recognisable and have become iconic. Far less familiar are the scenes in the streets outside, however, where huge crowds assembled to see a procession of state coaches and historic regiments marching past public buildings festooned with patriotic banners and colourful grandstands erected outside many famous landmarks. At the core of the book is a hitherto private collection of more than 200 images showing London’s West End on the day. None has been published before, and together they provide a unique and precious record of this historic occasion - the day of the Coronation as it was seen by ordinary members of the public.