British coronations are always days-long events marked by much celebration and a series of events, both formal and otherwise, in honor of the new monarch. The 1911 coronation of King George and Queen Mary was no exception. Parties, festivals and even command performances aided in the celebration of the coronation. Some souvenirs of these still exist.
In the late Nineteenth Century, the tradition of producing programs for special occasions on silk rose in popularity. These items were thought to be more elegant and longer lasting than their more ephemeral paper counterparts.
Here, we see a program (programme) of cream silk with medium-blue typography, surrounded with an elaborate border of yellow, pink, green, brown and blue, surmounted by a lion and unicorn crest at top. To the whole, a cream was fringe applied. Oval portraits of King George V and Queen Mary are nestled at each top corner. The program states that it was produced for “A State Performance in Honour of the Coronation of King George V and Queen Mary' with Acts from 'Aida', 'Romeo et Juliette', 'Il Barbiere di Siviglia' and 'Le Pavillon D'Armide', Royal Opera Covent Garden, 26th June 1911.”
Such items were meant to be preserved. Luckily, the recipient of this program understood that. A rare piece, it is housed in the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Speaking of rare...here's a glimpse at the coronation procession brought to us compliments of British Pathe. No film has, obviously for 1911, no sound.
