The Queen revealed her brilliant sense of humour in a rare interview for the BBC documentary The Coronation, where she handled her crown without wearing protective gloves, joked about the "horribly uncomfortable" golden carriage that took her from Westminster Abbey back to Buckingham Palace, and spoke about just how heavy the crown really was.
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© Photo: BBCThe Queen spoke about her coronation
Speaking about the weight of the crown, she agreed with her interviewer, Alastair Bruce, that she had to keep her head up for the risk of breaking her neck. She said: "You can't look down to read the speech, you have to take the speech up. Because if you did your neck would break, it would fall off. So there are some disadvantages to crowns, but otherwise they’re quite important things." She added that her gown for the ceremony also proved difficult, joking that she "couldn't move at all" while walking against the pile of the carpet.
Speaking about her golden carriage, she added: "It's not meant for travelling in at all. I mean, it's only sprung on leather. Not very comfortable," adding: "We must have gone about four to five miles. It can only go at a walking pace. The horses couldn't possibly go any faster. It's so heavy."
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© Photo: BBCThe Queen opened up about her gown and crown
Alastair revealed that the Queen had "the most delightful sense of humour" during the show, and viewers took to Twitter to discuss the documentary. One person wrote: "I'm 100% sure the Queen is the Queen of sarcasm... 'The bishops are there to hold the crown but they didn’t need too' 'Oh really? I thought they were there to hold my clothes.'" Another person added: "Well I thought this was one I’d be turning over, but watching the Queen man handle the crown (which is what she does when she wants to wear it) after someone reverently picked it up with gloves for her was hilarious. Great programme. #TheCoronation."
