Massive crowds will gather in Westminster and the Mall on Saturday morning for the crowning of King Charles III - but the excitement is due in part to the 70-year gap between coronations.
When the ceremonies were held for Queen Elizabeth II on June 2, 1953, the world was a very different place.
The Second World War was fresh in the memory of the population and that trauma was still being processed (a term that would never have been used back then).
Significant cultural change was to come, but the Beatles debut single, Love Me Do, was nearly 10 years off and colour television would not arrive in the UK until 1967.
England had won no football World Cups and while the Windrush generation was arriving, many long battles for civil rights lay ahead.
And any concept of a device like the one you’re reading this on was beyond even the greatest science fiction writers.
Elsewhere on LondonWorld you’ll find guides to the Coronation of King Charles III, and stories ranging from the strange tributes of celebrities to ideas for family fun over the long weekend.
But, for now, here’s a look at the Coronation of 70 years ago.
1. A game of cards
A group of spectators - Margaret Avory, Betty Cowell, Molly Mountford, and her sister Barbara Mountford - pass the time with a game of cards as they gather the day before the Coronation of Elizabeth II, on the procession route on The Mall on June 1, 1953. (Photo by Meager/Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
2. A famous wave
Princess Elizabeth of York, future Queen Elizabeth II, waves to the crowd at the eve of her coronation. (Photo by Intercontinentale/AFP via Getty Images)
3. Sleepover
Roland Neave sucks his thumb as he sleeps alongside his brother, Peter Neave, as people sleep while camping out ahead of the Coronation of Elizabeth II. (Photo by Monty Fresco/Topical Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
4. Packed in
A section of the crowd gathered the day before the Coronation of Elizabeth II in Parliament Square. (Photo by E. Round/Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)