Marking the king’s coronation

THIS week’s Archive Corner is a picture of a special publication produced in 1937 to commemorate the coronation of King George VI.

It was discovered by Guardian reader Dan Shepherd, 69, of King Street, Hodthorpe, when he was clearing his late mother’s house in Whitwell.

Winnie Hook died in December last year.

Mr Shepherd, who has one brother and three sisters, said: “None of us knew she had it. We think she must have bought it when she was a student nurse at Whitechapel in London.”

“She used to tell us how she only earned £1 a week.”

“Discovering this was like finding a gold nugget in the desert.”

The publication is in good condition but has a safety pin and a tie pin holding the centre pages together.

It gives a fascinating glimpse into the monarchy as it was 75 years ago, including pictures of various dignitaries from the British Empire swearing allegiance to the new king.

It gave details of the dressmakers working on the coronation robes and coronets to be worn by all the peers and peeresses present.

There was a page showing the line of royal descent and pictures of the future king as a young prince, together with his older brother Edward whose abdication led to George becoming king.

The Weekly Illustrated magazine cost a shilling.

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