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The Coronation of Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria, the longest reigning British monarch in history, was crowned queen on this day’s date (June 28) in 1838.  The young queen inherited the throne at the age of 18, following the death of her uncle, William IV.  During the first months of her reign the public was quite curious about the young queen.  Many descriptions were written about  the little queen (who was only four feet eleven inches tall), and enthusiastic crowds thronged her early appearances and her coronation celebrations.  Victoria’s coronation wasn’t the smoothest of ceremonies: an elderly peer, Lord Rolle, tripped and fell down some steps while paying homage to the Queen — eliciting some bad puns in the printed accounts of the ceremony.

BYU’s Victorian collection contains numerous printed texts associated with Victoria’s coronation, including the printer’s proof of the printed program of the coronation ceremony and several printed keepsakes issued for popular consumption at the time of the coronation (including the souvenir booklet shown above).

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