LONDON: Army veteran Tony Judge was just four years old when a young Queen Elizabeth ascended the British throne 70 years ago, though he vividly remembers the day when the family cheered around the television set to watch the historic moment. They were hovering
"Many families went to a neighbor's house, the only neighbor in the street who had a television. And we were all tied up in our front room, literally side by side, the men all wearing their shirts and ties, the women at their most. In a nice gown," the judge, now 74, said.
"When he played the national anthem everyone stood up, even though we were all in someone's living room ... and it was quite amazing."
Queen Elizabeth, the longest-reigning monarch in British history, celebrates her platinum jubilee next month, with four days of celebrations planned from June 2-5.
At the Royal Hospital in London, a retirement and nursing home for some 300 British Army veterans, many of its residents, known as Chelsea pensioners, remember the coronation, or are in the presence of the Queen.
Judge, who served 25 years in the British Army, eventually met Elizabeth while on duty in China in 1986, helping to organize her visit. His daughter gave him flowers.
"When Her Majesty was brought in, there were actually five of us ... so we could introduce her and I was third in line," the judge said.
"(When) she came up to me and it was like a light shining and shining on you. Her presence is just so wonderful. I was quite astonished. Old cavalryman, intelligence corps, quite cynical, but it's amazing Was."
Wearing the traditional red coat of the Royal Hospital, Ray Pearson, 85, also remembers February 6, 1952, when Elizabeth became queen after the death of her father, George VI. He and his father had recently bought a television
"All the neighbors came in and there was tea and cake around and everyone was grouping around this little nine-inch television," Pearson said.
"It was the technology of the time, wasn't it? It was the only one in the street we lived in."
At 95 years old, Elizabeth is also the world's oldest and longest-reigning monarch. In September 2015, he broke his great-grandmother Queen Victoria's record as the longest-reigning monarch in British history, saying the historic moment was "not what I had ever aspirated for".
"The Queen is the glue that holds the country together, right? There's no question about it," Pearson said.
"All different parts of the country are ... like a puzzle, but that's the glue that holds it together."