NEW YORK — If there’s one thing people love to celebrate, it’s the pomp and circumstance of royalty. Even in the United States, a country that launched a revolution in 1775 to declare independence from England’s King George III, there is still a fascination with the British royal family. Millions of television viewers across the world watched the late Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in June 1953 as well as the wedding of Charles and Diana in the summer of 1981, and the weddings of Charles and Diana’s two sons decades later. Queen Elizabeth II had the longest tenure of any British monarch, serving slightly more than 70 years in all, and she ruled longer than any woman head of state.
Silk panel from Elizabeth II’s coronation graces Dreweatts May 30-31 sale
LONDON – A decorative portion of a historic silk panel, commissioned to hang in Westminster Abbey for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953, will be auctioned at Dreweatts during its Fine Furniture sale, scheduled for Monday, May 30 and Tuesday, May 31. The specially-woven panel was hung as a glorious backdrop, with a range of others, to set the scene for the special ceremony and is visible in many photographs of the coronation. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.