22nd February 2012

UPLYME: Splendid view of Coronation procession from Park Lane

By Imogen Thomas

AT the time of the last coronation my family were living in Hertfordshire.

We planned to go up to London and join the crowds spending the night on the pavement, in order to get a good view of the procession the next morning.

As the time approached, however, the weather forecast was for heavy rain. My father saw an advertisement in the paper for seats overlooking the route. They were quite expensive but did include lunch and he decided to treat us.

We drove up to London early in the morning and picked up a package from a prearranged address.

When we opened it we saw it contained invitations to a party given by the Duke of Westminster at his London house in Park Lane. Some guest had decided to make a quick buck.

It was quite embarrassing mingling with his friends, all chatting familiarly about Hughie (or whatever his name was), but we had a splendid view from the balcony, watched the service on TV and ate a delicious lunch.

I still have the yellow tag with a ‘W’ surmounted by a coronet, that gave us access to Park Lane.

PICTURE: FOND MEMORIES - Uplyme resident Imogen Thomas enjoyed the Coronation parade from the Duke of Westminster’s Park Lane house