It's Good to Be Queen! 15 Fun Facts About Queen Elizabeth's Coronation

With King Charles' May 6 coronation quickly approaching, it's time for a royal refresh on Queen Elizabeth's crowning ceremony

Queen Elizabeth was crowned on June 2, 1953, in the world's first televised coronation — but the cameras only showed so much of the groundbreaking day.

With the countdown on for the crowning ceremony of her son and successor King Charles on May 6, look back at the most glittering moments from the last coronation that the history books have largely missed.

1. Queen Elizabeth II was the sixth Queen to be crowned at Westminster Abbey in London (where every coronation for a British monarch has been held since 1066) "in her own right," the Royal Family states — as a queen regnant rather than queen consort. She followed in the footsteps of Queen Mary I (1553), Queen Elizabeth I (1559), Queen Mary II (1689), Queen Anne (1702) and Queen Victoria (1838).

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2. In a storybook scene, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip traveled from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey in the Gold State Coach. The gilded carriage was pulled by a team of eight grey horses named Cunningham, Tovey, Noah, Tedder, Eisenhower, Snow White, Tipperary and McCreery. An estimated three million people lined the streets of London to see her pass by.

3. Designer Normal Hartnell symbolically stitched the emblems of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth into the Queen's white satin coronation dress. The royal had worked with Hartnell before on another milestone fashion moment — her wedding gown in 1947.

4. In another bridal-like tribute, the Queen arrived at Westminster Abbey with a white bouquet in hand. The coronation bouquet featured orchids and lily of the valley from England, stephanotis from Scotland, orchids from Wales, and carnations from Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man.

5. That wasn't the only martial parallel — there was also a coronation ring. Otherwise known as "the wedding ring of England," Queen Elizabeth slipped the sapphire and ruby sparkler onto her right ring finger during the service. The ring was commissioned for the coronation of King William IV in 1831, according to the Royal Collection Trust, and has been used at almost every crowning ceremony since.

6. Queen Elizabeth's three-hour coronation was divided into six parts: the recognition, the oath, the anointing, the investiture (including the crowning), the enthronement and the homage.

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7. The coronation of 1953 was a turning point for the royal family's relationship with modern media. The BBC broadcast of Queen Elizabeth's coronation was the first of its kind, drawing 27 million viewers in the U.K. and 11 million radio listeners. Welcoming live cameras into Westminster Abbey to bring the ceremony to the masses was "particularly encouraged" by Prince Philip, per the Royal Collection Trust.

8. A grand total of 8,251 guests packed into Westminster for the historic service, where 129 nations and territories were represented.

9. As Prime Minister Winston Churchill, foreign royal families and more packed into the pews, a future first lady of the United States was on the ground as a reporter. Jacqueline Bouvier, the future wife of John F. Kennedy, was also there on assignment for the Washington Times-Herald, where she was working at the time.

Related:How King Charles and Queen Camilla Will Make Royal History at Their Coronation This May

10. Among the youngest guests in attendance was the future King Charles, age 4. Prince Charles' very presence at the crowning ceremony made history, as the Royal Family states was the first child to see his mother crowned as sovereign. He even received his own colorful invitation, decorated with trumpeting Grenadier Guards and the lion and unicorn of the royal coat of arms.

11. Meanwhile, 2-year-old Princess Anne was deemed too young to attend the serious service. She'd join her family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace later in the day, however.

12. Queen Elizabeth wore three headpieces on her coronation day. The young Queen, then 27, arrived in the George IV State Diadem — the iconic crown she's famously depicted in on stamps. She was invested in the hallowed St. Edward's Crown before changing into the lighter Imperial State Crown. The Imperial State Crown features four pearls believed to be from the personal collection of Queen Elizabeth I.

13. Hours after appearing on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with the rest of the royal family on the big day, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip returned after nightfall to greeting the cheering crowds. Around 9:45 p.m., the Queen flicked on the "lights of London," illuminating the Mall and Admiralty Arch. The fountains of Trafalgar Square turned "liquid silver" and floodlights from the National Gallery to the Tower of London burned bright.

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14. Did you know that a new recipe was invented to feed foreign guests after Queen Elizabeth's crowning ceremony? Coronation chicken was the brainchild of royal florist Constance Spry, who "proposed a recipe of cold chicken in a curry cream sauce with a well-seasoned dressed salad of rice, green peas and mixed herbs," the Royal Family states. The dish was a hit and has been served in British kitchens since.

15. Five months after she was crowned, Queen Elizabeth set out for her longest-ever Commonwealth Tour, the Royal Collection Trust states. From November 1953 to May 1954, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip toured the West Indies, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Africa and more, in a journey of 44,000 miles.

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