1936 On the Continent

etc.
June 9th
Official celebration of the King’s birthday. Trooping of the Colour at the Horse Guards Parade.
June 10th and 11th
Investiture. (Actual conferment of honours, such as knighthoods, etc.)
June 22nd
Another levee at St. James’s Palace. In the afternoon, garden-party at Buckingham Palace.
June 27th
Parade of ex-service men before the King.
July 1st
Reception at Buckingham Palace, at which debutantes will be introduced, as the previous two courts.
July 5th to 12th
Their Majesties will visit Scotland.
July 14th and 15th
Their Majesties will visit Wales.
July 22nd
Garden-party at Buckingham Palace.
    The above are only the official functions in which Their Majesties will participate. But, in addition, there will be an endless series of functions of various kinds, for the young and for the various social classes.
    However, the greatest show of the Coronation period will be the Procession to and from Westminster Abbey on the 12th of May. It will probably be the most brilliant spectacle of the present age. It is expected that the route of the procession will be lined by at least a million people. The vast majority will naturally have to be content with standing places, and, as usual in London, the crowds will occupy various points of vantage the previous evening, equipped with folding chairs, cushions, thermos flasks and food. They will be arriving throughout the night, and the scene along the route of the procession will be enlivened by the cries and chatter of hosts of street vendors offering programmes, emblems, sweets and other things. By the morning, when the troops of various regiments arrive in their gala uniforms to form a miles long cordon, the area between the Royal Palace and the Abbey will be one vast sea of gay and expectant humanity.
The Stands
    For some 85,000 persons the Government is providing seats on wooden structures that are being erected along the whole route. Some of these seats will be reserved for members of the Diplomatic Corps, Members of Parliament and other official persons, while some thousands of themwill be occupied by children. The remaining seats will be allotted to various organisations, but none will be sold to individuals.
Other Accommodation
    Those who cannot be accommodated on the platforms and refuse to stand, can obtain seats in one of the buildings along the route. All the shops, restaurants and offices in the vicinity are making arrangements to accommodate spectators, and even the windows of private dwellings will be filled with spectators on the great day. Special concerns have been formed to sell such seats, in addition to the established travel agencies and theatre ticket bureaux. Offer of seats may be found in the advertising columns of the morning papers, like the
Times, Daily Telegraph
and
Morning Post
.
    With the approach of the great day prices are rising higher and higher, a considerable part of the accommodation having been bought up by speculators. It would be impossible to give any definite idea of the price of a seat, as there are enormous day to day fluctuations. However, it is certain that no seat can be obtained under £5, and even that would be on the fourth or fifth floor of a building at some distance from the procession route, affording only a bird’s-eye view of the procession. The highest price for a single seat is about £50, and it makes little difference that this includes breakfast and lunch.
    Some letters even provide alcoholic refreshment and facilities for listening in to the proceedings. Originally it was intended to televise the procession to the masses of people who could not see it. The plan was approved by Edward VIII, but has been cancelled after the accession of George VI.
Some Prices
    A great many people form into parties, and rent jointly a room affording a good view of the procession. A balcony in Regent Street, with space for thirty people, and a room behind it, has been offered for £600. Two rooms with large windows at Charing Cross have been valued at £350. If you wish to acquire even a moderately good single seat, you must be prepared to pay anything from £15 to £25. However, before renting a seat you areadvised to study the route carefully and, if possible, test the accommodation itself.
The Procession
    The route of the procession will be as follows:
    To the Abbey:
    West and North Side of Victoria Memorial—The Mall—Admiralty Arch—South side of Trafalgar Square—Whitehall—East and South side of Parliament