Queen's Coronation: Maid of Honour recalls 'great thrill'

"Madam, I have it in command from the Queen to inform you that Her Majesty has been graciously pleased to appoint you as a Maid of Honour to assist the Mistress of the Robes in bearing Her Majesty's train on the occasion of Her Majesty's Coronation."

It was in January 1953 that Lady Rosemary Spencer-Churchill, then 23, received a very special invitation.

Lady Rosemary grew up at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. She was the daughter of the 10th Duke of Marlborough and niece to Winston Churchill.

She was used to being invited to extravagant and important events.

But even for her, an invitation to play such a significant part in the Coronation came out of the blue.

Lady Rosemary said: "One was very flattered. It was a great thrill... one didn't have any idea at all.

"It was still a long way from the Coronation itself... so it was a great surprise."

A service at Westminster Abbey, which will reunite the Queen with her Maids of Honour later, gives her the chance to recall the day again after 60 years - a reunion she believes will probably be the last.

Among those memories is the fact that invitation came six months before the event.

There was the matter of four dress fittings and eight rehearsals before, on 2 June 1953, Lady Rosemary was at the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II at the abbey.

She said: "The noise was absolutely fantastic. The roar of the crowd, I do remember that very well.

"And of course it was a pretty awful day. It wasn't raining non-stop but it was cold and we had nothing but our gloves.

"We were in the carriage with Lord Tryon who was Keeper of the Privy Purse. In this wonderful embroidered purse he gave us sweets to eat on the way round London.

"I was excited. I don't think one was too apprehensive. Like everything we'd been so well schooled for so long that we knew exactly what we had to do and when we had to do it.

"The Queen was very relaxed and full of confidence. When we were all in place and holding her train she said 'Are you ready girls?' and we set off.

"When the Queen made her oath and she was anointed by the Archbishop with oil on her forehead, dressed in just a little linen shift, she looked very vulnerable but she was completely calm and fantastic.

"That was very, very moving. The music was wonderful and tremendously loud."

There was a huge surge in sales of television sets so millions could watch the ceremony unfold.

But events that took place away from the cameras resonate with Lady Rosemary too.

She remembers that after the ceremony was over, as everyone gathered at Buckingham Palace, Prince Charles - then four years old - prematurely attempted to take the crown for himself.

"He had been allowed to have some of his father's oil on his head and he wanted us all to smell his smart hair oil," she said.

"At one moment, the Queen took off her crown and put it on a table and he charged off to think he might try it on, but it was rescued before he could pick it up.

"It was all very relaxed and everyone was very relieved that everything had gone so well. It was a very convivial atmosphere."

After the Coronation, Lady Rosemary returned to her own life, which included her wedding - in front of 950 guests - at Christchurch, Oxford, only two weeks later.

Her Coronation dress was exhibited at Blenheim Palace but became damaged by the sun. It was sent away for repairs and has not been seen since.

"We're all still here and we've all got our marbles but I'm afraid this will probably be the last reunion," Lady Rosemary said.

"It will bring back a lot of memories.

"The crowds and the noise, I shall always remember that."