WHEN the coronation and the intentions for the ceremony of King Charles III was announced, local Wangaratta woman Jennifer Best pulled out the 87–year–old newspaper she had been carrying around for the past 50 years to 'compare the pair'.
Jennifer's edition of The Herald from Thursday, March 5, 1936, is only select pages but provides a fascinating insight into the news of the day, which includes reports on Hitler and Mussolini, what television would mean to Australians, horse racing results, female Olympians, the Zeppelin and a whole article dedicated to the expected agenda for Edward VIII's coronation as King the following year.
Jennifer was only 20 years old when she came into possession of the paper at a dairy farm in Gippsland.
"It was in the early years of my marriage to a dairy farmer and we were in the process of restoring a very old farmhouse, which at that time was only suitable for chooks to live in – and there were plenty of chooks," Jennifer laughed.
"Being young and keen to have a home to live in on a farm was my dream, and so it was happening – we would renovate the house.
"One of the main problems was the flooring which needed to be replaced and I started removing the old, torn lino.
"What I found beneath was this amazing piece of history – The Herald from March 5, 1936."
Jennifer held onto the paper through numerous moves from share–farm to share–farm and each time she carefully packed it into their next moving box, she had to convince her husband that she wanted to keep it.
Now she is glad she did because that date happens to be the last time a king (George VI) was crowned in England (until now).
George V had died on January 20, 1936 and Edward VIII was proclaimed king, so by March, plans were well underway for his coronation the following year – all four hours of it.
A photo of the gem–studded crown takes pride of place in the article and is the same one that Charles III was crowned with.
The procession, royal guests, religious ceremony, ermine, red velvet and gold robes, royal sceptres, symbolic swords and the presentation of 'the Great Gold Spurs' we saw were also to be part of the day in 1937, however, it was noted that there were to be some changes from coronations past.
In days of old, the spurs, which represent Saint George and chivalry, were put on the new king's heels 'with spears instead of rowels (types of spurs), they are the ancient type of spurs worn by Norman and Anglo–Saxon knights' but it was noted that this wouldn't happen – they would be 'simply touched to the king's heels before he is crowned'.
The Armilae, or bracelets, symbolising 'good works' were no longer used; the standards of South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and India, now borne in the procession 'must bewilder the ghost of Edward the Confessor'; and the Prime Minister was 'officially' present for the first time at the coronation of the late King George V.
At George V's coronation, the procession still included 'the King's Bargemaster and 12 watermen' in quaint costume which was a custom that came from the far–off days when kings came to the Abbey by barge down the Thames to be crowned.
A change between the 1937 and 2023 ceremonies was the 'cheek kissing' portion – in 1937 all of the higher officers of state were to do the new king homage by kneeling, kissing his left cheek and touching the crown, however in 2023, it was simply Prince William who kissed his father's cheek.
Of course, Edward never made it to his coronation – in December 1936 he abdicated his position of king to be with Wallis Simpson, whom he had been having an affair with for quite some time.
His brother, George VI instead took the crown and named Edward as Duke of Windsor.
The same coronation date (May 12 1937), along with all of the pageantry and dignity of the original celebration was kept, simply crowning George VI rather than Edward VIII.
Thanks to Jennifer's introduction to Nicky August from the Wangaratta Historical Society, who has plenty of historical contacts, Jennifer is hoping the newspaper can find a new home with a museum or library which will treasure it as much as (or rather more than) she has for the past 50 years.
"I didn't know why I wanted to keep it all these years, but I did and now I am prepared to let it go to the right place so it can be appreciated," Jennifer said.
"For some people, it will probably jolt a few memories, but for young people, it will be an education into the past."