Shortly before Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953, Margaret Thatcher wrote an opinion piece in which she predicted that Elizabeth’s crowning would ‘remove the last shreds of prejudice against women aspiring to the highest places’. Thatcher was not alone in equating the new queen’s reign with fresh opportunities for women. For Thatcher, as for many other women across the English-speaking world, the coronation of Queen Elizabeth was serious business. This talk will look beyond the alleged ‘queen craziness’ of Elizabeth’s female supporters and consider some of the personal, ethical, and political calculations that drove women to actively engage in her coronation, and to support the mid-century monarchy more generally. As I will show, the coronation festivities were entertaining, yes, but they also afforded women a range of public and professional opportunities, and permitted them a rare moment to flaunt their talents, celebrate their contributions, air their grievances, articulate their goals, establish international networks, and imagine alternative futures for themselves. I will illustrate these dynamics through the case study of Geneva Valentine, a Black real estate agent from Washington, DC, who attended the coronation in order to advance her civil rights agenda. Through her coronation journey, we gain a sense of how royalism could form an important cover – and vehicle – for postwar activism.
Arianne Chernock is a Professor of History and Associate Dean of the Faculty for the Social Sciences at Boston University. She is currently writing a book about gender and politics at Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation.
All welcome- but booking is required.