King's Coronation guests: The Yorkshire guests who saw the Queen crowned in 1953 and who could attend in 2023

When the late Queen Elizabeth II was crowned in 1953, most of the guests and the majority of those performing ceremonial roles were foreign royalty, British nobility and senior Church elders.

Despite the King’s wish for a more modern and inclusive celebration to reflect the country’s diversity in 2023, a traditional assembly of attendees is expected, including the descendants of some of those who were present in 1953. Over 900 peers of the realm attended in 1953 and there were over 8,000 guests – though this time around the number of aristocrats is expected to be significantly reduced in favour of serving and recent government ministers.

The Coronation Claims Office has even introduced an online application form for anyone who feels they may have an ancestral right to an official role – though claimants are expected to provide evidence of their family connection to past ceremonies.

In 1953, among the top tier of guests were the Earl and Countess of Harewood, the estate between Leeds and Harrogate which is still in the Lascelles family’s hands today. At the time, the Countess was Princess Mary – aunt of the woman being crowned and only daughter of King George V. The couple’s two sons, George, heir to the earldom, and Gerald also attended as the young Queen’s first cousins. All four have since passed away, but an invitation could be extended to the current Earl, David, grandson of Princess Mary.

The Duke of Norfolk has held the office of Earl Marshal – essentially, organiser of the Coronation – for centuries and the current holder of the title will perform the role again. Yet among his party could be his brother Gerald Fitzalan-Howard, the entrepreneurial owner of Carlton Towers, near Selby. The estate has a cookery school, vineyard and hosts weddings.

The Chancellor of the Order of the Garter at the 1953 ceremony was the Earl of Halifax, who was also a Conservative politician and former Viceroy of India. The family estates at the time included Garrowby in the East Riding, Hickleton Hall near Doncaster and Temple Newsam in Leeds. His 79-year-old grandson, Peter Wood, still resides at Garrowby, where the late Queen visited his racing stud.

The centuries-old position was previously held by senior bishops – though there was also a succession of lay Chancellors – until the 1930s, when members of the Knights Companion began to take it on. The current holder is the Duke of Abercorn.

The Woods are still close family friends of the Royal Family – King Charles and Queen Camilla have visited Garrowby before and Lady Halifax and Queen Camilla were once sisters-in-law during their earlier marriages to the Parker-Bowles brothers.

In 1953, appointed to the role of Lord Chamberlain of the Household was the Earl of Scarborough. His title is now held by his grandson Richard Lumley, and the family seat is at Sandbeck Park, near Rotherham. Although the position was traditionally held by earls and dukes, in more recent times it has been granted to life peers with no aristrocratic lineage, and the current holder is a former director-general of Mi5, Lord Andrew Parker.

The Cavendish family, Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, may receive an invitation as senior members of the nobility and their forebears were present in 1953. Their Yorkshire estate is Bolton Abbey, where the late Queen and Prince Philip stayed overnight in 2005 when the Royal Ascot race meeting was held in York.

Other fringe guests could include Sir William Worsley of Hovingham Hall near York – his aunt, Katharine, is the Duchess of Kent, married to Prince Edward, cousin of the late Queen and grandson of King George V. The Dundas family, Marquesses of Zetland, are a prominent Yorkshire aristocratic family whose seat is at Aske Hall, near Richmond, and the Lane Fox family of Bramham Park, near Wetherby, have historic links to the Royal Family. The Dawnay family, Viscounts Downe, of the Wykeham Abbey estate near Scarborough, could attend.