BIG TRAFFIC JAMS

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27055, 2 June 1953, Page 7

BIG TRAFFIC JAMS

40,000 Gather At Palace (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) (Rec. 10 p.m.) LONDON, June 1. A vast army of sightseers last night caused the most severe congestion so far on the Coronation procession route. Traffic had to be diverted at several points as the crowds took over. The police were engaged in a constant and often unsuccessful effort to keep a way clear outside Buckingham Palace, where the crowd—the biggest so far—was estimated at 40,000. The crowd chanted: “We want the Queen.” But the curtains behind the Palace balcony remained drawn. Thousands saw the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh leave the Palace tp attend a service in the Queen’s Chapel in the grounds of Marlborough House. When the Queen and the Duke returned. the crowd nearly stopped their car. Sweeping aside mounted and foot police, the crowd swarmed across the road.

Women holding children reached to within a foot of the Royal car as it slowed down. The Queen smiled and waved.

Many people also obtained a glimpse of the Queen’s children and cheered them. Prince Charles was twice seen waving from a window on the top floor of the Palace. On the second occasion, someone was seen to pick him up and carry him away. In the evening, Princess Anne, in a white nightgown, was held up at a window and waved. The crowd was so dense that the Palace sentries were moved inside the railings.