The coronation of the new Sovereign is an occasion for pageantry and celebration that has remained essentially the same over a thousand years. We are all witness to and can be part of this exciting time in history, and there are lots of ways to record or celebrate the Coronation. 

Historical records made by people living through significant times or events are an important way of leaving a legacy for people in years to come, enabling future generations to find out about what life was like when the record was made. Historical moments can be recorded in a number of ways – through writing first-hand accounts, creating commemorative art, or collating and preserving resources such as newspapers, souvenirs and photographs.

The Royal Collection contains many items that can reveal something to us now about life at a particular time in the past. These works detail personal, cultural or royal events, and they even include records made by monarchs themselves.

Nearly 200 years ago, Queen Victoria kept a diary, which survives today in the Royal Archives. She wrote the first entry in 1832 when she was just 13 years old, and would go on to keep a diary for the rest of her life. Victoria recorded many important events, from her Coronation at the very beginning of her reign to her Diamond Jubilee in 1897. The diary, and several other written works and sketch books created by Queen Victoria offer a fascinating insight into life in the 19th century, as well as to the thoughts and feeling of the monarch about events in her personal life and her lifetime, all told in her own words, and through her own illustrations.

Other items in the Collection show us how artists, historians and the general public have been involved in recording history. On the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 2012, a time capsule was created to commemorate this special event and leave a record for future generations. This was a digital time capsule, including 60 videos, photographs, drawings and essays – 40,000 people from 66 countries contributed. People shared their memories of all aspects of life, from their own school days, to memories of the Queen’s Coronation in 1953.

On this page, you will find activities that can help you be a part of history and record this historical moment by writing a diary, creating a time capsule or creating a commemorative work of art for the Coronation of King Charles III in 2023.