The King George VI Coronation Medal was a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the

coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The coronation of the British monarch, coronation of George VI and his wife, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Elizabeth, as King of the United Kingdom, king and List of British royal consorts, queen of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth realm, ...

Issue

This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir of King George VI's coronation. It was awarded to the Royal Family and selected officers of state, officials and servants of the Royal Household, ministers, government officials, mayors, public servants, local government officials, and members of the navy, army, air force and police in Britain, her colonies and Dominions. For Coronation and Jubilee medals, the practice up until 1977 was that

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

authorities decided on a total number to be produced, then allocated a proportion to each of the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

countries and

Crown dependencies The Crown Dependencies are three dependent territory, offshore island territories in the British Islands that are self-governing possessions of the The Crown, British Crown: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, both lo ...

and possessions. The award of the medals was then at the discretion of the local government authority, who were free to decide who would be awarded a medal and why. A total of 90,279 medals were awarded, including: *6,887 to Australians *10,089 to Canadians *about 1,700 to New Zealanders. The medal was worn with other coronation and jubilee medals, immediately after campaign and polar medals, and before long service awards. Ladies could wear the medal near their left shoulder with the ribbon tied in the form of a bow.

Description

* Designed by

Percy Metcalfe Percy Metcalfe, CVO, RDI (14 January 1895 Wakefield – 9 October 1970 Fulham Hospital, Hammersmith, London), (often spelled ''Metcalf'' without "e") was an English artist, sculptor and designer. He is recognised mostly for his coin designs ...

. * A circular,

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

medal, 1.25 inches in diameter. Featured on the obverse are the conjoined effigies of

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

and

Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to: Queens regnant * Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland * Elizabeth II (1926–2022; ), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms * Queen B ...

, crowned and robed, facing left. The rim is not raised on this medal and there is no legend. * The

Royal Cypher In modern heraldry, a royal cypher is a monogram or monogram-like device of a country's reigning Monarch, sovereign, typically consisting of the initials of the monarch's name and title, sometimes interwoven and often surmounted by a Crown (heral ...

"GRI" appears on the reverse, surmounted by a large crown, with the inscription "CROWNED / 12 MAY 1937" in two lines below the Royal Cypher. Around the rim of the medal is the inscription "GEORGE VI QVEEN ELIZABETH". * The garter-blue ribbon is wide, with a 3 millimetres wide white band, a 2½ millimetres wide red band and a 1½ millimetres wide white band, repeated in reverse order and separated by an 18 millimetres wide garter-blue band. * The medal was awarded unnamed.

References

Veterans Affairs Canada

{{Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Civil awards and decorations of the United Kingdom Civil awards and decorations of Australia Civil awards and decorations of Canada Military awards and decorations of Canada Civil awards and decorations of New Zealand Awards and decorations of Ceylon Civil awards and decorations of South Africa Military decorations and medals of South Africa pre-1952 George VI 1937 establishments in the United Kingdom Awards established in 1937