1923–1953
Five monarchs, one microphone
The British monarchy was the first institution to understand that radio changed what a crown was for. George V had to be persuaded to speak at all; by 1936 his eldest son used the same microphone to resign the throne, and by 1940 a fourteen-year-old girl was using it to reassure evacuated children. What survives is uneven — the BBC of the period rarely kept recordings, so most of what you can hear exists because a gramophone company thought it would sell. That commercial accident is why the abdication survives in four separate pressings and the Christmas broadcasts largely do not.
17 recordings · 3 broadcasters
Who carried it
24 May
1923
Archive recordings
3 min
King George V and Queen Mary address the children of the Empire on Empire Day, 24 May 1923 — among the earliest surviving recordings of a reigning British monarch speaking to a broadcast audience. Disc transfer held by the Internet Archive.
11 December
1936
Archive recordings
4 min
Edward VIII from Windsor Castle, 11 December 1936, hours after signing the Instrument of Abdication. Commercial disc transfer, first part. Disc transfer held by the Internet Archive.
11 December
1936
Archive recordings
4 min
The conclusion of the abdication broadcast, including the passage on the woman he loved and the appeal for support for his brother. Disc transfer held by the Internet Archive.
11 December
1936
Archive recordings
3 min
An alternate contemporary disc issue of the same broadcast, pressed for sale within days of the transmission. Disc transfer held by the Internet Archive.
11 December
1936
Archive recordings
6 min
The abdication address in a single unbroken transfer, with Sir John Reith's introduction. Disc transfer held by the Internet Archive.
12 May
1937
Archive recordings
4 min
Recorded inside Westminster Abbey at the coronation of George VI, 12 May 1937 — the first coronation ever broadcast live, and the first recorded in the building. Disc transfer held by the Internet Archive.
12 May
1937
Archive recordings
3 min
The anointing anthem concludes; from the official HMV recording of the Abbey service. Disc transfer held by the Internet Archive.
13 October
1940
Archive recordings
3 min
Fourteen-year-old Princess Elizabeth speaks on Children's Hour to the evacuated children of Britain and the Commonwealth, with Princess Margaret at the close. Her first broadcast. Disc transfer held by the Internet Archive.
8 May
1945
Archive recordings
12 min
George VI broadcasts to the Empire on the evening of 8 May 1945 from Buckingham Palace. Disc transfer held by the Internet Archive.
21 April
1947
Archive recordings
1 min
Announcement introducing the twenty-first birthday broadcast, relayed from Cape Town. Disc transfer held by the Internet Archive.
21 April
1947
Archive recordings
2 min
‘My whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service.’ Broadcast from Cape Town on her twenty-first birthday, 21 April 1947. Disc transfer held by the Internet Archive.
26 April
1948
Archive recordings
2 min
George VI marks twenty-five years of marriage, 26 April 1948. Disc transfer held by the Internet Archive.
26 April
1948
Archive recordings
2 min
Queen Elizabeth speaks on the same evening — one of the few surviving broadcasts in her own voice as consort. Disc transfer held by the Internet Archive.
3 May
1951
Archive recordings
3 min
George VI opens the Festival of Britain from the steps of St Paul's Cathedral, 3 May 1951. He would be dead within nine months. Disc transfer held by the Internet Archive.
3 May
1951
Archive recordings
3 min
The conclusion of the King's last great public broadcast. Disc transfer held by the Internet Archive.
2 June
1953
Archive recordings
3 min
Elizabeth II broadcasts to the Commonwealth on the evening of her coronation, 2 June 1953. Disc transfer held by the Internet Archive.
2 June
1953
Archive recordings
2 min
The conclusion of the coronation-night address, closing the most listened-to day in British broadcasting to that date. Disc transfer held by the Internet Archive.