The Right Hon. Vincent Massey: Tonight, all of us have in our minds a picture. We see a slight and graceful figure wearing a glittering diadem, emerging from the great church of Edward the Confessor, entering her golden coach and moving slowly away through the crowded London streets.

This was but one act of a superb spectacle which, in one fashion or another, has been enjoyed as a spectacle by millions everywhere. All the world loves pageantry, and we are happy to think that today so many have looked gladly and kindly at the solemnity by which the venerable and now truly venerated monarchy of Britain has renewed itself in the person of our young Sovereign. So great a pageant, reflecting so many centuries of history, speaks to every nation. But to Canada, to all Canadians, it means much more than a spectacle.

The Coronation is, indeed, the greatest and most moving historical pageant of our time. But to us it is something more than that—more even than the history which is our history. It is part of ourselves. It is linked in a very special way with our national life. It stands for qualities and institutions which mean Canada to every one of us and which for all our differences and all our variety have kept Canada Canadian.

How much the Crown has done to give us our individual character as a nation in the Americas! It shapes our contribution to Western democracy. The Crown itself, as a golden object, may repose in London, but as a cherished symbol it plays and did play a unique role in our national life long before our Sovereign became officially The Queen of Canada.

Great truths are brought home to us by what we have seen and heard today—the sense of continuity, of oneness with the past derived from our ancient monarchy; the unifying force which comes from that something in our Constitution which stands above all our diversity, and which every one of us can respect. This great and moving ceremony means for us, then, certain things which are blended, and set forth in the dignity and splendour of the Crown itself, and in the simplicity and the sincerity of the person who wears it...

At the beginning of this talk, I spoke of the glittering Crown worn by The Queen. I would ask you to remember that it is not only a splendid jewel and a glorious symbol. It is symbolically a heavy burden. We give our Sovereign all honour and affection. She gives us in return the example of unremitting labour and of steady self-discipline. We impose on her not only a heavy load of constitutional duties but also a personal participation in the life of all those realms which owe her allegiance...

God Save the Queen.