This photograph was taken by an amateur photographer during the celebrations for the coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra in 1902.
The coronation ceremony itself had been postponed from Thursday 26 June until Saturday 9 August, owing to the king being taken ill with appendicitis at the last minute. However, the planned two-day bank holiday, together with all the special events that had been planned in towns up and down the land, largely went ahead while the king was lying on the operating table. It was just too late to cancel and, perhaps understandably, the long-planned two-day holiday was regarded as sacrosanct.