but the king was in poor health — he'd been treated for lung cancer. when elizabeth left for a visit to east africa in february 1952, it was to be the last time she would see him. at the moment of her father's death from a heart attack, elizabeth was in a game park in kenya. she returned to london as queen. in a way, i didn't have an apprenticeship — my father died much too young — and so, it was all a very sudden kind of taking—on, and making the bestjob you can. elizabeth's coronation injune 1953 was one of the biggest public celebrations in britain's recent history. for the first time, television cameras were allowed into westminster abbey — the ceremony was broadcast to millions. archive: the moment of - the queen's crowning is come.