In 1953 a Canadian fighter pilot played an integral part of bringing Queen Elizabeth's coronation to Canadian television screens. It was the first time in history a European event was broadcast on North American TV the exact same day it took place.

King Charles III is to be coronated as King following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

King Charles III

The fighter pilot that brought the Coronation to Canada

My father's brother was George Nickerson, was the wing commander in the Royal Canadian Air Force and he was part of Operation Pony Express which flew the tapes of the Queen's Coronation that the BBC had filmed to North America. The top secret meetings were held as to the logistics. The canisters were put on a bomber aircraft, the bomber crew flew those first tapes over to Gander, Newfoundland where my uncle sat in his CF-100 jet where they were flown to Quebec, airlifted over to Montreal where the CBC aired the Coronation of the Queen. So when the CBC aired it, they called it a live event and that was the first time in history that that had been accomplished. The Duke of Edinburgh kneels before the Queen. There was actually a competition between the American broadcaster, the NBC network, but as it turned out the CBC was the one that pulled it off. In 1953, CBC scooped the American networks with the first pictures of the Queen's Coronation. Nobody had sort of done that sort of thing before. Our family's very very proud to be part of it. I think it's a heritage moment. It's interesting to hear what he says that that it was called a live event then because it happened on the same day with only a delay of a few hours. That's what made it history. But what you're about to see on Saturday is genuinely a live event. The first time a British Coronation will be broadcast live immediately, instantly around the world. It will be happening early. You can join me Saturday, bright and early as the big event gets underway. We'll begin at about 4am Eastern. Ian Hanomansingh will be with you tomorrow, continuing our coverage of the Coronation of King Charles from right here in London.

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King Charles III