For Queen Elizabeth II's coronation on 2 June 1953, spectators camped along the Mall to secure a view of the procession. The Royal Archives notes that some slept outdoors for two days, while roughly three million people gathered along the route.
Where viewing places had no tickets, arrival time became the allocation system. The ceremony's formal centre was Westminster Abbey, but for most people participation meant waiting for the few minutes when the royal coach passed. Their place on the pavement was purchased with as much as two days of time.