For those whipping up a Coronation Quiche or Victoria Sponge this weekend – spare a thought for street partygoers in 1953 tasked with a coronation menu fit for a Queen and fitting of ongoing wartime rationing.

At the time of the Queen’s coronation, butter, cheese and sugar were among the foods still facing restrictions, which meant that households had to get inventive with their street party spreads.

While sweets, chocolate and eggs had come off ration in the months before Queen Elizabeth was officially crowned the new monarch, lingering limits meant that access to some foods was still tightly controlled by the government.

This included meat – rationed until 1954 – which meant that any town wishing to barbecue an ox (as was traditional on royal occasions) needed permission from the government to do so.

Local authorities also had to prove they had made a custom of ox roasting at previous royal events, alongside providing a firm guarantee all meat would be given away for free to those enjoying festivities.

In Kent, Ide Hill, near Sevenoaks and Margate, Thanet were among 82 areas which managed to persuade the Ministry of Food to grant them permission, out of 150 that applied.

While those with a street party for King Charles may be paying close attention to the weather apps – the weather for Queen Elizabeth’s big day was described as ‘really quite miserable’ on June 2, 1953.

Coronation day a few miles away in Kent also dawned ‘disappointingly grey, cold and wet’ according to records from Goudhurst Local History Society, which noted that ‘sports for children’ planned for 2pm in the Vicarage Field had to be cancelled while the children’s tea, scheduled to take place afterwards, also had to be hurriedly shifted into the village hall.

Judges tasked with scrutinising carnival entries had their jobs made more difficult too as a result of the ‘dismal conditions’ which forced the competition indoors until the rain stopped and the procession could continue as planned.

There’s no doubt smartphones and the internet will also play a huge role in sending around the world some of the first images of King Charles as he leaves Buckingham Palace for Westminster Abbey on Saturday.

However the Queen’s coronation was equally groundbreaking when it came to technology - as the first royal event to be broadcast live on television.

The 1953 Coronation, says the BBC, was credited with bringing television into the mainstream with more than 20 million people watching proceedings in London and outnumbering the nation’s radio audience for the very first time.

While Margate was busy roasting its ox – organisers of celebrations in the town also reportedly acquired a number of televisions for Dreamland amusement park where they were hooked up and switched on to enable those without access to a set at home to watch the day.

Elsewhere thousands of others without a screen of their own headed for nearby pubs, cinemas and other public places to watch the broadcast – and shelter from the rain.

But the weather did little to dampen spirits in Kent and street parties struggled through in 1953 in huge numbers across the county - with many reporting that by late afternoon much of the rain was starting to clear.

From Rochester to Reculver – households dragged tables and chairs onto paths and pavements – as people dodged any lingering showers for a chance to toast Britain’s new monarch.

There were added celebrations for some families in the east of the county who welcomed a new baby on June 2.

The Mayor of Ramsgate declared that every child born on the day of the coronation would have an account opened at the Ramsgate Trustee Savings Bank with £2 deposited in each, which was quite the generous gesture when you consider that’s closer to £60 in today’s money.

Margate did a similar giveaway, with midwives in the district also given silver cups to award to the four babies (or their exhausted mothers at least) in each area (Birchington, Cliftonville, Garlinge and Margate East) born closest to the point the crown was placed on the Queen's head.

If you came second, then you got a special spoon or a five shilling piece - about the equivalent today of around £7.

Celebrations in Kent ended similarly to those in many other UK towns and villages, with the lighting of coronation beacons – or in many places bonfires – at the end of the day.