Tsar and Tsarina Entering the Church of the Assumption May 26, 1896

Filmed during the coronation ceremonies of Nicholas II in Moscow in 1896, this short by Lumière operator Francis Doublier shows the imperial procession approaching the Cathedral of the Assumption in the Kremlin. As the crowd advances, a company of guards escorts the imperial dais while the Tsar and Tsarina make their way into the church. An early actuality offering rare moving-image documentation of a major royal ritual.