In 1952–3, Brooke-Little served on the staff assembled by the Earl Marshal to plan the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. He was appointed a Gold Staff Officer for the Coronation and held a key co-ordination role during planning as well as on the day. It was his abiding interest in heraldry that led to this appointment, and this work with the Earl Marshal and the officers of arms led to his first heraldic appointment. He joined the College of Arms as Bluemantle Pursuivant in 1956. The rank of pursuivant is the junior of the three levels an officer of arms can attain, and Brooke-Little related the story of his appointment in an editorial. In 1956, Sir George Bellew, the Garter King of Arms, had recommended Brooke-Little and Colin Cole for the open position of Bluemantle. The two were asked to meet with the Earl Marshal in London. The Earl Marshal was not usually faced with two candidates for an opening; he offered the position to Cole, who turned it down as his wife was expecting a child. Brooke-Little was made Bluemantle. Several months later when Sir Gerald Wollaston died, in the ensuing shuffle Cole was finally given his appointment as Portcullis Pursuivant.