Typically, we see Queen Camilla at London’s Westminster Abbey for a service or event. This time, it was to learn about the Sacristy Project, and with Halloween upon us, Her Majesty had a spook or two herself.
Queen Camilla arrived to see the construction of the new building that will be known as The King Charles III Sacristy. The Sacristy will be built next to The Abbey where an old medieval building once stood.
The £13m project will essentially serve as a welcome centre with security and ticketing facilities. This will then allow the famous abbey to be preserved and continue to serve as a sacred space.
As The Queen met with architect Ptolemy Dean, who explained what was uncovered during archaeological work, Her Majesty thought she had made her own discovery. “Goodness me, I thought they were bones!” She then went on to elaborate and said she thought she had spotted a thigh bone!
As she learned, the site is being constructed on the Great Sacristy which was built in the 1250s during Henry III’s renovation of The Abbey and it was revealed the area was once an old burial ground.
According to Dean, there were “several layers of burial” where Her Majesty was standing.
“Amazing… It is quite remarkable… I wouldn’t like to be here at night,” she quipped.
All cheekiness aside, The Queen said she’s excited to see the final version of the Sacristy. The King Charles III Sacristy is set to open to the public in 2026 and will be designed in sympathy with The Abbey’s gothic architecture.
