Elizabeth Woodville is considered to be
the first commoner to be crowned as Queen of England. Her
coronation, soon after her marriage to King Edward IV was revealed,
was controversial at the time and would mark a formal beginning to
a royal tenure that was filled with drama and conflict. Elizabeth
Woodville was born in 1437. She was the first child of Richard
Woodville and Jacquetta of…
While there is a traditional uniform for
kings at their coronation, there is not for queens. This has
allowed each queen to wear a gown specifically created for their
coronation day. Queen Alexandra’s coronation dress remains one of
the most sumptuous in British…
England has held coronations for hundreds
of years and despite the country’s vast history, one might be
surprised to learn that the oldest part of the Crown Jewels, is a
spoon. The silver-gilt spoon is first recorded in 1349 as being
preserved among St…
The Coronation of King Charles III and
Queen Camilla is to be a carefully executed event, with
preparations well underway for the historic occasion on May 6 at
Westminster Abbey. Plans for the Coronation have generally remained
unchanged for many centuries, with the finer details of King
Charles’s ceremony being confirmed following the death of Queen
Elizabeth II on September 8…
While they might not always be crowned
alongside their kings, the consorts in the thousand years since the
Norman Conquest have usually had coronations at Westminster Abbey.
But one queen of England was given her crown thousands of miles
from the realm. Queen Berengaria…
The spectacular robe that King Charles will wear after his Coronation - the Robe of Estate
21st March 2023
The Coronation of King Charles will see
the Monarch wear two crowns and two spectacular velvet robes. While
Charles III will begin the ceremony in the Robe of State, he will
leave Westminster Abbey as a crowned King and wearing a sumptuous
Robe of Estate. There might be…
It was a royal wedding for the history
books, the marriage of a future king and a regal love match to
boot. On this day in 1929, Olav of Norway married Martha of Sweden
in Oslo. The couple’s romance had captured the public imagination
while their rather glamourous wedding brought huge crowds to the
streets of the Norwegian capital. Let’s rewind nine decades and
remember the wedding…
When the whole world is watching, the
pressure to pull off an event perfectly like a coronation is
immense. It’s been 70 years since the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth
II and during the three-hour service, it’s reported the then
25-year-old made only one…
A Guide to Coronation Service: The entry of the Monarch into Westminster Abbey
20th March 2023
On 6 May, King Charles III and Queen
Consort Camilla will be crowned at Westminster Abbey. For many,
this will be the first coronation they have ever seen. The ceremony
will follow a pattern laid out in the Liber Regalis, kept at
Westminster Abbey and which has informed…
When King Charles III and Queen Camilla
are crowned on 6 May, many Coronation traditions will take place
for the first time in 70 years. Among them will be the use of the
Gold State Coach for a Coronation procession. However, there is
expected to be a modern twist on this centuries old part of the
ceremonial. The King and Queen Consort won’t use the 260-year-old
coach to travel from…