British RoyalsHistory

A Guide to Coronation Service: The entry of the Monarch into Westminster Abbey

By
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 the pattern of coronations since the 14th century. The service which will see the Coronation of King Charles and Queen…
Read more
Features

The history of the Coronation Chair

By
17th March 2023
It is a chair with understated elegance and steeped in history. The Coronation Chair, also known as King Edward’s Chair or Saint Edward’s Chair, was commissioned by King Edward I in 1296. Originally, it was meant to hold the Stone of Scone, taken from Scotland by King Edward I. In fact, when kings were crowned, they would sit directly on the Stone of Scone. In later years, a piece of wood…
Read more
British RoyalsHistory

The Coronation of Edward VII

By
17th March 2023
King Charles III has often been compared to his great-great-grandfather, King Edward VII. Both ascended the throne after their mother’s enjoyed record-breaking reigns, and at the time of each king’s ascension, they both held the record for longest-serving Prince of…
Features

What is the Robe of State?

By
17th March 2023
As well as wearing several crowns at his Coronation (well, this is a once only event after all), King Charles will also be clothed in a variety of robes. The first out of the royal wardrobe will be the Robe of State and while The King won’t wear it for the whole of the…
Features

The only consort to wear the Monarch’s crown

By
17th March 2023
It is a considered a gem meant for monarchs, but there is one notable exception to the rules around St. Edward’s Crown: Anne Boleyn. St. Edward’s Crown is the oldest and heaviest crown in use in the British collection. Worn by Edward the Confessor during his reign from 1003 to 1066, it became a holy relic when Edward was canonized by Pope Alexander III. The original crown was used in…
Read more
Features

Why are coronations held at Westminster Abbey?

By
17th March 2023
One thing has been certain about the Coronation of King Charles III from the very start. Even before the date was known, the location of the crowning of the new Monarch was set in stone. For Charles III, like every King and Queen for almost a millennium, will be crowned at…
Features

The Coronation of King Henry IV

By
17th March 2023
The reign of King Henry IV began with usurpation and heralded a period of power struggles that would end in the War of the Roses. As he rode to his Coronation, in 1399, his predecessor languished in jail and would die in mysterious circumstances within months. Henry IV’s coronation was a show of power, designed to establish his authority at a time of turbulence and to demonstrate that he was a…
Read more