When King Charles reads the Speech from the Throne on Parliament Hill, he will claim a royal first. For no other Monarch has sat on the throne he will use.
The original thrones of Canada were created in 1878. The Marquess of Lorne and his wife, Princess Louise, were traveling from Britain to Canada to serve as the Governor General of Canada and viceregal consort.
The government commissioned the oak thrones from Holbrook & Mollington, a Toronto company. The pair featured the royal coat of arms on the Monarch’s throne and Princess Louise’s personal coat of arms on the consort’s throne.Â
The thrones have remained in the Senate chamber where they have been used since, with King George VI and Queen Elizabeth using them on their 1939 visit, and Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in both 1959 and 1977.
(By BiblioArchives / LibraryArchives from Canada, CC BY 2.0, Wiki Commons)
However, the Centre Block of the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa- the home of the Senate and House of Commons- is currently undergoing considerable restoration work.
To allow for the work and to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, in 2017 a new set of thrones were commissioned.
Queen Elizabeth II donated English walnut wood from Great Windsor Park for the new thrones. Dominion Sculptor Phil White created the Neoclassical pieces that draw on the styles seen on Parliament Hill.
Queen Elizabeth II’s royal cypher is carved into the monarch’s throne, while the consort’s throne features crowns atop the symbols of the Canadian monarchy.
As Queen Elizabeth II’s last visit to Canada was in 2010, King Charles will indeed be the first Monarch to sit on these new thrones.Â
