King Charles III (74) will be crowned at Westminster Abbey on May 6th. The Church in London has been associated with the royal family for centuries. It serves as a venue for coronations, royal weddings and funerals. In addition, one monarch was born there, another died in Westminster Abbey: in 1413 Henry IV collapsed, allegedly while praying at the shrine of Edward the Confessor. He died shortly thereafter. Between 1470 and 1471 Elizabeth Woodville (1437-1492), wife of Edward IV (1442-1483), sought refuge in Westminster Abbey from the aftermath of the Wars of the Roses and gave birth to Edward V (1470-1483) here.
The first jubilee celebrations at Westminster Abbey were held in 1887 for Queen Victoria’s (1819-1901) Golden Jubilee. Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) and her husband, Prince Philip (1921-2021) also celebrated their silver, gold and diamond wedding anniversaries with services at the Abbey, including regular attendance at the annual Commonwealth Day celebrations.
Since the coronation of William the Conqueror in 1066, a total of 39 English and British monarchs have been crowned at Westminster Abbey. The throne on which the monarchs sit is within the abbey and has been used at coronations since the 14th century.
Before the 17th century, if a king married after his coronation, he held a separate coronation for his new queen. The last of these to take place at the Abbey was the coronation of Anne Boleyn in 1533 after her marriage to Henry VIII (1491-1547). There were a total of 15 separate coronations for queen consorts at the abbey.
Many monarchs have given Westminster Abbey a gift of fine fabric at their coronation. George V (1865-1936) donated new altar cloths, and George VI. (1895-1952) and Elizabeth II each had enough fabric to make new vestments for the abbey’s clergy.
Before the 20th century, royal weddings at Westminster Abbey were relatively rare, and royals married in a chapel or at Windsor Castle instead. That changed with the marriage of Princess Mary (1897-1965), Elizabeth II’s aunt, to Henry Lascelles (1882-1947) in 1922, which apparently started a trend. In 1923 was at the wedding of the later George VI. Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (1900-2002, Queen Mum) the first royal bride to leave her bouquet on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Westminster Abbey, a practice continued by many royal brides since.
Elizabeth II and Prince Philip (1947), Princess Margaret (1930-2002) and Antony Armstrong-Jones (1930-2017) in 1960, Princess Anne (72) and Mark Phillips (74) also married in Westminster Abbey. in 1973, Prince Andrew (63) and Sarah Ferguson (63) in 1986, and Prince William (40) and Princess Kate (41) in 2011. Prince Charles and Princess Diana (1961-1997) moved St Paul’s Cathedral to Westminster Abbey in 1981 because St. Paul’s offered more seating and allowed for a longer procession through London.
Numerous royal funerals have also taken place in Westminster Abbey. Many English and British monarchs were buried here up until the 18th century. It later became customary to hold the funeral service at Westminster Abbey and then bury the royals elsewhere.
Princess Diana’s funeral service was held at Westminster Abbey on September 6, 1997. The burial followed privately on the grounds of their family estate Althorp.
On 19 September 2022, Elizabeth II’s state funeral was held at Westminster Abbey before she was buried in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
