1. The venue fit for the kings and queens.
T
he Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known
as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of
Westminster, London, located just to the west of the Palace of
Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,
later British and later still (and currently) monarchs of the Commonwealth
realms. The abbey is a Royal Peculiar and briefly held the status of a
cathedral from 1540 to 1550.
Between 1042 and 1052 King Edward the Confessor began rebuilding St Peter's
Abbey in order to provide himself with a royal burial church. It was the first
church in England built in the Norman Romanesque style. It was not completed
until around 1090 but was consecrated on 28 December 1065, only a week
before the Confessor's death on 5 January 1066 The next day he was buried in
the church, and nine years later his wife Edith was buried alongside him. His
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2. successor, Harold II, was probably crowned in the Abbey, although the first
documented coronation is that of William the Conqueror later the same year.[4]
CORONATIONS
Since the
coronations in 1066
of both King
Harold and William
the Conqueror,
coronations of English
and British monarchs
were held in the
Abbey. Henry III was
unable to be crowned
in London when he Coronation of Elizabeth II on June 2, 1893
first came to the
throne because the French prince Louis had taken control of the city, and so
the king was crowned in Gloucester Cathedral. However, this coronation was
deemed by the Pope to be improper, and a further coronation was held in the
Abbey on 17 May 1220.[ The Archbishop of Canterbury is the traditional cleric in
the coronation ceremony.
King Edward's Chair (or St Edward's Chair), the throne on which English
and British sovereigns have been seated at the moment of coronation, is
housed within the Abbey and has been used at every coronation since 1308.
From 1301 to 1996 (except for a short time in 1950 when it was temporarily
stolen by Scottish nationalists), the chair also housed the Stone of Scone upon
which the kings of Scots are crowned. Although the Stone is now kept in
Scotland, in Edinburgh Castle, at future coronations it is intended that the Stone
will be returned to St Edward's Chair for use during the coronation ceremony.
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3. ROYAL WEDDINGS
Since 1100, there have been at least 16 royal weddings at Westminster Abbey.
Only two were weddings of reigning monarchs (Henry I and Richard II), and
there were none at all for more than five centuries between 1382 and 191.
11 November 1100: King Henry I of 29 November 1934: The Prince George,
England was married to Matilda of Duke of Kent, son of King George V was
Scotland married to Princess Marina of Greece and
Denmark
4 January 1243: Richard, Earl of
Cornwall (later King of Germany), brother 20 November 1947: The Princess Elizabeth
of King Henry III of England, to Sanchia of (now Queen Elizabeth II), elder daughter
Provence (his second wife). Sanchia was of King George VI was married to The
sister of Eleanor of Provence, Henry III’s Duke of Edinburgh (who was Lt Philip
queen. Mountbatten until that morning)
8 July 1290: Margaret of England, 6 May 1960: The Princess Margaret,
daughter of King Edward I was married to second daughter of King George VI was
John II, son of Duke of Brabant married to Antony Armstrong-
Jones (later Earl of Snowdon)
20 January 1382: King Richard II of
England was married to Anne of Bohemia 24 April 1963: Princess Alexandra of
Kent was married to the Hon Angus Ogilvy
28 February 1922: The Princess Mary,
daughter of King George V was married 14 November 1973: The Princess Anne,
to Viscount Lascelles only daughter of Elizabeth II was married
to Captain Mark Phillips
26 April 1923: The Prince Albert, Duke of
York (later King George VI), second son of 23 July 1986: The Prince Andrew, Duke of
King George V was married to Lady York, second son of Elizabeth II, was
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (later to married to Miss Sarah Ferguson
become Queen Elizabeth The Queen
Mother) 29 April 2011: Prince William, Duke of
Cambridge, grandson of Elizabeth II, was
married to Miss Catherine Middleton
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4. TODAY
In June 2009 the first major building work at the Abbey for 250 years was proposed.
A corona—a crown-like architectural feature—was intended to be built around
the lantern over the central crossing, replacing an existing pyramidal structure dating from
the 1950s. This was part of a wider £23m development of the Abbey expected to be
completed in 2013. On 4 August 2010 the Dean and Chapter announced that, "After a
considerable amount of preliminary and exploratory work", efforts toward the construction of
a corona would not be continued.
Gallery
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