The Coronation Chair: History

Since 1308, all anointed sovereigns of England (until 1603) and Great Britain (after the Union of the Crowns) have been seated in this chair at the moment of their coronation, with the exception of Queen Mary II (who was crowned on a copy of the chair).^[1]The most recent occasion was the coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953.

King Edward's Chair, as it stands now in Westminster Abbey, without the Stone of Scone.

The high backed gothic style arm chair was carved in 1297 from oak by a carpenter known as Master Walter, who was paid the considerable sum of 100 shillings for his work, which included gilding and painting the chair. Four gilded lions act as legs to the chair, added in the 16th century and then replaced in 1727. Under the seat of the chair is a platform and cavity which until 1996 contained the Stone of Scone; this has now been returned to Scotland with the provision that it be returned to the chair on the occasions of future coronations.^[2]

The chair was originally richly painted and gilded. It had an image of either Edward the Confessor or Edward I painted on its back, with feet resting on a lion. Today, however, its appearance is of aged and bare wood, except for the lower parts of the front seatback and the side pieces, where some of Master Walter's paintings of foliage, birds and animals have survived. During its history many early tourists, pilgrims, and choir boys in the Abbey appear to have carved their initials and other graffiti onto the chair in the 18th and 19th centuries. The carved finials at the back of the chair have also been partially sawn away. In addition the chair was damaged in 1914 when it was the object of a bomb attack, thought to have been instigated by the suffragettes.

Over the eight centuries of its existence it has only been removed from Westminster Abbey three times. The first time was for the ceremony in Westminster Hall when Oliver Cromwell was inducted as Lord Protector of England, and the second during World War II when it was evacuated to Gloucester Cathedral for the duration of the war. The third was on Christmas Day 1950, when the Stone was stolen.

Today it is highly protected, and leaves its secure resting place (in the ambulatory on a raised modern pedestal near the tomb of Henry V) only when it is carried into the theatre of coronation near the High Altar of the Abbey for the rare occurrence of a coronation.