King Edward's Chair St Coronation throne British monarch King Queen royal seat Stone of Scone Westminster Abbey shrine
This Illustration is from The Welcome a magazine for the home circle, Volume XIII 1886. King Edward's Chair, sometimes known as St Edward's Chair or The Coronation Chair, is the throne on which the British monarch sits for the coronation. It was commissioned in 1296 by King Edward I to contain the coronation stone of Scotland — known as the Stone of Scone — which he had captured from the Scots who had kept it at Scone Abbey. The chair was named after Edward the Confessor, and was kept in his shrine of St Edward's Chapel at Westminster Abbey. ince 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 I (who was crowned in a chair given to her by the Pope) and Mary II (who was crowned on a copy of the chair). The last occasion was the coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953. 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. Four gilded lions act as legs to the chair; these are a comparatively modern restoration executed in 1727. They replaced similar lions which were added in the 16th century. 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 occasion of the next coronation. The chair may once have been richly painted and gilded — it is thought it once had an image of Edward the Confessor painted on its back. Today, however, its appearance is of aged and bare wood, and 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.
Size: 2530px × 4168px
Photo credit: © SOTK2011 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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