Coronation stories

William I - or William the Conqueror - was crowned here on Christmas Day 1066. He was proclaimed king in both English and French, but Norman soldiers outside the Abbey mistook the noise for an assassination attempt, leading to riots and houses being set on fire.

• William the Conqueror

William II followed in the footsteps of his father William the Conqueror and was crowned in the Abbey in 1087. There’s no surviving account of who attended but the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that Archbishop Lanfranc – a close ally of the king’s father - performed the ceremony.

• About William II

Henry I was with his brother William II when he was killed while hunting in the New Forest in August 1100. Keen to secure the succession over his older brother Robert, Henry immediately set out for London and was crowned in the Abbey by the Bishop of London.

• About Henry I

King Stephen was the nephew of Henry I. At his coronation on 26 December 1135 (St Stephen’s Day), he promised to all Englishmen 'all the liberties and good laws' which they had enjoyed under his predecessors.

• About King Stephen

Henry II was crowned in the Abbey alongside his queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, on 19 December 1154. His son, Henry the Younger, had a coronation in June 1170 in an attempt to settle the succession during his father's lifetime, but the young Henry died before his father.

• About Henry II

‘Bad omens’ are said to have blighted the Coronation of Richard I on 3 September 1189 – the first for which a detailed account survives. The omens included a bat fluttering around the king’s head and the Abbey’s bells ringing mysteriously without warning. 

• About Richard I

When King John was crowned in the Abbey on 27 May 1199, he was said to have displayed 'unseemly levity' during the ceremony and left before receiving the Sacrament. His wife, Isabella of Gloucester, wasn't crowned with him and the marriage was later annulled.

• About King John

When Henry III was crowned in the Abbey in May 1220, it was in fact his second coronation. Political uncertainties meant a ceremony to secure his succession was hastily arranged at Gloucester Abbey, with the full ceremonial coronation following here more than three years later.

• About Henry III

It seems that Edward I was in no hurry to hold his coronation. He was on his way home from a Crusade in 1272 when he heard he had become king upon the death of his father, but he and his queen, Eleanor of Castile, weren't crowned in the Abbey until August 1274.

• About Edward I

Edward II’s coronation in February 1308 was marred by crowd surges and a knight, Sir John Bakewell, was crushed to death. A lavish feast was held in Westminster Hall to celebrate the coronation, attended by English and French nobles.

• About Edward II

After his father, Edward III, was deposed and later murdered, Edward III was proclaimed Keeper of the Realm in January 1327. He was crowned in the Abbey the following month at the age of just 14.

• About Edward III

Richard II was just 10 years old when he was crowned in July 1377. The day before the service he processed from the Tower of London to Westminster on horseback through crowded streets decorated with banners and tapestries - the first ever coronation procession.

• About Richard II

Henry IV was crowned in the Abbey in October 1399 and was later to die here too. It had been prophesied that he would die in Jerusalem but he was taken ill while praying in the Abbey in 1413 and died in a room in the Abbot's House called the Jerusalem Chamber.

• About Henry IV

Even though Henry V’s coronation took place in spring – on 9 April 1413 - it was reported that snow fell during the day. This was taken by some to mean there were hard times ahead.

• About Henry V

Henry VI became king on the death of his father, Henry V, in 1422. He was just nine months old and the youngest person ever to succeed to the English throne. A regency council governed until Henry was crowned in the Abbey and vested with the powers of kingship when he was eight.

• About Henry VI

Edward IV had one coronation - in June 1461 - but two reigns as king. The first lasted until 1470 when he was deposed by Henry VI, but he regained the crown a year later in 1471.

• About Edward IV

Among those at Richard III’s Coronation in July 1483 was Lady Margaret Beaufort, who carried the train of the queen’s dress. Margaret was the mother of Henry Tudor, who would later defeat Richard at the Battle of Bosworth to become king.

• About Richard III

Henry VII was crowned here in October 1485 and married Elizabeth of York the next year. They lie buried together in the Abbey’s magnificent Lady Chapel, commissioned by Henry and consecrated in 1516.

• About Henry VII

The Coronation of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon in June 1509 was met with festivities across the country. The service was led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Warham, with the ceremony organised by the king's grandmother, Lady Margaret Beaufort.

• About Henry VIII

Edward VI succeeded his father, Henry VIII, when he was just 9 years old and was crowned in the Abbey in February 1547. As he was a minor a Regency was created and his uncle, Edward Seymour, later Duke of Somerset, became Protector.

• About Edward VI

The Coronation of Mary I in October 1553 was attended by both Anne of Cleves and the future Elizabeth I. Uneasy at the idea of being crowned in the Coronation Chair used by her Protestant brother Edward VI at his coronation, it's thought a new one was sent to her by the Pope.

• About Mary I

Elizabeth I was crowned in the Abbey on 15 January 1559 - a date chosen by her astrologer John Dee. Huge crowds welcomed her procession though the city the day before the service, and afterwards she was greeted with the sound of drums and bells as she was presented to the people.

• About Elizabeth I

The crowning of James VI and I in 1603 united the kingdoms of Scotland and England. It is only since James' coronation that the ancient Coronation Chair has always been used for both anointing and crowning with some earlier monarchs using it for just one part of the ceremony.

• About James I

A number of things didn’t go to plan for King Charles I during his Coronation at Westminster Abbey, but no one could have foreseen a shift in the tectonic plates.

• About Charles I

Following the restoration of the monarchy, Charles II was crowned in April 1661. New regalia had to be made as the previous set had been destroyed during the Commonwealth period. Samuel Pepys, the famous diarist, was at the service and described it as 'a most magnificent sight'.

• About Charles II

The Coronation of James II in April 1685 is another service said to have been blighted by bad omens. At one point, the crown appeared to be about to fall off the king's head and at the moment of crowning the Royal Standard at the Tower of London was torn by the wind.

• About James II

William III and Mary II were crowned as joint monarchs in April 1689 - the first and only time in English history this has happened. William was crowned in the ancient Coronation Chair so a new chair had to be specially made for Mary, and this survives in the Abbey collection.

• About William III
• About Mary II

When Queen Anne was crowned in April 1702, she was unable to walk into the Abbey for the service as she was suffering from gout. Instead, she was carried into the church by Yeomen of the Guard on an open chair.

• About Anne I

George I succeeded his cousin Queen Anne and came from his home in Hanover - where he was Elector - to be crowned in the Abbey in 1714. The ceremony was conducted mostly in Latin as the king could not speak much English and his ministers didn't speak German.

• About George I

George II was crowned with his wife, Caroline of Ansbach, in October 1727. The queen's dress was so encrusted with jewels that a pulley had to be devised to lift the skirt so she could kneel at various points in the ceremony.

• About George II

George III was baptised, confirmed, married and crowned by the same person – Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Secker. This is thought to be the only time this has happened.

• About George III

William IV’s Coronation in September 1831 was known as the ‘Half-Crownation’ because the ceremony was so scaled back. There was no usual coronation banquet as the king decided it was too expensive.

• About William IV

For the coronation of George V and Queen Mary in June 1911, more than 50 grandstands were built for spectators along the route of the processions to the Abbey. The 6,000 people attending the service itself each received a copy of the invitation pictured here.

• About George V

The day of the Coronation of George VI in May 1937 was a long one for some. Abbey staff began work at 4.00am and guests started arriving from 6.00am. Peers were said to have hidden sandwiches in their coronets to sustain them through the morning.

• About George VI