Reading up on Mary’s crown for my last piece, I came across St. Edward’s Coronation Chair.
Commissioned in 1296, the Coronation Chair in St George’s Chapel at Westminster Abbey is one of the most famous and valuable pieces of furniture in the world. It has been the centerpiece of coronations for over 700 years.
King Edward I ordered the chair to be made of bronze, but later decided on timber. The chair is the oldest dated piece of English furniture made by a known artist (Walter of Durham). Carved from oak between 1297 and 1300, it was made to enclose the famous Stone of Scone. Since the 14th century, all crowned English and British monarchs have been seated in the chair at the moment of coronation, (with the exception of Queen Mary II), It was originally gilded, painted and inlaid with glass mosaics, traces still visible. The four gilt lions below were made in 1727 to replace the originals, which were added in the early 16th century. The Stone was originally totally enclosed under the seat. Tradition identifies it with the one upon which Jacob rested his head at Bethel.
“And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it”
Genesis 28, v 18.
Jacob’s sons carried it to Egypt. Next, It passed to Spain. About 700 BC, it was said to be in Ireland, placed upon the sacred Hill of Tara, called Lia-Fail, the “fatal” stone or “stone of destiny.” Legend proclaims that when Irish kings were seated on it at coronations, the Stone groaned aloud if the claimant was of royal race but remained silent if he was a pretender.
The Stone was stolen by Scottish Nationalists on Christmas, 1950! After its recovery 4 months later, it was kept in the same vault where it had been during World War II. The stone was not replaced until February 1952, after elaborate precautions had been taken. It was recovered in time for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953.
In 1996 the stone was returned to Scotland, kept in Edinburgh Castle, provided it be returned to England for use at coronations. It is due to be moved in 2024 to a new exhibition site in Perth, Scotland.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjDFPqfpVM0
https://www.westminster-abbey.org/about-the-abbey/history/the-coronation-chair
