The Coronation chair which will soon be used by King Charles is steeped in 700 years of history and is now being renovated ahead its starring role in this May's proceedings.
The chair was constructed around 1300 for King Edward I by Master Walter, the King's Master Painter. Henry VIII, Charles I, Queen Victoria and the late Queen Elizabeth were all crowned in the historic chair which bears the scars of centuries of misuse, with some graffiti being added by Westminster schoolboys and visitors to Westminster Abbey during the 18th and 19th century.
Many of those who vandalised the historic chair left their initials or names, and one tourist carved “P. Abbott slept in this chair 5-6 July 1800” on the seat.
Some other visitors appear to have cut off slithers of wood to keep as souvenirs, and during a 1914 bomb attack, thought to be the work of the suffragettes, a small corner was knocked off.
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