Coronations and Parliament

With the Coronation of King Charles III in May, this online talk will explore the coronation ceremony and its strong historical links to Parliament. We'll look at three important objects from the Parliamentary collections to understand each item's significance to the ceremony and its link to Parliament's relationship with the monarchy.

Dr Eloise Donnelly (Curator of Historic Furniture and Decorative Arts) looks in detail at the State Bed, which was traditionally slept in by the monarch the night before the coronation. You'll hear how the bed went missing in the early 1900s and was lost for many years. 

David Prior (Head of Public Services and Outreach at the Parliamentary Archives) will discuss Francis Sandford's The History of the Coronation of the Most High, Most Mighty and Most Excellent Monarch James II, published in 1687.  This eyewitness account describes and illustrates what happened at the coronation of James II in 1685, and the festivities that followed. We'll pay particular attention to the coronation banquet in Westminster Hall. 

Katy Barrett (Deputy Chief Curator and Head of Engagement in the Heritage Collections Team) shares an iconic work of art and piece of Parliamentary history, the Speaker's State Coach. It has been used by Speakers of the House of Commons to attend coronations and other royal events over the last two centuries. 

The event will be hosted on Microsoft Teams Live Events which you can access through web browsers like Chrome, Firefox, or Microsoft Edge. Safari is not currently supported. You do not need a Microsoft account to join the event. The event lasts for 60 minutes in total, and you can ask questions via the chat function. These will be put to the speakers at the end. We will send full details of how to join the event online following registration. 

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