By tradition, ceremonial chairs and thrones are used for the different stages of the Coronation Service. In addition to St Edward’s Chair (Coronation Chair), which is used for the moment of
crowning, The King and The Queen were seated in Chairs of Estate and Throne Chairs at different points during the service.
In the interests of sustainability, Their Majesties chose to use Chairs of Estate and Throne Chairs from the Royal Collection made for previous Coronations. These were been conserved, restored
and adapted as required.
The Chairs of Estate were used for the early elements of the Service.
Their Majesties were thereafter enthroned in the Chairs of State (or Throne Chairs).
The King was Crowned in the Coronation Chair (St Edward’s Chair) and The Queen was crowned in Her Majesty’s Chair of Estate.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II used her Chair of Estate during the 1953 service, while the companion Chair of Estate for Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, was not used at the Service itself
but was delivered to Buckingham Palace, where both chairs have been on display in the Throne Room for many years.
The Chairs of Estate are made from carved and gilded beechwood in the seventeenth century style which was used for earlier Chairs of Estate. The cyphers of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip
are featured in the carving of the giltwood stretcher joining the front legs, together with the national emblems of a rose, thistle, and shamrock.
The Chairs of Estate were used during the early parts of the Service and for the Coronation of Her Majesty The Queen.
In preparation for the Coronation, Gilding and Furniture Conservators from the Royal Collection Trust cleaned, restored and consolidated the giltwood frames. New silk damask was woven by the
Humphries Weaving Company, Suffolk to the same pattern with which they were originally upholstered. This was to allow for the cyphers of The King and The Queen to replace those of Queen Elizabeth
II and Prince Philip, which were removed and will be kept in the Royal Collection.
The new cyphers for the Chairs of Estate were hand embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework, and created with cloth of gold, woven with a metal thread. The cloth of gold was then embellished
with gold metallic threads. Upon completion, the cyphers were applied onto the silk damask using the appliquè technique. The upholstery was completed by The Royal Household’s upholsterers,
including the re-use of the original braid and trimmings.
Their Majesties sat in the Throne Chairs for the Enthroning and the Homage. These chairs were made for the Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (later known as The Queen Mother) in
1937.
Made by White, Allom and Company, in a seventeenth century style which in turn was based on X-framed Tudor stools. The Chairs were upholstered in crimson velvet and applied with the Royal Arms of
King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.
In preparation for the Coronation, the Throne Chairs were conserved by the Royal Collection Trust’s Furniture Conservators. The crimson silk velvet was replaced with new velvet and trimmings and
the chairs reupholstered by the firm of AT Cronin Workshop Ltd.
New silk braid and trellis fringe, replicating the original trimmings of the Throne Chairs has been woven by Heritage Trimmings Ltd of Derby. The silk was produced by The Humphries Weaving
Company, Suffolk, and the silk for the fringe has been specially dyed by Gainsborough Silks, Suffolk. The Royal School of Needlework conserved the original embroidered coat of arms on His
Majesty’s chair before transferring it onto the new velvet.
In addition, the new coat of arms of The Queen has been hand embroidered on Her Majesty’s Throne Chair using the silk shading technique, which has been applied to the new velvet.
St Edward’s Chair (Coronation Chair) Made over 700 years ago, from Baltic oak and first used at the Coronation of King Edward II. His Majesty was crowned King on St Edward’s Chair.
One hundred chairs were made in collaboration between The Royal Household, Royal Warrant Holder furniture maker N.E.J Stephenson and The Prince’s Foundation. These chairs were designed by N.E.J
Stephenson and were positioned in Westminster Abbey.
The chairs have been covered in blue velvet and feature the cyphers of Their Majesties.
The frames of several of the Congregation Chairs were made by six young graduates from The Prince’s Foundation at the Snowdown School of Furniture at Highgrove using traditional materials and
techniques to create the chairs with sustainable British oak. This forms part of the wider work carried out by The Prince’s Foundation to preserve traditional skills that are at risk of being
lost.
Following the Coronation, the chairs will be auctioned, and the proceeds will be donated to charity.