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The Coronation Chair

A plain oak throne, more than seven centuries old, that has carried the weight of the British monarchy since 1308. Every English and British sovereign since Edward II has been crowned sitting on this chair — including King Charles III in May 2023.

A chair built for a stone

Edward I commissioned the chair in 1300 to house the Stone of Scone — the ancient sandstone block used to crown Scottish kings — which he had seized from Scotland four years earlier. The stone was returned to Scotland in 1996 but travels back to the Abbey for each coronation.

Signatures in the oak

Look closely and you’ll see graffiti scratched into the seat and legs, mostly by Westminster schoolboys and choristers in the 18th and 19th centuries. “P. Abbott slept in this chair 5–6 July 1800” is the most famous.

Where to find it

The chair sits in its own display case in St George’s Chapel, just inside the Great West Door. You’ll pass it as you enter — a good moment to pause before the crowds gather around it.

Tips for your visit

• The chair is behind protective glass, but you can walk right up to it.
• Photography is allowed here (though not everywhere in the Abbey).
• Ask a verger to point out the surviving gilded lion feet and the empty space where the Stone of Scone would sit.