Relatively little has changed about the ceremony across the ages, certainly since the Liber Regalis (or ‘Royal Book’) was written in the 14th century. There are competing theories as to why William I chose Westminster Abbey, though it was presumably to do with the fact that the church had been built by his predecessor, Edward the Confessor (who was also buried there), and the French-born king wished to legitimise his succession by creating a sense of continuity between them.Ĭontinuity is a key concept in any discussion of the coronation. William I, better known as William the Conqueror, was the first in a long line of monarchs to be crowned there. But on Christmas Day 1066, a precedent was set which has lasted almost a millennium: that coronation ceremonies take place at Westminster Abbey in London. Before 1066, there was no established venue for the coronation of an English monarch: kings had been crowned at locations ranging from Bath Abbey to Winchester Cathedral.
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