by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

• Oprah Book Clubs: Cathedral Floor Plan and Cathedral Building Terms
• Official Website: St. Paul’s Cathedral

Old St. Paul’s Cathedral stood on the site of the present St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, England until it was severely damaged in the Great Fire of London in 1666. There have been churches and religious communities on the site since Roman times. The first cathedral built on the site dedicated to St. Paul dates from 604. Historians think Old St. Paul’s Cathedral was the fourth church on the site. A major fire occurred in London in 1087, at the beginning of the reign of William II Rufus, King of England. The previous church was the most significant building to be destroyed in the 1087 fire. The fire also damaged the Palatine Tower, built by William I (the Conqueror), King of England on the banks of the River Fleet in London, so badly that the remains had to be pulled down. Part of the stone from the Palatine Tower was then used in the construction of Old St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Work on Old St. Paul’s Cathedral began in 1087 and construction was delayed by another fire in 1135. The cathedral was completed in 1240 and enlarged in 1256 – 1314, although it had been consecrated in 1300. In 1314, Old St. Paul’s Cathedral was the third-longest church in Europe at 586 feet/178 meters. The spire was completed in 1315 and, at 489 feet/149 meters, it was the tallest in Europe at that time. The walls of the cathedral were made of stone. However, the roof was mostly wood because stone would have been too heavy to support. The decision to use wood for the roof would lead to dire consequences in the Great Fire of London in 1666.

By the 16th century, Old St. Paul’s Cathedral was deteriorating. In 1549, radical Protestant preachers incited a mob to destroy much of the cathedral’s interior. The spire caught fire in 1561 and crashed through the nave roof. The roof was repaired but the spire was never rebuilt. In 1621, King James I of England appointed architect Inigo Jones to restore the cathedral but the work stopped during the English Civil War and the Commonwealth of England. In 1660, after the restoration of the monarchy, King Charles II of England gave architect Sir Christopher Wren the job of continuing the restoration of the cathedral. That restoration was in progress when Old St. Paul’s Cathedral was severely damaged in the 1666 Great Fire of London. What remained of Old St. Paul’s Cathedral was demolished, and the present cathedral, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, was built on the site.

Royal Events at Old St. Paul’s Cathedral

Richard II, King of England was deposed by his first cousin Henry of Bolingbroke who then reigned as Henry IV, King of England. Held in captivity at Pontefract Castle in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England, Richard is thought to have starved to death and died on or around February 14, 1400.  Although Henry IV has often been suspected of having Richard murdered, there is no substantial evidence to prove that claim. It can be positively said that Richard did not suffer a violent death. After his death, Richard’s body was put on public display for three days at the Old St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, both to prove to his supporters that he was truly dead and also to prove that he had not suffered a violent death. Whether Richard did indeed starve himself or whether that starvation was forced upon him is still up for speculation.

English monarchs were often in attendance at the Old St. Paul’s Cathedral, and the court occasionally held sessions there. Arthur, Prince of Wales, son of King Henry VII of England, married Catharine of Aragon at Old St. Paul’s on November 14, 1501. Several kings, including Henry VI, and Henry VII, lay in state in Old St. Paul’s before their funerals at Westminster Abbey.

Royal Burials at Old St. Paul’s Cathedral

• Wikipedia: Notable Burials in Old St. Paul’s Cathedral

Only the monument to poet John Donne survived the 1666 Great Fire of London. No other memorials or tombs of the many famous people buried at Old St. Paul’s Cathedral survived the fire. In 1913, an inscribed stone, set up on a wall in the crypt of the new St. Paul’s Cathedral, lists those known to have tombs or memorials lost in the Great Fire of London, including several royals listed below

• Saint Sæbbi, King of Essex, died 695
• Æthelred II, King of the English, died 1016
• Edward the Exile, son of Edmund II (Ironside), King of English, died 1057
• Blanche of Lancaster, Duchess of Lancaster, wife of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, died 1368
• John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, son of Edward III, King of England, died 1399

Works Cited

• Britain Express. 2021. St. Paul’s Cathedral, London – early history. [online] Available at: <https://www.britainexpress.com/London/st-pauls.htm> [Accessed 4 April 2021].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Old St Paul’s Cathedral – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_St_Paul%27s_Cathedral> [Accessed 4 April 2021].
• Es.wikipedia.org. 2021. Antigua catedral de San Pablo – Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre. [online] Available at: <https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antigua_catedral_de_San_Pablo> [Accessed 4 April 2021].
• The Inside Page Ltd, 2004. St Paul’s Cathedral – Official Guide. London: Jerrold Publishing.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert made several visits to Scotland beginning in 1842 and quickly fell in love with the Highlands. Prince Albert arranged to acquire the lease on Balmoral Castle despite never having seen the castle or property before, and eventually purchased the property. Victoria and Albert first stayed at Balmoral in September 1848. The surrounding hilly landscape reminded them of Albert’s German homeland. Almost immediately, they realized the existing castle was too small for their large and growing family and household, and plans were made to expand the building. However, instead of making any additions, Victoria and Albert decided to build a new castle next to the existing one. In September 1853, Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone for the new castle, which was completed in 1856. At that point, the original building was torn down. Queen Victoria and her family began the tradition of spending time at Balmoral each year. Balmoral Castle remains the private property of the monarch and is used by the British royal family for their summer holidays.

In 1848, Queen Victoria and her family began worshipping at nearby Crathie Kirk located only one-half mile (800 meters) east of Balmoral Castle. Crathie Kirk is a small Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) parish church in Crathie, a small village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This began the custom, which continues to this day, of members of the royal family and their guests worshipping with local people at Crathie Kirk.

Crathie has been a place of Christian worship since the 9th-century when a church was founded on the banks of the River Dee by St. Manire, Bishop of Aberdeenshire and Banff, and a follower of Saint Columba, an Irish abbot credited with spreading Christianity in Scotland. A single standing stone at Rinabaich is all that remains of Manire’s church.

A church dedicated to St. Manire was built in the 14th-century and was used until the 18th-century when it became too small for the growing population of the parish. A simple church typical of Scottish Presbyterian churches of the time was built on the site of the present church in 1805. This was the church that Queen Victoria and her family first attended.

In 1893, construction began on the present church designed by Alexander Marshall MacKenzie, a Scottish architect, and Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone. Funds for the new church were raised by subscription and gifts from parishioners and members of the public. A gift of £2,000 was made by Queen VIctoria’s daughters Princess Louise and Princess Beatrice who raised the money at a bazaar held on the grounds of Balmoral Castle. The present church was completed and dedicated in 1895. The granite church overlooks the River Dee and the ruins of the 14th-century church.

• YouTube: Crathie Kirk, Balmoral, Scotland – Aerial HD view

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Queen Elizabeth II attends a service of commemoration at Crathie Kirk on August 4, 2014, marking the 100th anniversary of the United Kingdom declaring war on Germany

The south transept is reserved for the royal family and their guests and has a small porched entrance doorway exclusively for the royal family. In the south transept, there is a private wood-paneled reception area with a carved wooden royal coat of arms on the top. The front pew has finely-carved panels and the center of the front pew bears the royal and imperial monogram of Queen Victoria. There are memorials to members of the royal family on the walls in the south transept.

Gifts from members of the royal family:

• Queen Victoria donated two stained glass windows, one in memory of six members of her family, including her husband Prince Albert, and the other in memory of the author and social reformer Reverend Norman MacLeod, and endowed the church’s Henry Willis & Sons organ.
• Princess Beatrice, Queen Victoria’s youngest daughter, donated the four bells which continue to hang in the belltower.
• King Edward VII, Queen Victoria’s eldest son and heir, donated two marble medallions in memory of his brother Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and his sister Victoria, Princess Royal, German Empress and Queen of Prussia
• King George V donated a communion table, made from white marble quarried on the island of Iona, the site of St. Columba’s monastery, dedicated to the memory of his father King Edward VII.
• Queen Elizabeth II donated a Bible decorated with the royal coat of arms.

Many of the local people who served Queen Victoria are buried in the Crathie Kirk churchyard and some have headstones with personal epitaphs from Queen Victoria. The most famous of the burials is that of John Brown who served Queen Victoria as a ghillie at Balmoral (Scottish outdoor servant) from 1849 – 1861 and a personal attendant from 1861 – 1883. On March 27, 1883, at Windsor Castle, 56-year-old John Brown fell into a coma and died. The cause of death was erysipelas, a streptococcal infection. Queen Victoria wrote in her diary that she was “terribly moved by the loss that robs me of a person who has served me with so much devotion and loyalty and has done so much for my personal well-being. With him, I lose not only one Servant, but a real friend. ” John Brown was buried in the churchyard at Crathie Kirk next to his parents and some of his siblings. The inscription on his gravestone shows the affection between him and Queen Victoria:

This stone is erected in affectionate and grateful remembrance of John Brown the devoted and faithful personal attendant and beloved friend of Queen Victoria in whose service he had been for 34 years. Born at Crathienaird 8th Decr. 1826 died at Windsor Castle 27th March 1883. That Friend on whose fidelity you count/that Friend given to you by circumstances/over which you have no control/was God’s own gift. Well done good and faithful servant/Thou hast been faithful over a few things,/I will make thee ruler over many things/Enter through into the joy of the Lord.

• YouTube: Visiting John Brown’s Grave – Crathie

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On December 12, 1992, the first and the only royal wedding was held at Crathie Kirk when Anne, Princess Royal, the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II, married Timothy Laurence. Anne and her first husband Mark Phillips separated in 1989 and their divorce was finalized on April 23, 1992. Anne and Timothy chose to marry in Scotland as the Church of England did not at that time allow divorced persons whose former spouses were still living to remarry in its churches. The Church of Scotland does not consider marriage to be a sacrament and has no objection to the remarriage of divorced persons.

• Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Princess Anne, Princess Royal and Timothy Laurence

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Explore Churches. 2021. Ballater Crathie Kirk. [online] Available at: <https://www.explorechurches.org/church/crathie-kirk-crathie> [Accessed 16 March 2021].
• Braemarandcrathieparish.org.uk. 2021. Braemar and Crathie Parish Church | Crathie Kirk. [online] Available at: <https://braemarandcrathieparish.org.uk/crathie-kirk/> [Accessed 16 March 2021].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Crathie Kirk. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crathie_Kirk> [Accessed 16 March 2021].
• Mehl, Scott, 2015. Balmoral Castle. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/balmoral-castle/> [Accessed 16 March 2021].
• Scottishchurches.org.uk. 2021. Crathie Parish Church – Crathie and Braemar, Grampian – Places of Worship in Scotland | SCHR. [online] Available at: <http://www.scottishchurches.org.uk/sites/site/id/3836/name/Crathie+Parish+Church+Crathie+and+Braemar+Grampian INSIDE CHURCH> [Accessed 16 March 2021].

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Chapel Royal at St. James’s Palace is a royal peculiar which means it is under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch. It is also a chapel royal, an establishment in the royal household serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign. It is located in the main block of St. James’s Palace in London, England, less than a half-mile from Buckingham Palace. St. James’s Palace was built in the 1530s during the reign of King Henry VIII on the site of a leper hospital dedicated to St. James the Less, hence the name St. James’s Palace. St. James’s Palace was displaced in the late-18th and early-19th centuries as a residence by Buckingham Palace.

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St. James’s Palace is still a working palace, and the Royal Court is still formally based there, despite the monarch residing elsewhere. Ambassadors from foreign countries to the United Kingdom are still accredited to the Court of St. James’s. St. James’s Palace is the home of several members of the British royal family and their household offices, and it hosts many receptions each year for charities associated with members of the royal family. The State Apartments are sometimes used for entertaining during state visits, as well as for other ceremonial and formal occasions. For instance, the Accession Council meets in St. James’s Palace following the death of a monarch, and the accession of a new monarch is proclaimed by Garter King of Arms from the Proclamation Gallery overlooking Friary Court of St. James’s Palace.

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The Chapel Royal at St. James’s Palace, with its oak paneling, marble floors, and green lamps on the pews, is small and seats only 150 people. Old tapestries hang from the cream-colored walls and the ceiling is decorated with golden swirls of royal initials and coats of arms. A beautiful stained glass window over the altar floods the chapel with natural light.

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The chapel ceiling was copied from the mosaics in the ambulatory vault at Santa Costanza, a 4th-century church in Rome, Italy. The honeycomb-like ceiling panels were painted by Hans Holbein the Younger with royal cyphers and coats of arms in honor of King Henry VIII’s (short-lived) marriage to his fourth wife Anne of Cleves.

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The current stained glass window over the altar, designed by artist John Napper, was installed to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee in 2002. A tree in the center panel is occupied by birds, red and white flowers that resemble Tudor roses, and plaques with names of countries affiliated with Queen Elizabeth II. ‘ER’ (Elizabeth Regina, Elizabeth the Queen in Latin) is written on the trunk of the tree. The two side panels show the Gospel writers Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Click on the photo below to see an enlargement.

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The stained glass window commemorating Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee

In 1836, alterations to the chapel were carried out by architect Sir Robert Smirke. Smirke enlarged the chapel, installed oak paneling, and added a new ceiling at the south end, decorated with the names and royal cyphers of King William IV, the king at that time, and his wife Queen Adelaide to match the earlier ceiling painted by Holbein. During World War II, the chapel was damaged by a bomb but was fully restored.

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Interior view of the Chapel Royal in St James’s Palace, 1816

The Chapel Royal at St. James’s Palace has been used since the time of King Henry VIII and is still used by the British royal family. Both Prince George of Wales and Prince Louis of Wales, sons of Prince William, The Prince of Wales, were christened there. When St. James’s Palace was a royal residence, the royal family and their courtiers worshipped at the Chapel Royal. Queen Mary I’s heart is buried beneath the choir stalls. In 1588, Queen Elizabeth I said prayers in the Chapel Royal as she waited to receive messages of the progress of the Spanish Armada. In 1649, after being convicted of treason and other high crimes and sentenced to death during the English Civil War, King Charles I was held at St. James’s Palace. On the day of his execution, King Charles I received Holy Communion in the Chapel Royal and then walked the short distance from St. James’s Palace to the Palace of Whitehall where a scaffold for his beheading had been built outside the Banqueting House.

Christenings at the Chapel Royal, St. James’s Palace

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Christening of Princess Beatrice of York

• King Charles II (1630 – 1685, son of King Charles I) christened June 27, 1630
• Mary, Princess Royal (1631 – 1660, daughter of King Charles I: christened November 4, 1631
• King James II (1633 – 1701, son of King Charles I) christened November 24, 1633
• Princess Elizabeth (1635 – 1650, daughter of King Charles I) christened January 2, 1636
• Princess Anne (1637 – 1640, daughter of King Charles I) christened March 30, 1637
• Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (1640 – 1660, son of King Charles I) christened July 22, 1640
• Queen Mary II (1662- 1694, daughter of King James II) christened May 9, 1662
• Princes James, Duke of Cambridge (1663 – 1667, son of King James II) christened July 22, 1663
• Queen Anne (1665 – 1714, daughter of King James II) christened 1665
• Prince Charles, Duke of Kendal (1666 – 1667, son of King James II) christened 1666
• Prince Edgar, Duke of Cambridge (1667 – 1671, son of King James II) christened September 16, 1667
• James Francis Edward Stuart, Prince of Wales (1688 – 1766, son of King James II, known as The Old Pretender) baptized according to the rites of the Catholic Church October 15, 1688
• Prince George William (1717 – 1718, son of King George II) christened December 6, 1717
• Princess Augusta of Wales (1737 – 1813, daughter of Frederick, Prince of Wales) christened September 19, 1737
• King George IV (1762 – 1830, son of King George III) christened September 8, 1762
• King William IV (1765 – 1837, son of King George III) christened September 18, 1765
• Charlotte, Princess Royal (1766 – 1828, daughter of King George III) christened October 27, 1766
• Princess Elizabeth of Clarence (1820 – 1821, daughter of King William IV) christened December 10, 1820
• Lord Frederick Windsor (son of Prince Michael of Kent) christened July 7, 1979
• Lady Gabriella Windsor (daughter of Prince Michael of Kent) christened June 8, 1981
• Princess Beatrice of York (daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York) christened December 20, 1988
• Prince George of Wales (son of Prince William, The Prince of Wales) christened October 23, 2013
• Miss Maud Windsor (daughter of Lord Frederick Windsor) christened December 16, 2013
• Prince Louis of Wales (son of Prince William, The Prince of Wales) christened July 9, 2018

Weddings at the Chapel Royal, St. James’s Palace

• Queen Anne (daughter of King James II) married Prince George of Denmark on July 28, 1683
• Anne, Princess Royal (daughter of King George II) married Willem IV, Prince of Orange on March 25, 1734
• Frederick, Prince of Wales (son of King George II, predeceased his father) married Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg on April 27, 1736
• King George III (son of Frederick, Prince of Wales, grandson of King George II) married Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz on September 8, 1761
• King George IV (son of King George III) married Princess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel on April 8, 1795
• Charlotte, Princess Royal (daughter of King George III) married the future King Friedrich I of Württemberg on May 18, 1797
• Princess Mary (daughter of King George III) married Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester on July 22, 1816
• Queen Victoria (daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and granddaughter of King George III) married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha on February 10, 1840 – Wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
• Victoria, Princess Royal (daughter of Queen Victoria) married the future Friedrich III, German Emperor, King of Prussia on January 25, 1858 – Wedding of Victoria, Princess Royal and Friedrich III, German Emperor, King of Prussia
• King George V (son of King Edward VII) married Princess Victoria Mary of Teck on July 6, 1893 – Wedding of King George V and Princess Victoria Mary of Teck

Other Royal Events at the Chapel Royal, St. James’s Palace

• The coffin of Diana, Princess of Wales rested in the Chapel Royal, St. James’s Palace from August 31 – September 5, 1997. On September 5, 1997, the coffin was moved to Kensington Palace where it would remain until the funeral at Westminster Abbey on September 6, 1997.
• Meghan Markle, the future wife of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, was baptized and confirmed into the Church of England at the Chapel Royal, St. James’s Palace on March 6, 2018.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Bull, M., 2020. St James’s Palace: Photos inside Princess Anne’s official London residence. [online] Express.co.uk. Available at: <https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/property/1400245/princess-anne-royal-family-inside-st-James-palace-chapel-pictures-Beatrice> [Accessed 15 March 2021].
• Colinburns.com. 2021. The British Monarchy. [online] Available at: <http://www.colinburns.com/di/www.royal.gov.uk/palaces/chapel.htm> [Accessed 15 March 2021].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Chapel Royal. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapel_Royal#St_James’ss_Palace> [Accessed 15 March 2021].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2021. St James’s Palace. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_James%27s_Palace> [Accessed 15 March 2021].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2019. British Royal Christenings: House of Hanover. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/house-of-hanover-christenings/> [Accessed 15 March 2021].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2019. British Royal Christenings – House of Stuart. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/british-royal-christenings-house-of-stuart/ 2019> [Accessed 15 March 2021].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2012. Weddings of British Monarchs’ Children: Tudors – Windsors. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/royal-weddings/british-royal-weddings/weddings-of-british-monarchs-children/> [Accessed 15 March 2021].
• The Royal Family. 2021. The Chapel Royal. [online] Available at: <https://www.royal.uk/chapelroyal> [Accessed 15 March 2021].

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace, which this writer has visited, is a royal peculiar which means it is under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch. It is also a chapel royal, an establishment in the royal household serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign. It is located in Hampton Court Palace on the River Thames in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, upstream of central London. Hampton Court Palace was built from 1515 to 1517 by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, Archbishop of York and Lord High Chancellor of England. When Cardinal Wolsey fell out of favor in 1529, he unsuccessfully attempted to reinstate himself in King Henry VIII’s good graces by giving Hampton Court Palace and its contents to the king. Cardinal Wolsey died in 1531 while traveling from northern England to London to face charges of high treason.

Hampton Court Palace became one of King Henry VIII’s most favored residences and he enlarged it so it could accommodate his many courtiers. During the joint reign of King William III and Queen Mary II, Hampton Court Palace saw massive rebuilding and expansion work, intending it to rival the French Palace of Versailles. King George II was the last monarch to reside in the palace. After the death of King George II in 1760, Hampton Court Palace was used to house grace and favor residents but there have been no new grace and favor residents since the 1960s and the last one died in 2017. Queen Victoria opened Hampton Court Palace to the public in 1838 and it has continued to be a major tourist site. Hampton Court Palace is the headquarters of Historic Royal Palaces, a self-funding charitable foundation, that is responsible for the care and the running, on behalf of The Crown, of Hampton Court Palace, along with the Tower of London, Kensington Palace (State Apartments and Orangery), the Banqueting House at Whitehall, Kew Palace with Queen Charlotte’s Cottage, and Hillsborough Castle.

Construction of the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace began with Cardinal Wolsey and continued with King Henry VIII. The chapel was the place of worship for the Tudor, Stuart, the first two Hanover monarchs, and their many courtiers while in residence at Hampton Court Palace. The royal family sat in the royal pew, also called the Holy Day Closet, opposite the altar and a floor above the other people in the congregation.

Above the altar was a huge stained glass window designed for Cardinal Wolsey by German woodcut designer and painter Erhard Schön. Originally depicted on the huge stained glass window were St. Heinrich II, Holy Roman Emperor (Henry VIII’s patron saint), St. Catherine of Alexandria (patron saint of Catherine of Aragon, first wife of Henry VIII), St. Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury (Cardinal Thomas Wolsey’s patron saint) and the figures of Henry VIII, Catherine of Aragon and Cardinal Wolsey, at prayer beside their patron saints. It is thought that Henry VIII made some changes to the stained glass window after the fall of Cardinal Wolsey and Henry VIII’s marriage to Anne Boleyn. It is probable that St. Anne (mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary) replaced St. Catherine of Alexandria and that Anne Boleyn replaced Catherine of Aragon. In addition, St. Thomas Becket and Cardinal Thomas Wolsey were probably removed from the stained glass window.

The beautiful blue and gold timber and plaster ceiling was begun by Henry VIII in 1535. Tudor dynastic images are represented in the ceiling. Along the top of the walls are Henry VIII’s arms, the rose combining the red and white of the Houses of York and Lancaster, and the heraldic badge of the portcullis, inherited from Henry VIII’s paternal grandmother Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby. The pendants down the center of the ceiling again reflect the red and white roses, and the main pendants are in the green and white livery colors of the House of Tudor. The motto of the Order of the Garter, “Honi soit qui mal y pense” (Shame on him who thinks evil of it) is on the crossbeams.

During the Commonwealth of England (1649 – 1660), after the English Civil War and the trial and execution of King Charles I, there was much destruction in the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace. The stained glass window was destroyed and bricked up. Decorations with religious or royal symbols were destroyed. Henry VIII’s beautiful blue and gold ceiling still remains only because it was too high for the soldiers to strip off the carvings.

The oak reredos, an ornamental screen covering the wall at the back of an altar, was originally carved for the Palace of Whitehall in London by master carver Grinling Gibbons. In 1696, a decision was made to bring it to Hampton Court. Gibbons was in charge of dismantling it, supervising its transportation on the River Thames, and re-erecting it in the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace. This turned out to be a rather lucky decision because, in 1698, the Palace of Whitehall was almost completely destroyed by a fire.

In 1710, Queen Anne commissioned architect Sir Christopher Wren to remodel the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace. The present royal pew, pews, oak paneling, marble floor, and wall paintings all date from Wren’s remodeling. The pews, the paneling, and the pillars supporting the royal pew are made of Norwegian oak, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, and carved by Grinling Gibbons. The reredos above the altar replacing the destroyed Tudor stained glass windows was designed by Wren and carved by Gibbons. Wren also added an organ and a staircase leading down from the royal pew.

Henry VIII worshipped in the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace with all six of his wives. On October 13, 1537, Henry VIII’s longed-for son, the future but short-lived King Edward VI, was born to Henry VIII’s third wife Jane Seymour at Hampton Court Palace. The infant prince was christened two days later in the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace by Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury who was his godparent along with his eldest half-sister Princess Mary, the future Queen Mary I. Jane Seymour died from childbirth complications on October 24, 1537. She lay in state in the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace for three weeks and her viscera were buried beneath the altar there. Her body was buried at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle and Henry VIII was buried with her when he died in 1547.

On All Saints’ Day, November 1, 1541, when Henry VIII went to pray in the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace, he found a letter on his pew from Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury describing the accusations of adulterous behavior made about his fifth wife Catherine Howard. Leading to the entrance of the royal pew at the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace is a passage called the Haunted Gallery because legend has it that the ghost of Catherine Howard has been seen and heard there. After Catherine Howard had been accused of adultery by her husband, she was kept prisoner in her apartments at Hampton Court Palace. However, one day, Catherine evaded her guards and ran towards the chapel, where Henry VIII was at prayer in the royal pew, to make a last plea for mercy. Her way was barred by more guards, who dragged her, shrieking, back through the gallery. Three months later, Catherine Howard was beheaded at the Tower of London. In 1543, Henry VIII married his sixth and final wife Catherine Parr in the Holy Day Closet, also called the royal pew.

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Father Anthony Howe, Chaplain of the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court, shows Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, around the Chapel Royal prior to the vesper service

Following Henry VIII’s break with the Roman Catholic Church, Catholic services in the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace were briefly restored during the reign of his Catholic daughter Queen Mary I (reigned 1553 – 1558). On February 9, 2016, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, celebrated Vespers at the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace, the first Catholic service in the chapel for more than 450 years. In a symbolic gesture of reconciliation, Richard Chartres, the Church of England Bishop of London and Dean of the Chapel Royal, also participated in the service. About 300 people attended the service, which was largely conducted in Latin and featured beautiful choral music from the 15th and 16th centuries and concluded with the national anthem.

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Queen Elizabeth II meeting the choirboys of the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace during the 400th anniversary of the Hampton Court Conference

Since Hampton Court Palace ceased to be a royal residence during the reign of King George II, the Chapel Royal there rarely has had royal visits. In May 2004, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh celebrated the 400th anniversary of the Hampton Court Conference, meetings with King James I and representatives of the Church of England and leading English Puritans, at a service in the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace. The 2004 service was probably the first time the British monarch attended a service in the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace since George II withdrew the court from Hampton Court Palace after the death of his wife Queen Caroline in 1737.

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Lord Frederick Windsor and Sophie Winkleman after their wedding in the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace

The first royal wedding for centuries was held at the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace on September 12, 2009, when Lord Frederick Windsor, son of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent and a great-grandson of King George V, married actress Sophie Winkleman. Royal guests included Princess Eugenie, Princess Alexandra, and the Duke and Duchess of Kent.

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Queen Elizabeth II during the recording of her Christmas Day Speech in the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace

In December 2010, to mark the upcoming 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, Queen Elizabeth II gave her annual Christmas message from the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace.

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Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh leave the service in celebration of the centenary of the Order of the Companions of Honour at the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace

On June 13, 2017, the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court became the Chapel of the Order of the Companions of Honour. That new honor for the chapel and the centenary of the founding of the Order of the Companions of Honour were celebrated with a Choral Evensong attended by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and many members of the Order of the Companions of Honour.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• British Heritage. 2021. The Tudors at the Palace of Hampton Court. [online] Available at: <https://britishheritage.com/travel/tudors-hampton-court> [Accessed 10 March 2021].
• Chapelroyalhamptoncourt.org.uk. 2021. The Chapel Royal – Hampton Court Palace. [online] Available at: <https://www.chapelroyalhamptoncourt.org.uk/> [Accessed 10 March 2021].
• Guardian. 2016. Hampton Court’s Chapel Royal Stages First Catholic Service for 450 Years. [online] Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/09/hampton-courts-chapel-royal-stages-first-catholic-service-for-450-years some history> [Accessed 10 March 2021].
• Historic Royal Palaces. 2021. Chapel Royal – Hampton Court Palace. [online] Available at: <https://www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace/whats-on/the-chapel-royal/#gs.uyupzb> [Accessed 10 March 2021].
• Worsley, Lucy and Souden, David. 2015. The Story of Hampton Court Palace. London: Merrell Publishers Limited

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula, which this writer has visited, is in the Inner Ward of the Tower of London in London, England. St. Peter ad Vincula is Latin for St. Peter in chains and refers to St. Peter being chained and imprisoned in Jerusalem by King Herod Agrippa. St. Peter ad Vincula is a royal peculiar which means it is under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch. It is also a chapel royal, an establishment in the royal household serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign.

The Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula was in existence before the 12th-century and has been demolished and rebuilt a few times. The original chapel was built outside the walls of the Tower of London so that the king could be seen worshiping in public. The king also had a private chapel, the Chapel of St. John the Evangelist within the White Tower in the Tower of London. Eventually, the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula was rebuilt within the walls of the Tower of London and became the place of worship for the inhabitants of the Tower. In 1286, King Edward I, demolished the entire chapel and rebuilt it. Edward I’s chapel was severely damaged by a fire in 1512. The current chapel, built from 1519 – 1520, during the reign of King Henry VIII, replaced the fire-damaged chapel, and it remains a place of worship for the approximately 150 residents who live at the Tower of London.

During the 19th-century, there were extensive renovations of the interior of the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula. In particular, the floor was badly damaged and had started to collapse because of the number of burials during the 16th-century. Many of the remains that were found were moved to the newly-built crypt. The remains of Anne Boleyn, Lady Jane Grey, and others were identified and markers on the new floor were installed indicating their burial places. In 2014, there were further renovations. New furniture and lighting were installed, the crypt was improved, and office space and facilities were provided for the choir of the Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula.

Although there are other burials at the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula, it is most associated with the burials of executed people, and visitors cannot help but be reminded of those burials walking over the 19th-century burial markers on the floor and seeing the brass plate listing those “buried in this chapel between” 1534 and 1747 on a chapel wall. Historian Thomas Babington Macaulay wrote of the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula in his 1848 History of England:

“In truth there is no sadder spot on the earth than that little cemetery. Death is there associated, not, as in Westminster Abbey and Saint Paul’s, with genius and virtue, with public veneration and with imperishable renown; not, as in our humblest churches and churchyards, with everything that is most endearing in social and domestic charities; but with whatever is darkest in human nature and in human destiny, with the savage triumph of implacable enemies, with the inconstancy, the ingratitude, the cowardice of friends, with all the miseries of fallen greatness and of blighted fame.”

The Tower of London had two sites for executions. Tower Hill is outside the walls of the Tower of London, on high ground just north of the Tower of London moat, where public executions of high-profile traitors and criminals were often carried out. Today there is a memorial at the site of the scaffold which can be seen in the photo below.

Tower Green is an open space located near the Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula where Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard, Lady Jane Grey, and several other British nobles were executed as a privilege, to maintain their privacy. In 2006, a new permanent memorial was unveiled on Tower Green to remember all those executed at the Tower of London. Designed by British artist Brian Catling. The memorial has a glass-sculpted pillow at its center. The larger circle of dark stone is engraved with a poem written by the artist and the glass circle is engraved with the names of those executed in front of the Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula on Tower Green.

Those executed either at Tower Hill or Tower Green and buried at the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula:

• Sir Thomas Arundell of Wardour Castle (circa 1502  -February 26, 1552), beheaded on Tower Hill for conspiring to overthrow the government and murder John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, Lord Protector
• Christopher Blount (1556 – March 18, 1601), beheaded on Tower Hill for high treason for participating in the rebellion of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I
• Anne Boleyn (circa 1501- May 19, 1536), second wife of King Henry VIII, beheaded on Tower Green within the Tower of London on charges of adultery, incest, and high treason, some historians think her fall and execution were engineered by Thomas Cromwell
• George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford (1504 – May 17, 1536), brother of Anne Boleyn, beheaded on Tower Hill on charges of incest with his sister and high treason with four other men who were charged with adultery with Anne Boleyn and treason
• Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford (circa 1505 – February 13, 1542), wife of George Boleyn, lady-in-waiting to Queen Catherine Howard, fifth wife of King Henry VIII, beheaded for treason on Tower Green within the Tower of London on charges of treason for arranging meetings between Queen Catherine Howard and her lover Thomas Culpeper
• William Boyd, 4th Earl of Kilmarnock (1705 – August 18, 1746), Scottish peer who joined the 1745 Jacobite Rising, was captured at the Battle of Culloden, beheaded at Tower Hill for treason
• Thomas Cromwell (circa 1485 – July 28, 1540), chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534-1540, beheaded on Tower Hill on charges of treason and heresy
• Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (1565 – February 25, 1601), a favorite of Queen Elizabeth I, beheaded on Tower Green on charges of high treason for an unsuccessful rebellion to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I
• Lord Guildford Dudley (circa 1535 – February 12, 1554), son of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland and husband of Lady Jane Grey, beheaded at Tower Hill on charges of high treason for his probably unwilling participation in his father’s scheme to put his wife Lady Jane Grey on the English throne
• John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland (1504 – August 22, 1553), father of Lord Guildford Dudley and father-in-law of Lady Jane Grey, beheaded on Tower Hill on charges of high treason for his scheme to put his daughter-in-law Lady Jane Grey on the English throne
• Arthur Elphinstone, 6th Lord Balmerino (1688 – 18 August 1746), Scottish peer who joined the 1745 Jacobite Rising, was captured at the Battle of Culloden, beheaded at Tower Hill for treason
• Cardinal John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester (1469 – June 22, 1535), beheaded at Tower Hill by order of Henry VIII during the English Reformation for refusing to accept him as the supreme head of the Church of England, honored as a martyr and saint by the Catholic Church
• Scottish Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat (circa 1667 – April 9, 1747), Scottish peer who joined the 1745 Jacobite Rising, was captured at the Battle of Culloden, beheaded at Tower Hill for treason
• Sir John Gates (1504 – August 22, 1553), beheaded on Tower Hill on charges of high treason for his participation in the scheme to put Lady Jane Grey on the English throne
• Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, 3rd Marquess of Dorset (1517 – February 23, 1554), father of Lady Jane Grey, beheaded at Tower Hill for his participation in the scheme to put his daughter Lady Jane Grey on the English throne
• Lady Jane Grey (circa 1537 – February 12, 1554), the “Nine Days’ Queen”, great-granddaughter of King Henry VII, wife of Lord Guildford Dudley, and daughter-in-law of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, beheaded at Tower Green for her probably unwilling participation in her father-in-law’s scheme to put her on the English throne
• Catherine Howard (circa 1523 – February 13, 1542), fifth wife of King Henry VIII, beheaded for treason at Tower Green on charges of high treason for committing adultery with her distant cousin Thomas Culpeper
• Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk (1536 – June 2, 1572), beheaded at Tower Hill for treason for his participation in the Ridolfi plot with King Philip II of Spain to put Mary, Queen of Scots on the English throne and restore Catholicism in England
• William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford (1614 – December 29, 1680), beheaded at Tower Hill for his participation in the Popish plot which was later discredited, beatified as a Catholic martyr and is known as Blessed William Howard
• Sir Thomas More (1478 – July 6, 1535), lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist, served Henry VIII as Lord High Chancellor of England from 1529 – 1532, beheaded at Tower Hill by order of Henry VIII during the English Reformation for refusing to accept him as the supreme head of the Church of England, honored as a martyr and saint by the Catholic Church
• Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury (1473 – May 27, 1541), daughter of George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence (brother of King Edward IV and King Richard III), one of the few surviving members of the Plantagenet dynasty after the Wars of the Roses
• James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, 1st Duke of Buccleuch (1649 – July 15, 1685), illegitimate son of King Charles II and his mistress Lucy Walter, beheaded for treason at Tower Hill for the unsuccessful Monmouth Rebellion, an attempt to depose his uncle King James II
• Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (1500 – January 22, 1552), brother King Henry VIII’s third wife Jane Seymour and Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley, uncle of King Edward VI and Lord of Protector England from 1547 to 1549, beheaded at Tower Hill on charges of felony after scheming to overthrow the government of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, Lord Protector of England
• Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley (circa 1508 – 20 March 1549) ), brother King Henry VIII’s third wife Jane Seymour and Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, uncle of King Edward VI, second husband of King Henry VIII’s sixth wife and widow Catherine Parr, beheaded on Tower Hill on charges of treason for a failed plot against his brother Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
• Sir Ralph Vane (? – February 26, 1552), hanged at Tower Hill for conspiring to overthrow the government and murder John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, Lord Protector of England

Works Cited

• Borman, Tracy, 2015. The Story of The Tower of London. London: Merrell Publishers Limited and Historical Royal Palaces.
• Chapels Royal, H., 2021. Chapels Royal, H M Tower of London | The Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula. [online] Thechapelsroyalhmtoweroflondon.org.uk. Available at: <https://www.thechapelsroyalhmtoweroflondon.org.uk/welcome/the-chapel-of-st-peter-ad-vincula/> [Accessed 10 March 2021].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Church of St Peter ad Vincula. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St_Peter_ad_Vincula> [Accessed 10 March 2021].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Tower Hill. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_Hill#Executions> [Accessed 10 March 2021].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Tower of London. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_London> [Accessed 26 February 2021].
• Findagrave.com. 2021. Memorials in Chapel of Saint Peter-ad-Vincula – Find A Grave. [online] Available at: <https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/658439/memorial-search?page=4#sr-173777848> [Accessed 10 March 2021].
• Thurley, Simon, Impey, Edward and Hammond, Peter, 2005. The Tower of London – The Official Guidebook. London: Historical Royal Palaces.

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

View the short video linked below to see a brief tour of the Chapel of St. John the Evangelist.

• YouTube: The Chapel of St. John the Evangelist (from “Live At The Tower”)

The Chapel of St. John the Evangelist, which this writer has visited, is located in the White Tower at the Tower of London in London, England. Originally a Roman Catholic chapel, it is a Church of England chapel (also known as Anglican and in the United States, Episcopal). The Chapel of St. John the Evangelist is a royal peculiar which means it is under the direct jurisdiction of the British monarch. It is also a chapel royal, an establishment in the royal household serving the spiritual needs of the British monarch. However, members of the royal family rarely attend services there but services continue to be held periodically. King Charles III received communion at the chapel on his twenty-first birthday.

The building of the White Tower (1077 – 1097) began in the reign of King William I (the Conqueror), the first monarch of the House of Normandy, and continued into the reign of his son King William II Rufus. The White Tower is the central tower of the Tower of London. It was the Tower of London’s strongest point militarily and also provided residential and ceremonial apartments for the king and his family. The Chapel of St. John the Evangelist, constructed with Caen stone imported from Normandy, was built in the Norman architecture style, Romanesque architecture developed by the Normans in the lands under their rule during the eleventh and twelfth centuries.

The Chapel of St. John the Evangelist dates from 1080 and was used by the royal family while in residence at the Tower of London. By the reign of King Charles II (1660 – 1685), the Tower of London was barely used as a royal residence and the Chapel of St. John the Evangelist became a storeroom for state documents. In 1857, the documents were removed to the new Public Records Office, and the Chapel of St. John the Evangelist was restored to its original splendor.

Some royalty-related events that occurred at the Chapel of St. John the Evangelist:

• During the Peasants Revolt of 1381, early in the reign of King Richard II, Simon Sudbury, Archbishop of Canterbury and Chancellor of England took refuge in the Chapel of St. John the Evangelist from an angry mob who had broken into the Tower of London along with Sir Robert Hales, Lord High Treasurer, William Appleton, the physician of John of Gaunt (a son of King Edward III), and John Legge, a royal sergeant. All four men were dragged from the chapel and taken to nearby Tower Hill where they were beheaded by the rebels.
• Starting with the coronation of King Henry IV in 1399, the Knights of the Bath held all-night vigils in the Chapel of St. John the Evangelist, on the eves of coronations. This ceremony continued to be held in the Chapel of St. John the Evangelist until the coronation of Elizabeth I in 1559, when it was moved to the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula, also at the Tower of London.
• In 1503, Elizabeth of York, wife of King Henry VII, died from childbirth complications at the Tower of London, most likely in the White Tower, after the birth of her last child who also died. After her death, the remains of Elizabeth of York temporarily rested in the Chapel of St. John the Evangelist.
• In 1674, during the reign of King Charles II, workers doing some remodeling in the White Tower dug up a wooden box containing two small human skeletons. The bones were found buried ten feet under the staircase leading to the Chapel of St. John the Evangelist. Presuming the remains were those of King Edward V and Richard, Duke of York, the young sons of King Edward IV, known as the Princes in the Tower, who went missing in 1483, King Charles II ordered the remains placed in an urn in Westminster Abbey. In 1933, the remains were removed from the urn and examined. The conclusion was that the bones belonged to two children around the correct ages for the princes. This examination has been criticized with one of the issues being no attempt was made to determine if the remains were male or female. There has been no further examination and the remains are still in the urn in Westminster Abbey.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Borman, Tracy, 2015. The Story of The Tower of London. London: Merrell Publishers Limited and Historical Royal Palaces.
• Camelotintl.com. 2021. Camelot International: Tower of London. [online] Available at: <http://www.camelotintl.com/tower_site/tower/white_frame.html> [Accessed 26 February 2021].
• Chapels Royal, H., 2021. Chapels Royal, H M Tower of London | The Chapel of St John the Evangelist. [online] Thechapelsroyalhmtoweroflondon.org.uk. Available at: <https://www.thechapelsroyalhmtoweroflondon.org.uk/welcome/the-chapel-of-st-john-the-evangelist/> [Accessed 26 February 2021].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2021. St John’s Chapel, London. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_John%27s_Chapel,_London> [Accessed 26 February 2021].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Tower of London. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_London> [Accessed 26 February 2021].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2021. White Tower (Tower of London). [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Tower_(Tower_of_London)> [Accessed 26 February 2021].
• Englishmonarchs.co.uk. 2021. The Chapel of St. John, White Tower .. [online] Available at: <http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/tower_london_17.html> [Accessed 26 February 2021].
• Thurley, Simon, Impey, Edward and Hammond, Peter, 2005. The Tower of London – The Official Guidebook. London: Historical Royal Palaces.

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

• Official Website: Canterbury Cathedral
• Oprah Book Clubs: Cathedral Floor Plan and Cathedral Building Terms

Originally a Roman Catholic church, Canterbury Cathedral, which this writer has visited, is a Church of England church (also known as Anglican and in the United States, Episcopal) located in Canterbury, Kent, England. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the Church of England, and the symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Together with the Church of St. Martin, the oldest church in England, and the ruins of the Abbey of St. Augustine, both also in Canterbury, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In 597, Pope Gregory the Great sent Augustine, the prior of a monastery in Rome, to convert King Æthelberht and his Kingdom of Kent to Christianity. After the conversion, Canterbury, originally a Roman town, was chosen by Augustine as the center for his diocese in Kent, and an abbey and cathedral were built. Augustine became the first Archbishop of Canterbury and is known as St. Augustine of Canterbury.

Augustine’s original building was extensively rebuilt and enlarged but it was destroyed by fire in 1067 and was completely rebuilt from 1070-1077 by Lanfranc, the first Norman Archbishop of Canterbury. Lanfranc had been the abbot of the Abbey of Saint-Étienne in Caen, Normandy, now in France, and the design of the new cathedral was based upon the Abbey of Saint-Étienne, using the same material, Caen stone, a light creamy-yellow limestone quarried near the city of Caen.

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Over the years, there has been new construction and repairs including:

• 1098-1130: A longer quire was built over a crypt (present Western Crypt) doubling the length of the cathedral.
• 1175-1184: In September 1174 the quire was severely damaged by fire, necessitating a major reconstruction. The Eastern Crypt, Trinity Chapel, and Corona Chapel were added.
• 1377-1405: The nave and transepts were rebuilt.
• 1498: The original Norman northwest tower was replaced.
• 1660-1704: In 1642-1643, during the English Civil War, Puritans caused significant damage during their “cleansing” of the cathedral, necessitating repair and refurbishing.
• 1834: The original Norman northwest tower was demolished and rebuilt due to structural issues.
• 1986: A new Martyrdom Altar was installed in the northwest transept, on the site where Thomas Becket was murdered in 1170.

The most famous event that occurred at Canterbury Cathedral was the murder of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury in 1170. In 1162, King Henry II of England (reigned 1154-1189, also Duke of Normandy, Count of Anjou and Maine, and Duke of Aquitaine) had named his Lord Chancellor Thomas Becket the Archbishop of Canterbury following the death of the previous Archbishop, Theobold of Bec. Henry hoped that by appointing Becket there would be a return to royal supremacy over the English Church as it had been in the days of Henry’s grandfather King Henry I. However, Becket wanted to prove that he was no mouthpiece for Henry. An argument developed between the two men over the issue of whether clergy who had committed secular crimes should be tried in secular courts or church courts. Attempts at negotiations failed and in 1164, Becket fled to France to seek sanctuary.

On June 14, 1170, Henry II’s eldest surviving son, Henry the Young King, was crowned junior King of England while Henry II was still alive, adopting the practice of the French monarchy. Roger de Pont L’Évêque, Archbishop of York, Gilbert Foliot, Bishop of London, and Josceline de Bohon, Bishop of Salisbury all participated in the crowning. This infringed on the right of Becket as Archbishop of Canterbury to crown English monarchs and drove Pope Alexander III to allow Becket to lay an interdict on England as punishment, which would forbid the public celebration of sacred rites. This threat forced Henry back to negotiations and terms were agreed to finally in July 1170.

Becket returned to England in early December 1170. Just when the dispute with Henry II seemed resolved, Becket excommunicated the three bishops who had participated in the crowning of Henry the Young King. Henry II’s anger at the timing of the excommunications led him to supposedly ask the question: “Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?” This inspired four knights to set off from Henry’s court in Normandy to Canterbury. They interviewed Becket at the Archbishop’s Palace and then Becket, fearing violence, sought refuge in Canterbury Cathedral. The murder took place while the monks were singing vespers, the evening prayer, on December 29, 1170, in what is now known as The Martyrdom in the northwest transept of the cathedral. As Becket was praying, he was hit by a violent sword stroke that sliced off the crown of his head.

The monks were afraid that Becket’s body might be stolen and so his remains were placed beneath the floor of the eastern crypt of the cathedral. A stone cover was placed over the burial place with two holes where pilgrims could insert their heads and kiss the tomb. Canterbury Cathedral had always been popular with religious pilgrims and after the death of Thomas Becket, the number of pilgrims visiting the cathedral rose rapidly and continued until the Protestant Reformation. The income from pilgrims who visited Becket’s shrine, such as those portrayed in Geoffrey Chaucer‘s famous Canterbury Tales (written 1387-1400), helped to pay for the subsequent rebuilding of the cathedral. This revenue included the profits from the sale of pilgrim badges depicting Becket, his martyrdom, or his shrine.

On February 21, 1173, a little more than two years after his death, Thomas Becket was canonized as a saint by Pope Alexander III. King Henry II performed a public act of penance on July 12, 1174, at Canterbury Cathedral, when he publicly confessed his sins, then allowed each bishop present to give him five hits with a rod, and then each of the 80 monks of Canterbury Cathedral gave him three hits with a rod. Finally, Henry offered gifts to Becket’s shrine and spent a night-long vigil at Becket’s tomb.

In 1220, fifty years after his death, Becket’s remains were moved to a new gold-plated and bejeweled shrine behind the high altar in the Trinity Chapel. The shrine was supported by three pairs of pillars, placed on a raised platform with three steps. The shrine and Becket’s remains were destroyed in 1538, during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, on orders from King Henry VIII. In 2020, researchers at the Centre for the Study of Christianity and Culture at the University of York in England used computer-generated imagery to reconstruct how the shrine would have looked in 1408. Today, an empty space with a single candle represents the site of Becket’s destroyed shrine.

• Smithsonian Magazine: Researchers Digitally Reconstruct Thomas Becket’s Razed Canterbury Cathedral Shrine

Canterbury Cathedral has three royal burials: Edward, Prince of Wales known as The Black Prince, King Henry IV, and his second wife Joan of Navarre.

Edward, Prince of Wales (1330-1376) was the eldest son and heir of King Edward III. Best known for his military career in the Hundred Years War, he is commonly referred to as “The Black Prince” although he was not called that in his lifetime. The first appearance of the reference occurred more than 150 years after his death. It is thought it may refer to Edward’s black shield, and/or his black armor or from his brutal reputation, particularly towards the French in the Duchy of Aquitaine.

Around 1367, Edward, Prince of Wales contracted an illness that ailed him until his death in 1376. It was believed that he contracted dysentery, which killed more medieval soldiers than battle, but it is unlikely that he could survive a nine-year battle with dysentery. Other possible diagnoses include edema, nephritis, or cirrhosis. On June 8, 1376, a week before his forty-sixth birthday, Edward died at the Palace of Westminster. Edward had requested to be buried in the crypt at Canterbury Cathedral. His request was denied because of the popular feeling that Edward should be buried in a grand tomb close to the shrine of St. Thomas Becket. Edward, Prince of Wales was buried in a tomb with a bronze effigy on the south side of the Trinity Chapel, the site of Becket’s shrine. Edward’s heraldic helmet and gauntlets were placed above his tomb. Today, replicas hang above his tomb and the originals are in a glass case nearby.

King Henry IV of England (1367-1413), who usurped the throne from his first cousin King Richard II (the son of Edward, Prince of Wales above) and became the first Lancaster king, was the eldest surviving son of John of Gaunt (third surviving son of King Edward III) and his first wife Blanche of Lancaster. In his last years, Henry suffered from a disfiguring disease (possibly leprosy, syphilis, or psoriasis) and had severe attacks (possibly from epilepsy or cardiovascular disease). On March 20, 1413, while in prayer at the shrine of Edward the Confessor at Westminster Abbey, Henry IV suffered a fatal attack, possibly a stroke. He was carried to the Jerusalem Chamber, a room in the house of the abbot, where he died at age 45.

Henry IV was not buried at Westminster Abbey but instead, he had requested to be buried at Canterbury Cathedral, presumably because of an affinity towards St. Thomas Becket. His tomb is on the north side of Trinity Chapel and was directly adjacent to the shrine of  St. Thomas Becket. You can see how close Henry’s tomb was to Becket’s shrine in his tomb’s photo above. The single candle on the floor on the site of Becket’s destroyed shrine can be seen in the tomb photo. When Henry IV’s second wife Joan of Navarre died in 1437, she was buried with her husband.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Canterbury-cathedral.org. 2021. Welcome to Canterbury Cathedral. [online] Available at: <https://www.canterbury-cathedral.org/> [Accessed 21 February 2021].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Canterbury Cathedral. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canterbury_Cathedral> [Accessed 21 February 2021].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2017. Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales (The Black Prince). [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/edward-of-woodstock-prince-of-wales-the-black-prince/> [Accessed 21 February 2021].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2016. King Henry II of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-henry-ii-of-england/> [Accessed 21 February 2021].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2013. King Henry IV of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/march-20-daily-featured-royal-date/> [Accessed 21 February 2021].
• Keates, Jonathan, 2001. Canterbury Cathedral: Official Cathedral Guide. Canterbury: Cathedral Enterprises Ltd.