British Royal Burial Sites: House Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and House of Windsor

by An Ard Rí and Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2012

King Edward VII was the first monarch of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. In 1917, his son King George V changed the name of the Royal House to Windsor due to anti-German sentiment in the United Kingdom during World War I.

House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

  • Edward VII, reigned from January 22, 1901- May 6, 1910

Note: King George V was of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from May 6, 1910 to July 17, 1917 when a proclamation was issued by King George V stating: “Wheras We, having taken into consideration the Name and Title of Our Royal House and Family, have determined that henceforth Our House and Family shall be styled and known as the House and Family of Windsor.”

House of Windsor

  • George V, reigned from May 6, 1910 –  January 20, 1936
  • Edward VIII, reigned from January 20, 1936 – December 22, 1936
  • George VI, reigned from December 11, 1936 – February 6, 1952
  • Elizabeth II, reigned from February 6, 1952 – September 8, 2022

Burial articles for all the British royal houses can be found at Unofficial Royalty: British Royal Burial Sites

An excellent resource: The Royal Tombs of Great Britain by Aidan Dodson, published in 2004

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Unless otherwise noted, photos are from Wikipedia.

Most of the Windsors have been buried at either St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle or the Royal Burial Ground behind the Royal Mausoleum at Frogmore, adjacent to Windsor Castle.

St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle

Frogmore Royal Burial Ground with the Royal Mausoleum of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

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Edward VII, King of the United Kingdom (reigned 22 January 1901-6 May 1910)

Edward VII was the son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Following the death of his mother, Queen Victoria, he became King. Edward VII died on 6 May 1910 at Buckingham Palace, London. His remains were first placed on the bench at the entrance to the Royal Vault under the Albert Memorial Chapel at St. George’s Chapel. When Queen Alexandra died in 1925, Edward VII’s coffin was placed with his wife’s coffin in front of the altar in the Albert Memorial Chapel in St. George’s Chapel. On 22 April 1927, both coffins were placed in a tomb on the south side of the main altar at St. George’s Chapel. The king’s effigy has Caesar, his favorite dog, lying at his feet.

Below is the view inside the Royal Vault built by George III under the Albert Memorial Chapel at St. George’s Chapel. The bench in the middle was used as a temporary place for coffins (including the coffins of Edward VII, George V, and George VI) while waiting to be buried elsewhere.

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The coffin of Edward VII in the Royal Vault – the bench where the coffin is lying was used as a temporary place for coffins (including the coffins of George V, and George VI) while waiting to be buried elsewhere.

Alexandra of Denmark, Queen of the United Kingdom

Alexandra was the daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark and Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel. On 10 March 1863, she married the future Edward VII and they had six children. Queen Alexandra died on 20 November 1925 at Sandringham House, Norfolk. Her coffin along with the coffin of her husband was placed in front of the altar in the Albert Memorial Chapel in St. George’s Chapel. On 22 April 1927, both coffins were placed in a tomb on the south side of the main altar.

Tomb of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor; Photo Credit – https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/606282/tomb-of-king-edward-vii-and-queen-alexandra

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George V, King of the United Kingdom, (reigned 6 May 1910 – 20 January 1936)

George was the son of Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark. In 1917, he became the first Windsor monarch when he renamed the Royal House from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to Windsor. George V died on the 20th of January 1936 at Sandringham House, Norfolk. His coffin was temporarily placed in the Royal Vault under the Albert Memorial Chapel at St. George’s Chapel while a tomb was being built. On 29 February 1939, the coffin was transferred to the completed tomb in the North Nave Aisle of St. George’s Chapel, Windsor.

Victoria Mary of Teck, Queen Mary of the United Kingdom

Mary was the daughter of Francis, Duke of Teck and Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, a granddaughter of George III and first cousin of Queen Victoria. On 6 July 1893, she married the future George V and the couple had six children. Queen Mary died on 24 March 1953 at Marlborough House, London. Her remains were buried beside her husband in a tomb in the North Nave Aisle of St. George’s Chapel, Windsor.

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Tomb of King George V and Queen Mary in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor

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Edward VIII, King of the United Kingdom (reigned 20 January 1936 – 11 December 1936, abdicated), Duke of Windsor

Edward VIII was the eldest son of King George V and Queen Mary. He became King upon the death of his father in January of 1936. Edward abdicated the throne in December of 1936 in order to marry the American divorcee Wallis Simpson. Following his abdication, Edward was created the Duke of Windsor and married Wallis Simpson in June of 1937. The Duke of Windsor died on 28 May 1972 at his Paris home. His remains were taken back to England and buried at the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore, adjacent to Windsor Castle.

Wallis, Duchess of Windsor

Wallis was the wife of Edward, Duke of Windsor. The Duchess of Windsor died on 24 April 1986 in Paris. Her remains were buried alongside her husband at the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore, adjacent to Windsor Castle.

Graves of The Duke and Duchess of Windsor; Photo Credit – www.findagrave.com

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George VI, King of the United Kingdom (reigned 11 December 1936 – 6 February 1952)

George VI was the second son of King George V and Queen Mary. He became King following the abdication of his brother, Edward VIII, in 1936. George VI was also the last Emperor of India and the last British King of Ireland. George VI died on 6 February 1952 at Sandringham House, Norfolk. His remains were first placed in the Royal Vault under the Albert Memorial Chapel at St. George’s Chapel while a memorial chapel was being built. On 26 March 1969, his coffin was transferred to the King George VI Memorial Chapel on the north side of St. George’s Chapel.

Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom, The Queen Mother

Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon was the daughter of Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck. She married the future George VI on 26 April 1923 and the couple had two children. Elizabeth was the last Empress Consort of India and the last Queen Consort of Ireland. The Queen Mother died on 30 March 2002 at Royal Lodge, Windsor. Her remains were buried beside her husband in the King George VI Memorial Chapel on the north side of St. George’s Chapel.

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Burial place of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in the King George VI Chapel at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor

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Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon

Margaret was the younger daughter of King George VI and his wife Queen Elizabeth and the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II. In 1960, she married Antony Armstrong-Jones who was created the 1st Earl of Snowdon. The couple had two children and divorced in 1978. Princess Margaret died in the King Edward VII Hospital on 9 February 2002. She was cremated at Slough Crematorium and her ashes were temporarily placed in the Royal Vault at St. George’s Chapel. Two months later at the time of her mother’s burial, her ashes were placed in her parents’ vault in the King George VI Memorial Chapel on the north side of St. George’s Chapel. A headstone (leaning against the wall in the photo below) was placed by her children.

Princess Margaret’s ashes were placed in her parents’ vault in the King George VI Memorial Chapel; photo: http://thebluerememberedhills.blogspot.com/

Princess Margaret’s headstone

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Lady Diana Spencer, Diana, Princess of Wales

Lady Diana Spencer, daughter of John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer and The Honourable Frances Roche, was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, and the mother of Prince William and Prince Harry. The marriage ended in divorce in 1996. Diana, Princess of Wales was killed in a car accident in Paris on 31 August 1997. She was buried on an island within the grounds of the Spencer family’s ancestral home, Althorp in Northamptonshire, England.

Burial site of Diana, Princess of Wales. photo: The Mirror/AP

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Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Born a Prince of Greece and Denmark, Philip was the son of Prince Andreas of Greece, son of King George I of Greece, and Princess Alice of Battenberg, a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria. In 1947, Philip married the future Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, and the couple had four children. Philip died at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, on April 9, 2021, just two months short of his 100th birthday. He was interred in the Royal Vault at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. On September 19, 2022, Philip’s coffin was interred along with the coffin of his wife Queen Elizabeth II in the King George VI Memorial Chapel in St. George’s Chapel where the Queen’s parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the ashes of her sister Princess Margaret, were interred.

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Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom (reigned 6 February 1952 – 8 September 2022)

Elizabeth II was the elder of the two daughters of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. She became Queen upon the death of her father on February 6, 1952.  Elizabeth II is the longest-reigning British monarch having surpassed her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria on September 9, 2015. She is the second longest-reigning monarch. Only King Louis XIV of France, who reigned for 72 years, 110 days, has reigned longer. Queen Elizabeth II died on September 8, 2022, at Balmoral Castle, her home in Balmoral, Scotland, at the age of 96. On September 19, 2022, she was interred, along with the coffin of her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in the King George VI Memorial Chapel in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.

King George VI Memorial Chapel; Credit – The Royal Family Facebook page

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