That beautiful church that held Princess Diana's funeral and Prince William's wedding to Kate Middleton is also the place of coronations of British kings and queens since the 1066 coronations of both King Harold and William the Conqueror, plus many other royal weddings and funerals. Some non-royals such as author Geoffrey Chaucer and scientists Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin share the honor of being buried with royalty in or around the Abbey. There are many graves on the floor of the Abbey; the only grave upon which it is forbidden to step is the grave of The Unknown Warrior, an unidentified British soldier killed during World War I.
Westminster Abbey, the largest church in Britain, is a treasure house of stained glass and paintings, statues and replicas of crowns and scepters. I really cannot believe that in three trips to London, I've never been inside (it was closed for this, that, and the other reason—I've basically just been unlucky!). I guess I will just have to rely on video tours like this one. Why am I going on about Westminster Abbey today? This happens to be the anniversary of the consecration of this famous cathedral in 1065.
Hereis a coloring page of the Abbey.
The Anglophilehas a post with two cool pictures of Westminster Abbey plus some interesting historical facts.
Live trees—20-foot-high trees!—were brought into the Abbey for William and Kate's wedding so they could walk down an avenue of trees INSIDE the church. Kate wanted live plants rather than cut flowers for her wedding decorations. Check it out. Also on this date:
