Today, the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla will take place at Westminster Abbey.
King Charles has always been a champion of the environment and it is wonderful that even on such a regal State occasion he is staying true to his sustainable beliefs.
For, rather than have a new set of chairs created for them for just a single day's use, King Charles and Queen Camilla have opted for reupholstery of chairs used in both Queen Elizabeth's coronation in 1953 as well as Charles's Grandfather King George VI's in 1937.
Photo by Buckingham Palace
The Chairs of Estate
The Chairs of Estate, seen above during their reupholstery earlier this year, were made in 1953 by the London firm White, Allom and Company for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2nd June 1953.
They are made from carved and gilded beechwood in the seventeenth-century style which was used for earlier Chairs of Estate. The cyphers of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip are featured in the carving of the giltwood stretcher joining the front legs, together with the national emblems of a rose, thistle, and shamrock. The reupholstery was carried out by the Royal Household's team of upholsterers with the original braid and trimmings being reused.
These chairs, will today, be used during the early parts of the Coronation Service and for the Coronation of Her Majesty The Queen Consort.
The Throne Chairs
Their Majesties will also sit in the Throne Chairs, first used during the Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, later The Queen Mother, in 1937. These chairs will be used towards the end of the service, for the Homage and the Enthronement.
Photo by Buckingham Palace
They have been reupholstered in crimson velvet with the King’s Chair now bearing his Coat of Arms while Queen Camilla’s Chair has her own Coat of Arms on it. But underneath they will still bear the carved markings from their initial making in 1937 for the 'Coronation GR VI'.
Sustainability and Traditional Skills
Not only have Their Majesties embraced sustainability through their choice of reupholstered furniture for their Coronation ceremony, they have also recognised and championed traditional craftsman(and woman)-ship. They have chosen to utilise the skills of traditional embroiderers, upholsterers, furniture makers and conservators for the restoration of these historic chairs as well as using graduates from The Prince's Foundation at the Snowdon School of Furniture at Highgrove to help create the Congregation chairs.
Embrace Your Story
Through the chairs he is seated on during the day, King Charles III will have embraced his story with poignant links to both his parents and grandparents. Embracing his history and aligning his beliefs to create a service that has both traditional and person meaning.
Whether you're watching the pageantry unfold today or not, I hope you all have a wonderful bank holiday weekend. I will be glued to the TV taking in the spectacle of a Coronation and looking forward to catching a glimpse of those newly reupholstered thrones!
If you, like King Charles, have a family heirloom you'd like to reupholster, then please do get in touch here.
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