Pieces of wood were also taken as souvenirs and during a 1914 bomb attack, thought to be the work of the suffragettes, a small corner was knocked off
Conservator Krista Blessley works on the restoration of the Coronation Chair at Westminster Abbey in London, before the coronation of King Charles III. All photos: PA
The chair was made around the year 1300 for King Edward I
Experts debate about when the chair was first used to crown a monarch: It had featured in coronation ceremonies since 1308 but the first confirmed use was to crown Henry IV in 1399
Ms Blessley has spent four months meticulously preserving the flaking gilding and cleaning the chair’s surface using sponges and cotton swabs
Much of the graffiti on the inside of the chair’s back rest was carved by Westminster schoolboys and visitors to Westminster Abbey during the 18th and 19th centuries
Pieces of wood were also taken as souvenirs and during a 1914 bomb attack, thought to be the work of the suffragettes, a small corner was knocked off
Conservator Krista Blessley works on the restoration of the Coronation Chair at Westminster Abbey in London, before the coronation of King Charles III. All photos: PA
The chair was made around the year 1300 for King Edward I
Experts debate about when the chair was first used to crown a monarch: It had featured in coronation ceremonies since 1308 but the first confirmed use was to crown Henry IV in 1399
Ms Blessley has spent four months meticulously preserving the flaking gilding and cleaning the chair’s surface using sponges and cotton swabs
Much of the graffiti on the inside of the chair’s back rest was carved by Westminster schoolboys and visitors to Westminster Abbey during the 18th and 19th centuries
Pieces of wood were also taken as souvenirs and during a 1914 bomb attack, thought to be the work of the suffragettes, a small corner was knocked off