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Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
I'd been looking forward to seeing Westminster Abbey since I arrived in England, because all the monarchs since William the Conqueror have been crowned here! I did mistakenly believe that Eleanor of Aquitaine was buried here, which got me excited, but I remembered belatedly that she and most early Plantagenet rulers were buried in Fontevraud Abbey in France. Even so, it was still cool to see the Abbey, because many of the royal tombs whisked me back to the days when my historical period of choice was the War of the Roses and the Tudor monarchy as opposed to the Anarchy and early Plantagenet dynasties. The inside was magnificent; it's truly a masterpiece of a structure! I would definitely recommend it to anyone considering a trip to London.
The sculptures over the entrance to Westminster Abbey.
This is the Grave of the Unknown Warrior, an unidentified British soldier recovered from the battlefields of WWI. He was buried in 1920 under soil from the battlefields. One hundred men who’d earned the Victoria’s Cross for valor formed the honor guard during the ceremony. This grave is never walked on.
This is the Ceiling of Westminster Abbey. It’s one of the most important Gothic buildings, built primarily during the reign of Henry III, who wanted a magnificent shrine to commemorate King (and Saint) Edward the Confessor. The building took over 500 years to complete after Henry’s death. His inspiration came from the new abbeys in France, built in early Gothic style.
Leaders of countries have spots (stalls) saved for them in the Abbey. Westminster is seen as the chair of the Commonwealth. Here, on plaques, you can see "Australia" and "Canada".
This is the high altar, the most sacred part of the Christian Church, where the Eucharist is celebrated. This is also where the coronation service takes place, ever since William the Conqueror was crowned in 1066. Behind the altar is the shrine to Edward the Confessor, surrounded by the tombs of medieval kings. The pavement before the High Altar (Cosmati Pavement) is one of the abbey’s greatest treasures, built in 1268 of glass and marble.
This is the Chapel of St. John the Baptist.
This is the tomb of Thomas Cecil, the Earl of Exeter, and his first wife.
This is the tomb of Elizabeth Nightingale, who died in childbirth in 1731. The tomb shows her husband trying to protect her from death.
The six sons of the deceased (Lord Henry Norris) are depicted kneeling around him, but only one of the sons actually survived him.
This is the tomb of Henry III, who located Edward the Confessor’s body and built a magnificent shrine for him here. Henry was buried here by his son Edward I, and Edward and his wife Eleanor of Castile are buried alongside Henry.
This is the tomb of Eleanor of Castile.
This is the tomb of Henry V.
This is the tomb of Queen Elizabeth I and her Roman Catholic half-sister, Mary I, her predecessor as Queen. Elizabeth was buried here on the orders of her successor, James I.
The Tudor roses surrounding Elizabeth's tomb represent her father, Henry VIII. The falcons represent her mother, Anne Boleyn, who’d been executed by Henry.
This is Innocents’ Corner, the resting place of some of the royal children buried in the abbey.
This sarcophagus holds the bones believed to be from the young King Edward V and his brother Richard, murdered at the Tower of London in 1483.
This is the Lady Chapel, founded in 1503 by King Henry VII, where it became his place of burial alongside his wife Elizabeth of York. His grandson Edward VI lies in front of his tomb, marked by a stone in the floor. Henry VII's mother Margaret Beaufort is buried in one of the side aisles, among various other members. Members of the Stuart dynasty are buried in a vault under the floor, and Oliver Cromwell (who interrupted the Stuart dynasty by executing Charles I) was briefly buried here before being removed. This is the home of the Order of the Bath, whose senior members have their crests hanging over their stalls.
These are some of the senior members of the Order of Bath with their standards and crests.
This is the tomb of Henry VII—the first Tudor Monarch, who was crowned here in 1485—and his wife Elizabeth of York. Their effigies lie together on the top of the tomb. Their inscriptions partly say that they were proud of their children, and ironically, their son Henry VIII closed this church and was the only Tudor Monarch not to be buried here.
This RAF chapel commemorates the memory of the men who died in the Battle of Britain in 1940. Depicted in stained glass were the badges of the squadrons who fought, including those from the US, Canada, Poland, etc. All names of those who fell are commemorated here.
This is the tomb of Mary, Queen of Scots, whose inscription recognizes her claim to three thrones and claims she should’ve been ruler of England. Her son James I commissioned this tomb, just as he commissioned Elizabeth’s, but this one for Mary is much grander.
This is the inside of the tomb of Mary, Queen of Scots. I saw a replica of it in Edinburgh.
Remember that awful man Lord Darnley who married Mary, Queen of Scots and murdered her secretary in front of her? This is the tomb of his mother, the grandmother of James VI and I.
Look at how elaborate these tombs are!
These stones commemorate the burials of the Stuart Dynasty that succeeded the Tudors.
This is the tomb of Henry VII's mother, Margaret Beaufort.
This is the tomb of King Edward III, who was crowned here at age 15 in 1327 and later established the Order of the Garter at Windsor. He reigned for 50 years. Originally there were twelve effigies of his children surrounding his tomb, each with their crest. The one on the left is Edward, the Black Prince, who died before his father.
This is the tomb of King Richard II, the grandson of Edward III, who was crowned here in 1377 at age 10. Four years later, he went to subdue the Peasants’ Revolt, and before that he went to pray at the abbey. He was deposed by Henry Bolingbroke (later Henry IV) in 1399. Henry’s son, Henry V, brought the bodies of Richard II and his Queen to be buried here.
This is the tomb of Anne of Cleves, Henry VIII's fourth wife. He allegedly saw her, thought she was ugly, and was instantly against the marriage, so he quickly divorced her, gave her some manors, and bestowed on her the title "the King's Sister." Of all Henry VIII's wives, she got off the easiest! (Considering the second and fifth wives were beheaded when Henry VIII was ready to move on...)
This is the tomb of Anne Neville, Richard III's wife. Anne was the daughter of the 16th Earl of Warwick, also known as the King Maker.
This is part of Poet’s Corner. The tradition of burying writers in the Abbey started when Chaucer was buried here, and 200 years later, another writer asked to be buried by him, which created a tradition.
This is the burial site of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, in Poet's Corner.
This sculpture is of the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
This is the tomb of Geoffrey Chaucer, who wrote Canterbury Tales.
The inner courtyard of Westminster Abbey.
Winston Churchill didn't want to be buried in the Abbey, but they placed a plaque to commemorate him.
This coronation chair was made by King Edward I, and has been used at every coronation ceremony since 1308.
This is the front of Westminster Abbey.
This statue across the street from Westminster Abbey commemorates Winston Churchill.
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Unfortunately, Buckingham Palace doesn't allow photography inside, but I'll be bringing my guidebook with pictures to the Rotary meeting. Buckingham Palace has a short history compared to some of the other historic royal buildings I've seen, but the rooms were absolutely magnificent and I enjoyed learning more about the first monarch who used it as her main residence, Queen Victoria. Some of the rooms provided perfect settings for the scenes in my book, so I'll be consulting the images in the guidebook for inspiration!
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