Card of the Day: The Scene of the Coronation at Westminster Abbey

The Churchman’s Cigarette Card series for the 1935 Silver Jubilee differs from the others sets that I have in that it chronicles the history of British coronations in general as opposed to simply focusing on King George V and Queen Mary. Here, we see the scene of the coronation—Westminster Abbey.

The Abbey has been the seat of the coronations since 1066 with the accessions of King Harold and William the Conqueror. One exception to this was Henry III who was unable to get to the Abbey since London had been seized by the French prince Louis. Henry III was crowned in Gloucester Cathedral first, and, later, finally had a coronation at the Abbey in 1220 after the ceremony at Gloucester was deemed by the Pope to be improper. Typically coronations are administered by the Archbishop of Canterbury.