A conservator at London's Westminster Abbey is carrying out meticulous restoration work on a fragile 700-year-old chair to ensure King Charles III can sit on it at his coronation in May.
The ancient throne, known as the Coronation Chair, has been at the centrepiece of English coronations for centuries, including those of Henry VIII, Charles I, Queen Victoria and the late Queen Elizabeth II.Westminster Abbey -- where the ceremony will take place -- describes the chair as "one of the most precious and famous pieces of furniture in the world" and says it is in "remarkable condition" given its age.
Edward I commissioned the 6.5-foot-high chair to house the Stone of Scone -- also known as the Stone of Destiny -- which he captured in 1296, along with the Scottish crown and scepter. The stone, which had been used as a seat in the coronation of Scottish kings for centuries, is now kept in Scotland but is reunited with the chair for British coronations.
Krista Blessley, the abbey's paintings conservator, is giving the chair a surface clean with sponges and cotton swabs, to remove ingrained dirt, Britain's PA Media reported. She is also working to "stablilize" surviving layers of the gilding, on both the chair and its base, which was updated in the 18th century.
"So there are areas of drapery where you can tell there would have been a figure. It might be they are figures of kings or it might be a figure of a saint, because so much is lost we can't really tell at the moment but I'll do some further investigation."
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