Westminster Abbey has been the beating heart of English royal life since William the Conqueror, the Norman duke who invaded England and became its king, was crowned here on Christmas Day 1066. Since that moment, every single English and British monarch has taken the throne in this building. King Charles III became the 40th in May 2023, continuing a tradition that has outlasted empires, revolutions, and the rise and fall of entire dynasties.
What you see today was largely built by King Henry III starting in 1245. He replaced an older monastery with this soaring Gothic structure, all pointed arches, flying buttresses, and those twin western towers that rise 68 meters above the street. The towers themselves weren't completed until 1745, but they've since become one of the most recognisable silhouettes in London.
Inside, over 3,300 people are buried here, including 17 monarchs. Elizabeth I and her cousin Mary Queen of Scots, who had a famously complicated and ultimately deadly rivalry, both rest within these walls. The southern transept holds Poets' Corner, where writers like Geoffrey Chaucer, Charles Dickens, and Thomas Hardy are buried or commemorated.
Sixteen royal weddings have also taken place here, which means this building has hosted more dramatic family gatherings than most people manage in a lifetime.
Sources. Story: Westminster Abbey Official Website - History of Coronationshttps://www.westminster-abbey.org/history/coronations-at-the-abbey/a-history-of-coronationsWikipedia - Westminster Abbeyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westminster_Abbey Photos: Ellocharlie at English Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
