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Above The Coronation Chair and Stone of Scone. Constructed in the 1290s on the orders of Edward I, this famous throne recently received its first comprehensive archaeological study. The results emphasise how the current form of the Stone of Scone can only be understood alongside the evolution of the chair that held it.

The Coronation Chair: anatomy of a medieval throne

The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II prompted the first comprehensive archaeological study of the Medieval throne on which British monarchs are crowned. It has been battered and vandalised over the ages, but unpicking this majestic artefact’s evolution shed new light on both its original form and that of the enigmatic Stone of Scone, as Warwick Rodwell reveals.