Who Carved Graffiti Into King Charles’ Coronation Chair?

King Charles had his Coronation in Westminster Abbey this weekend and now he’s officially the monarch. Of course, there was tons of symbolism and more than enough pomp and pageantry to go around.

But one interesting thing, apart from Prince Harry not sitting in the front row, was the chair that the king sat in. It’s got a lot of graffiti on it, so who put it there? Read on to find out. 

Prince Harry Went to King Charles’ Coronation

Ahead of the big event for the royal family, a lot of news focused on whether Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle would be there. Well, it turned out that she didn’t go, but he did.

Folks noticed that he didn’t sit in the front row and didn’t look across at his dad when the crown was put on his head, with a bit of difficulty. Plus, people saw one scene where Princess Anne looked comfortable with her smiling nephew’s presence.

King Charles’ Coronation was a massive splurge of money that many taxpayers resent. So, those who don’t support the royal family, claim on social media that they are happy Prince Harry didn’t hang about after the opulent occasion. In fact, he made a beeline for Heathrow to get back home to the USA. However, for those who love history, the chair that Charles sat in seemed fascinating because of all the graffiti on it. 

King Charles Coronation Chair Has Graffiti On It

On Reddit, U//tuttifruitti76 shared a screenshot of the chair and pointed out that it was “Heavily Graffitied.”  Of course, that made folks invent their own graffiti that they’d like to carve into it. Anyway, one person, u/buckle877 noted that “The engravings on the throne were from Westminster school boys.”  Is that correct? Read on to find out. 

The Daily Mail reported on the chair at King Charles’ Coronation. According to the outlet, it has a fascinating, 700-year-old history. The article noted that it was made and decorated by “Walter of Durham,” and the chair “was commissioned by King Edward I in 1296.” Regarding the graffiti, over the many hundreds of years, the chair moved around a bit. Apparently, it “suffered at the hands of initial-carving vandals, leading to regular restoration work.”

Graffiti, Storage, And A Bomb

King Charles’ Coronation chair was not always respected for being in Westminster Abbey. Suffragettes damaged one leg during the first world war when they bombed the place. During the Second World War, it went into storage. Notably, the outlet wrote “In the 18th and 19th centuries, the chair suffered particularly badly from graffiti. One impudent visitor carved: ‘P. Abbott slept in this chair 5-6 July 1800’.”

So, not all of the graffiti can be ascribed to Westminster schoolboys. No doubt though, some of those young scamps who had the opportunity, took advantage of a chance to of keep their initials alive for many decades. 

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