That
beautiful church that held Princess Diana's funeral and Prince
William's wedding to Kate Middleton is also the place of coronations
of British kings and queens since the 1066 coronations of both King
Harold and William the Conqueror, plus many other royal weddings and
funerals. Some non-royals such as author Geoffrey Chaucer and
scientists Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin share the honor of being
buried with royalty in or around the Abbey. There are many graves on
the floor of the Abbey; the only grave upon which it is forbidden to
step is the grave of The Unknown Warrior, an unidentified British
soldier killed during World War I.
Westminster
Abbey, the largest church in Britain, is a treasure house of stained
glass and paintings, statues and replicas of crowns and scepters. I
really cannot believe that in three trips to London, I've never been
inside (it was closed for this, that, and the other reason—I've
basically just been unlucky!). I guess I will just have to rely on
video tours like this one.
Why
am I going on about Westminster Abbey today? This happens to be the
anniversary of the consecration of this famous cathedral in 1065.
Here
is a coloring page of the Abbey.
The Anglophile
has a post with two cool pictures of Westminster Abbey plus some
interesting historical facts.
Live
trees—20-foot-high trees!—were brought into the Abbey for William
and Kate's wedding so they could walk down an avenue of trees INSIDE
the church. Kate wanted live plants rather than cut flowers for her
wedding decorations. Check it out.
Also
on this date:
Make Real Money by Playing Paypal Games Online. Play crossword puzzles, poetry and story games online at Wealth Words. Earn real money by solving puzzle games. Play Games and win cash.
ReplyDelete