Anne of
Bohemia (1366-1394)
Daughter of Emperor Charles IV and sister
of King Wenceslas IV of Bohemia, she married
Richard II in the Abbey
in 1382 and was crowned here soon afterwards. Her gilt bronze
effigy lies next to Richard on their tomb in the
chapel of St Edward the
Confessor. The head of the wooden effigy carried at her
funeral can be seen in the Abbey Museum.
Battle of Britain 1940
The
names of 20 Czechoslovakian pilots who died while serving with
the Royal Air Force during this conflict are recorded in the Roll
of Honour in the RAF chapel at the east end of
Henry VII's chapel.
The stained glass window, designed by Hugh Easton, includes the
furled flag of Czechoslovakia together with those of other Allied
nations.
Coastal Command
A memorial
to those who served in this branch of the RAF was dedicated by
The Queen in March 2004 in the south cloister. Squadrons from
Czechoslovakia joined Coastal Command during the war.
Czechoslovak Army and Air
Force Memorial
A bronze plaque in the west cloister, designed
by Franta Belsky, remembers all those who came to Britain and
"died in its defence and for the liberation of Europe 1940-1945".
Unveiled 28 October 1993 on the 75th anniversary of the founding
of the Czechoslovak Republic.
Prince Rupert (1619-1682),
Count Palatine of the Rhine and Duke of Bavaria
He was a
nephew of Charles I of England and was born in Prague, son of
Elizabeth, "Winter"Queen of Bohemia and Frederick V. Rupert was a
great soldier and was also a founder of the Royal Society of
London. He died of a fever and is buried in a vault beneath the
south aisle of
Henry VII's chapel, in
the same grave as his mother who died in 1662. A modern stone
marks their graves.