History

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.