History

The coronation of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon took place on Sunday 24 June 1509. The illustration comes from the mortuary roll of Abbot Islip dated 1532. The day before the king and queen had processed from the Tower of London through the City to Whitehall. On the morning of the coronation they made their way to the Palace of Westminster and walked from there to the Abbey in procession. The ceremony was performed by William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury. The queen sat on a lower chair than the king. Afterwards there was a magnificent banquet in Westminster Hall ‘greater than any Caesar had known’. More days of feasting and jousting followed.

Henry would later amend the Oath that he took at his coronation to reflect his views about the relationship of crown and church. Only one other of his queens received a coronation – Anne Boleyn on 1 June 1533. Jane Seymour would probably also have had a coronation but the plague was raging at that time and it was not possible.