The Dramatic Story of the Very First Westminster Abbey Coronation

When King Charles is crowned on May 6, the service will be broadcast live across the world, with cameras set up to capture every angle, and each detail instantly beamed onto devices. Today we take such access for granted—but when the first coronation was held at Westminster Abbey, the fact that the public had no idea what was happening inside had dramatic consequences.

William the Conqueror, or William I of England, was crowned at the Abbey in 1066 after traveling from Normandy to invade England and defeating King Harold II in the Battle of Hastings. He believed that he was the legitimate heir to the kingdom and had been promised the throne by Edward the Confessor. Westminster Abbey notes that “William probably chose the Abbey for his coronation to reinforce his claim to be a legitimate successor of Edward.”

William’s coronation took place on Christmas Day 1066 and was performed by the Archbishop of York in place of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Westminster Abbey notes that Bishop Geoffrey of Coutances spoke the words in French for the French-speaking Normans. But, the Abbey’s website explains, “When the French-speaking Normans and English-speaking Saxons then shouted their approval the Norman soldiers outside thought the noise inside was an assassination attempt and began setting fire to houses around the Abbey. Smoke filled the church and the congregation fled and riots broke out.”

Another account of the event by the BBC notes that respected historian Orderic Vitalis, who was born not long after the event, “paints a vivid picture of the terrified congregation fleeing from the smoke-filled church whilst the remaining Bishops hastily completed the ceremony, with the new king trembling from head to foot.”

Despite the coronation not going to plan, William is credited with establishing the tradition of England’s and later the United Kingdom’s kings and queens being crowned at Westminster Abbey. Intriguingly, he may not actually deserve this credit as, the Abbey notes, his predecessor Harold II, is likely to have been crowned here following Edward the Confessor's death "but there is no surviving contemporary evidence to confirm this ceremony."

There have been 38 coronations held at the Abbey and 39 monarchs crowned as there was one joint coronation in 1689 of William and Mary.

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