The 700-year-old Coronation chair used by monarchs since the 14th century is getting a makeover 

It has played a key role in crowning monarchs for over 700 years. Now the Coronation chair, one of the country’s most prized and least-seen pieces of furniture, is getting a makeover ahead of King Carlos III’s enthronement on May 6.

And surprisingly, it keeps revealing its secrets as restoration experts uncover hidden details.

The King will be crowned in the chair, which Edward I commissioned around 1300 to house the Stone of Scone.

Made of oak and originally covered in gold leaf with elaborate colored glass decorations, it would have appeared as if it were made of solid gold.

Known to have been decorated by Edward I’s master painter with patterns of birds, foliage and a king, the chair is considered an unrivaled surviving example of medieval art, though its back is marked with 18th and 19th century graffiti.

The coronation chair in Westminster Abbey in London, which is being restored ahead of the upcoming coronation of King Charles, pictured in 1953 at the coronation of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Queen Victoria depicted sitting in the famous coronation chair in Westminster Abbey during her enthronement in 1837

A tourist scored ‘P. Abbott slept in this chair on July 5-6, 1800 in the seat.

A 1914 bombing, believed to have been by suffragettes, brought down a small street corner. Westminster Abbey conservators are using sponges and swabs to clean it and stabilize the gilding.

They believe they have found a previously overlooked part of a figure, perhaps the toes of a king or saint, on the back.

Krista Blessley, Curator of Paintings at Westminster Abbey, described her pride in helping to preserve a historic object central to the life of the nation, saying: “It is a real privilege to work in the coronation chair.”

“It’s very important to the history of our country and in the history of the monarchy, and it’s really unique as a curator to work on something that’s part of a working collection and is still used for the original function it was made for.”

The coronation of King George V on June 22, 1911, three years before the outbreak of the First World War

A depiction of King Edward II seated in the coronation chair in 1308, next to his wife Elizabeth of France.

‘Save the date’ notices for the coronation are expected to go out to guests this week with official invitations to follow in April.

And while the guest list has shrunk from the 8,000 who attended the Queen’s Coronation in 1953 to 2,000, there is one area where the King has expanded.

For centuries, convention has dictated that no other crowned royal should be present at a British monarch’s coronation because the sacred ceremony is meant to be an intimate exchange between the monarch and his people in the presence of God.

But as part of his plan to update the ceremony, King Charles decided to break away from the 900-year-old tradition by inviting his crowned friends, including European royals and rulers of Arab states.

Foreign monarchs will be invited to King Charles’ coronation in a historic break with a long royal tradition

A source said: “Inviting the King of Jordan (left), the Sultan of Brunei, the Sultan of Oman and the Scandinavian royals, who are all friends of Charles, will be a good dose of soft power and diplomacy.” Pictured: The King and Queen of Jordan at Queen Elizabeth’s funeral

A source told The Mail on Sunday that the tradition is being reviewed in the name of diplomacy, saying: “I think the rule started because a coronation is meant to be a private event of a monarch with God.”

‘At the Queen’s Coronation there were no crowned monarchs, only protectorate rulers like the Queen of Tonga. It has been a tradition for centuries.

The source added: “Inviting the King of Jordan, the Sultan of Brunei, the Sultan of Oman and the Scandinavian royals, who are all friends with Carlos, will be a good dose of soft power and diplomacy.”

Another well-placed source said: “You can expect the guest list for the Coronation to look more like a royal wedding than the Coronation of 70 years ago.”