Even in the profane twenty-first century, it is difficult to overstate the importance of Westminster Abbey. As the coronation church for every English, and subsequently British, monarch since 1066 (bar the ill-fated Edward V and the conflicted Edward VIII), no other building has enjoyed such an integral and enduring relationship with a nation-state and its successive ruling dynasties. Britain’s de facto national church and mausoleum houses the remains of seventeen monarchs, eight prime ministers, and a wealth of national figures of military, cultural, and scientific repute, from Robert Adam to Isaac Newton. It has played host to countless events of historical importance, including the first performance of Handel’s Zadok the Priest for George II’s coronation in 1727; the interment of the Unknown Warrior in 1920; and perhaps most important of all (for the younger generation, at least) that television wedding to end all television weddings, the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011.
