King Charles reuses historic chairs to make coronation more sustainable

Royal family embraces sustainability and promotes conservation

Upholsterer Beatrice Ekwalla works on restoring a throne chair at the Marlborough House workshops in London, in the lead up to the coronation of Britain's King Charles III on February 17, 2023. (PhotShow more

King Charles III will reuse historic chairs from previous coronations to promote sustainability during his coronation service.

The King will be seated on a throne chair that was used by his grandfather, King George VI, during the 1937 coronation.

The original embroidered coats of arms have been conserved on the reupholstered chair.

Queen Consort Camilla will also use a reupholstered chair, identical with the one used by the late Queen Mother in 1937. It will have the Queen Mother's coats of arms replaced with newly embroidered versions created by the Royal School of Needlework.

Caroline de Guitaut, deputy surveyor of the King's Works of Art at the Royal Collection Trust, said: “[The king] has wanted very much to reuse things where possible and obviously it's an incredibly efficient and sustainable thing to do.”

She said the decision respected the historic nature of the objects while conserving them for future generations.

The coronation service will involve a succession of chairs for the king, who will move from a chair of estate to the ancient coronation chair to be crowned, and finally to the throne chair for the enthronement and homage elements of the service.

The queen consort will also be seated in a chair of estate before moving to a throne chair.

The chairs of estate, originally made for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip for the 1953 coronation, have been refurbished with new upholstery and King Charles and Camilla's ciphers embroidered by the RSN.

The throne chairs were restored by AT Cronin Workshop, a family firm of upholsterers in west London, over a two-month period using traditional materials and methods.

In addition to the repurposed chairs, 100 congregation chairs made from sustainable British oak will be set out in Westminster Abbey, covered in blue velvet with the King and Queen Consort's ciphers.

These chairs will be sold after the coronation and the money raised donated to charity.

This commitment to sustainability extends beyond the furniture used during the event.

Primary school children will be sent wild flower seeds to commemorate the coronation, and new national nature reserves will be formally declared in the summer, including the Lincolnshire Coronation Coast National Nature Reserve.