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The next Coronation of special interest is that of Henry III, the King who built the present Abbey Church. When Henry succeeded to the throne in 1216, after the sad and unfortunate reign of his father, King John, London was in the hands of the Dauphin of France, Prince Louis. Henry, therefore, could not be crowned at Westminster, and was first crowned at Gloucester, by the Bishop of Winchester, not with the crown, but with a chaplet or garland. It will be remembered that King John’s baggage and treasures, with the Regalia, had been swept away by the tide as he was crossing the Wash.

[W. Rice, F.R.P.S. NORTH AMBULATORY, WITH TOMBS OF HENRY III. AND EDWARD I.

It was not until Whitsunday 1220 that Henry was solemnly crowned in the Abbey by Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury. He was the last King to be crowned in the Confessor’s Norman Church. The day before his Coronation he had laid the foundation-stone of the Lady Chapel, that beautiful chapel which once stood where Henry VII’s Chapel now stands.