Precise details of the earliest coronations at the Abbey are not known, but we do know that elements were added to the coronation over time. Eventually, the Liber Regalis was produced in around 1390 which brought all of these elements together. Since then, the overall format has largely stayed the same. Even guided by a medieval Latin manuscript, there has always been room for adaptations. Following the religious turmoil of the Reformation, it was Protestant Queen Elizabeth I who requested that parts of the service should be said in English instead of Latin for the first time so that the people would be able to understand the promises she was making.
Political changes have impacted coronations too. During the English Civil War, after the execution of King Charles I, the original regalia was destroyed and had to be remade in 1661 for King Charles II’s coronation. Although he did not believe in the institution of monarchy, when Oliver Cromwell accepted the position of Lord Protector, he did so in a ceremony in Westminster Hall sitting on the Coronation Chair.
