Today’s service draws on that long tradition, set once again within the context of the Eucharist, which is the defining act of worship for the Church universal. It was further modified over the following centuries, adapting to changing needs. The rite of Coronation in England, which is really a series of ancient rituals, has its roots in the ninth century and was codified in the fourteenth in a book called the Liber Regalis, which the Abbey still possesses. For almost a thousand years, Westminster Abbey, with the Shrine of St Edward, King and Confessor, at its heart, has remained the place of coronation for our Monarchs. He set his sights on being crowned in the new Abbey Church that Edward the Confessor had built beside his Palace at Westminster. When William, Duke of Normandy, defeated King Harold at Hastings in 1066, he was determined that he should be seen as the legitimate king of England. Here is the order of service for the King’s coronation, which will take place at 11am at Westminster Abbey on Saturday 6 May:
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