To celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III, the lastminute.com London Eye is offering guests the unique opportunity to ‘step behind the royal coronation curtain’ and have their very own crowning experience 135m in the air.
Running from Saturday 29 April to Monday 8 May, the brand-new Coronation Capsule will honour this once-in-a-generation moment, replicating the grandeur and gothic design of Westminster Abbey in a London Eye pod – while offering visitors a bird’s eye view of the real historical church where 38 coronations have taken place since 1066.
The sky-high majestic pod creates the illusion of ribbed vaulted ceilings, stained glass windows and carved stone columns. The Coronation Capsule features wooden benches inspired by the Abbey’s quire stalls, the black and white marble floor motif and the intricate blue and gold designs featured on the walls as you enter the High Altar where the Coronation will take place on 6 May.
Guests will be invited to sit in a re-creation of the 700-year-old Coronation Chair, complete with years of schoolboy and tourist graffiti, and hold replicas of the Crown Jewels - St. Edward's Crown, the Sovereign's Orb and the Sovereign's Sceptre - to act out their very own coronation and take the ultimate stately selfie while flying 443ft above the capital to commemorate the occasion.
“What a way to celebrate the Coronation. Only 2,000 people will be lucky enough to get into Westminster Abbey to see the real ceremony, so for anyone looking to get a taste of history getting up close and personal with a replica Coronation Chair and Crown Jewels is a strong alternative! The chair and the Crown Jewels themselves have a fascinating history. The Coronation Chair for example has been used in every coronation since the 1300’s and despite being a priceless historical artefact, those who look closely will see it has graffiti. The graffiti on the back part of the chair is a result of Westminster schoolboys and visitors carving their names on it in the 18th and 19th centuries. One of the tourists even carved “P. Abbot slept in this chair 5 – 6 July 1800” on the seat. And St. Edwards Crown, the most famous of the Crown Jewels, is made of solid gold contains 444 precious and semi-precious stones. The real one is also said to be so heavy that the late Queen said it could snap your neck.”
Professor Kate Williams, British Historian and Royal Expert"Celebrations such as this bring the nation together and see people from all over the UK and the world flocking to our beautiful capital city. We very much look forward to welcoming everyone to London, and hope many will enjoy marking this historical moment in our first of its kind ‘Coronation Capsule’. While we can’t make guests a real King or Queen, we hope the experience will make people feel like one as they cruise over the city with spectacular views of royal buildings such as Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey during this once-in-a-generation event."
Imran Tauqir, General Manager at the lastminute.com London Eye