Throne room
A throne room or throne hall is the room, often rather a hall, in the official residence of the crown, either a palace or a fortified castle, where the throne of a senior figure (usually a monarch) is set up with elaborate pomp—usually raised, often with steps, and under a canopy, both of which are part of the original notion of the Greek word thronos.
Function
A throne room is an impressive setting for a monarch to preside 'in majesty' over official ceremonies, to hold council, to grant audiences, to receive homage, to award high honors and offices, and to perform other official functions. Any of these could just as well be transferred, even on a permanent basis, to one or more other rooms, even outside the palace or ambulant. It can also be where the royal court can gather.
A common misconception is that kings and other ruling princes governed their lands seated on a throne for most of the working day. This may have been true in earlier times, for some rulers who actually presided over their council; yet often, another room was used, but only in peacetime.
Many others were almost constantly on the move with an ambulant court. It could even have been that the crown did not have an effective capital, as in
, and their court often travelled on an almost continental scale.Other monarchies frequently changed their capital, but then they would have used a mobile throne, possibly in addition to the permanent one used for enthronement and/or coronation. There are cases in Africa and Asia where the very name of the 'capital' is not a fixed place, but was the place wherever a king settled for a few years. In some climates court migrated annually between a summer and a winter capital. It has also common to spend quite some time, without need for practical reason, in secondary residences, not in the least hunting lodges.
Even when their capitals were fixed, English and French
Even when in the main or only palace, the monarch often spent much time in other parts of the residence, such as the dining hall, the chapel, private quarters (for rest and family life), possibly a separate presence room, the council chamber, ballroom, gardens, court, theatre, and other recreational facilities.
Nowadays, throne rooms are only used for occasional grand ceremonies. Paperwork is done in an office, and most guests are received in a salon.
Notable examples
The following are notable throne rooms. Others are listed in the article on thrones.
Austria
Hofburg
Once the seat of the
Canada
The chamber of the
China
In the Forbidden City, China's last imperial palace, the principal throne rooms are the three halls of the Outer Palace: the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony and the Hall of Preserving Harmony, of which the Hall of Supreme Harmony was the most important.
Denmark
Rosenborg
The throne in the throne room at
Christiansborg
The throne room actually used for receiving ambassadors is at
France
Versailles
The throne was commissioned by
Fontainebleau Palace
Preferring Fontainebleau over Versailles,
Monaco: Prince's Palace,
For over 700 years, the
Germany
Residence of Munich
The
Neuschwanstein
Note that the throne room of this beautiful, dream-like castle,
Hawaii
ʻIolani Palace
The throne room at
Portugal
Ajuda Palace, Lisbon
The Portuguese Throne room (pt. Sala do Trono) is in the
Russia
Peterhof
Used by the
Winter Palace
Regarded as the throne of
Spain
Royal Palace of Madrid
The
The
Sweden
Stockholm Palace
The throne located in the
For the coronation of king
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom monarchs almost always had their own personal throne constructed. Until 1900, each throne was usually given or melted down at the end of the monarch's reign for the next throne. The thrones after 1900 were saved. The exact number of thrones in the United Kingdom is unknown, though there are at least more than five. The United Kingdom differs from other countries as it has instead of one or two thrones, numerous thrones, some of which are 800 years old. The “throne” used for the anointing and crowning of the monarch during the Coronation of the British Monarch is called the Chair of St. Edward, or St. Edward’s Chair. The Chair, which is centuries old, is usually on display at Westminster Abbey.
Buckingham Palace
The Throne Room of
It is in the throne room that the sovereign, on special occasions, receives loyal addresses. Another use of the throne room has been for formal wedding photographs. The throne room is usually not used for ambassadors' arrival, which is usually in the ambassadors room of Buckingham Palace.
Apart from the Thrones in the room actually named Throne Room, there is also a pair of Thrones in the Buckingham Palace Ballroom, that is a larger multi-purpose hall within the palace. The ballroom is also used for investiture ceremonies in the UK's honours system.
There are also other thrones in the Throne Room. To the right of the sovereign's throne is Queen Victoria's throne and opposite that on the other side of the room is the throne chairs of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. There are also two further thrones in the room.
St James's Palace
Although Buckingham Palace has been the primary official residence of the British monarchs since 1837, St James's Palace remains the senior palace of the British monarchy.[6] St James's remains a busy working palace, and also retains an important ceremonial function: it still is the place where the Accession Council customarily meets to proclaim the new sovereign and to receive from them the required oath. This was last seen upon the accession of King Charles III.
St James's Throne Room is used for official occasions. For instance it is in this room that the lord mayor and councillors of the City of Westminster usually present an address of welcome to visiting heads of state on state visits.
While the Throne Room of Buckingham Palace has two thrones for the (except for the others) reigning king or queen and another for the monarch's consort, the Throne Room at St James's Palace contains only one throne, pertaining to the sovereign. As in the case of Buckingham Palace, the reigning monarchs throne is placed under a canopy.
The velvet cloth behind the throne is dominated by the coat of arms of the United Kingdom.
This room was more recently the setting for the
Palace of Holyroodhouse
The Throne Room of the
Palace of Westminster
Although the primary purpose and reputation of the
Clerks and officers of the House of Lords bow to the throne when crossing the chamber.
The Palace of Westminster also has a second throne under a canopy in the Robing Room, a room of the palace that remains under the authority of the Crown (and not of either House of Parliament), under the direction of the Lord Great Chamberlain, and that is used by the monarch to robe and to unrobe before and after the State Opening of Parliament.
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle has a throne room known as the Garter Throne Room, where a chapter meeting of the Order of the Garter, including, if necessary, the investiture of any new Knights and Ladies, takes place once a year. The room accommodates two rows of chairs for all Knights and Ladies of the Garter, with the sovereign's Throne at the head. The current throne housed in the Garter Throne room is another personal throne of Queen Elizabeth II although sometimes the Indian Throne, a gift to Queen Victoria, is used.
Colloquial usage
In British English, "throne room" is also used as a euphemism for "lavatory".[citation needed]
Ireland
Dublin Castle
Located in the State Apartments, the Throne Room in
Malaysia
References
- ^ "Trone" (in Danish). Gyldendal. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
- ^ "Throne Room". Iolani Palace. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
- ^ 'Iolani Palace - The Palace Building, archived from the original on 6 August 2009, retrieved 11 February 2010
- ^ "Home". pnajuda.imc-ip.pt.
- ^ Designing the decor: French Drawings from the eighteenth century, Catalogue of the Exhibition, Gulbenkian Foundation, 2005, pp. 92–95
- ^ The Royal Residences > St James's Palace
- ^ "Queen's coffin arrives in Edinburgh". BBC News. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
- ^ "St. Giles' Cathedral and its Royal history". Historic Environment Scotland. 12 September 2022. Retrieved 12 September 2022.