Coronation throne restoration

Apr 20, 2010, 12:46 GMT

Britain's Coronation throne is to be given a £200,000 makeover.

The chair, which has been used in the coronation of almost every monarch - apart from Edward V, Mary I and Edward VIII - for the past 700 years, is to be given a year long renovation in an attempt to preserve its medieval decorations.

The two metre-high gothic style chair, which is housed under heavy protection in Westminster Abbey, London, has endured much damage over the centuries.

The four gilded lions which act as legs to the chair are in good condition but the ornate gold gilt and glasswork has been scratched, as well as the wood structure.

One particular schoolboy carved: "P Abbott slept in this chair, 5, 6, July 1800", on the back of it.

Dr. Tony Trowles, head of the Abbey Collection, admitted the throne had become a "slightly battered object" and was in desperate needed of the restoration work which was beginning at the end of April.

He told The Independent newspaper: "At first sight it looks like an odd chair for a monarch to be sat in. It's a slightly battered object but what does survive is particularly fragile and needs to be stabilized.

"The work is really conserving the original medieval paintwork and gilding, much of which was lost over the centuries."

The project, carried out by conservator Marie Louise Sauerberg, is estimated to take a year.

The painstaking work will involve removing paint which was applied during Queen Victoria's reign as well as additional polish and wax.