The King George VI Memorial Chapel is part of
St George's Chapel
St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is both a Royal Peculiar (a church under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch) and the Chapel of the Order of the Gart ...
at
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history.
The original cast ...
in England. The chapel was commissioned by
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
in 1962 as a burial place for her father,
King George VI
George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...
, and was completed in 1969. It contains the final resting places of King George VI,
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was the l ...
, Queen Elizabeth II,
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...
, and the ashes of
Princess Margaret
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth ...
. It was designed by
George Pace
George Gaze Pace, (31 December 1915 – 23 August 1975) was an English architect who specialised in ecclesiastical works.
He was trained in London, and served in the army, before being appointed as surveyor to a number of cathedrals. Mo ...
.
History
The chapel was commissioned by
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
in 1962.
The architects of the chapel were commissioned to design it to accommodate the remains of three monarchs and their consorts.
[ Her private secretary wrote to the ]Dean of Windsor
The Dean of Windsor is the spiritual head of the canons of St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, England. The dean chairs meetings of the Chapter of Canons as ''primus inter pares''. The post of Dean of Wolverhampton was assimilated to the deane ...
, Robin Woods
Robert Wilmer Woods, (14 February 1914 – 20 October 1997), known as Robin Woods, was an English Anglican bishop. He was the Bishop of Worcester from 1971 to 1982. He previously served as Archdeacon of Sheffield from 1958 to 1962, and as D ...
, in December 1962 with two requests. The first was that the Queen's eldest son, Prince Charles
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...
, be prepared for confirmation
In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...
, and the second was that a specific resting place be found for her father, King George VI
George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...
.[ Following his funeral service at St George's Chapel, George's remains had been transferred to the royal vault beneath the chapel. George's death was unexpected, and no specific resting place had been designated for him.][
Her request was not acted upon for a further five years, as the Queen wanted her mother, George's widow, ]Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was the l ...
, to avoid the painful experience of burying her husband for a second time.[ She also disliked the idea of a marble chest tomb with life-sized effigies that were typically commissioned for the remains of monarchs and preferred simple slabs inlaid into the floor.][ There was no space for another vault to be constructed in St George's Chapel and so a solution was found with the construction of an additional ]chantry
A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings:
# a chantry service, a Christian liturgy of prayers for the dead, which historically was an obiit, or
# a chantry chapel, a building on private land, or an area in ...
chapel to the exterior of St George's Chapel.[ This was the first addition to St George's Chapel since the completion of the chantry on the south side of the chapel for ]Oliver King
Oliver King (29 August 1503) was a Bishop of Exeter and Bishop of Bath and Wells who restored Bath Abbey after 1500.
Early life
King was educated at Eton, where he was a king's scholar, and King's College, Cambridge, where he graduated Maste ...
, the private secretary to Henry VII in 1504.[
]
Design
The initial plan for the new chapel was rejected by the Royal Fine Arts Commission
The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) was an executive non-departmental public body of the UK government, established in 1999. It was funded by both the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for C ...
. It involved the construction of a small rectangular chantry into the north wall of the nave to a design by Paul Paget and John Seely, 2nd Baron Mottistone
Henry John Alexander Seely, 2nd Baron Mottistone, (1 May 1899 – 18 January 1963) was an architect whose work in the partnership of Seely & Paget included the interior of Eltham Palace in the Art Deco style, and the post-World War II restora ...
.[ The second plan submitted for the design of the chapel was approved. It was proposed by the architect ]George Pace
George Gaze Pace, (31 December 1915 – 23 August 1975) was an English architect who specialised in ecclesiastical works.
He was trained in London, and served in the army, before being appointed as surveyor to a number of cathedrals. Mo ...
and involved the construction of a chantry chapel between the Rutland Chapel and the north choir of St George's Chapel.[ Pace's design is in height, in width and in depth.][ It was completed in 1969.][ The chapel stands between two of the external buttresses of the north wall of the quire,] and it is made from stone from Clipsham
Clipsham is a small village in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. It is in the northeast of Rutland, close to the county boundary with Lincolnshire. The population of the civil parish was 120 at the 2001 census increasing to ...
[ in Rutland. The red and blue stained-glass windows of the chapel were designed by John Piper and made by ]Patrick Reyntiens
Nicholas Patrick Reyntiens OBE (; 11 December 1925 – 25 October 2021) was a British stained-glass artist, described as "the leading practitioner of stained glass in this country."
Personal life
Reyntiens was born in December 1925 at 68 Ca ...
.[ The roof of the chapel is painted in black and white and decorated with embedded gold leaf.][ An altar in the chapel has a bronze relief portrait of George VI by Sir ]William Reid Dick
Sir William Reid Dick, (13 January 1878 – 1 October 1961) was a Scottish sculptor known for his innovative stylisation of form in his monument sculptures and simplicity in his portraits. He became an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1921, a ...
, a replica of the portrait of George which hangs in the church of St Mary Magdalene on the royal estate of Sandringham Sandringham can refer to:
Places
* Sandringham, New South Wales, Australia
* Sandringham, Queensland, Australia
* Sandringham, Victoria, Australia
**Sandringham railway line
**Sandringham railway station
**Electoral district of Sandringham
* Sand ...
in Norfolk.[ The completed chapel was described by ]Robin Woods
Robert Wilmer Woods, (14 February 1914 – 20 October 1997), known as Robin Woods, was an English Anglican bishop. He was the Bishop of Worcester from 1971 to 1982. He previously served as Archdeacon of Sheffield from 1958 to 1962, and as D ...
, Dean of Windsor
The Dean of Windsor is the spiritual head of the canons of St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, England. The dean chairs meetings of the Chapter of Canons as ''primus inter pares''. The post of Dean of Wolverhampton was assimilated to the deane ...
, as continuing "the perpendicular Gothic designs of the chapel itself, but in a twentieth century idiom".[ There is an interment chamber directly beneath the chapel in which the remains are placed.
]
Interments
King George VI (1969)
George's remains were transferred to the newly constructed memorial chapel, named in his honour, on 24 March 1969. The chapel was built at a cost of £25,000 (), entirely funded by Elizabeth II.[ It was dedicated on 31 March 1969 in a ceremony attended by George's widow, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and their daughter Queen Elizabeth II, with her husband ]Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...
, and their eldest children, Prince Charles and Princess Anne
Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of K ...
.[ The former king, ]Edward VIII
Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 19 ...
, was not invited to the ceremony. Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of German ...
was absent due to his attendance at the funeral of the former President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
, Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
.[ The ceremony was also attended by the ]Knights of the Garter
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
.[
The chapel is marked by gates of wrought iron inscribed with the words "I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: 'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown'," from the 1908 poem "]The Gate of the Year
"The Gate of the Year" is the popular name given to a poem by Minnie Louise Haskins. The title given to it by the author was "God Knows". She studied and then taught at the London School of Economics in the first half of the twentieth century.
Ba ...
" by Minnie Louise Haskins
Minnie Louise Haskins (12 May 1875 – 3 February 1957) was a British poet and an academic in the field of sociology, best known for being quoted by King George VI in his Royal Christmas Message of 1939.
Early life
Haskins was born at 2 Kings ...
. The words were notably quoted by George VI in his Royal Christmas Message
The King's Christmas Message (also known as The Queen's Christmas Message in the reign of a female monarch, formally as His Majesty's Most Gracious Speech, and informally as the Royal Christmas Message) is a broadcast made by the sovereign of t ...
of 1939.[
]
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (2002)
The ashes of George's younger daughter, Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth ...
, were placed in the royal vault of St George's Chapel on 15 February 2002.[ Margaret was the first member of the royal family to be cremated since ]Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll
Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, (Louisa Caroline Alberta; 18 March 1848 – 3 December 1939) was the sixth child and fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
In her public life, she was a strong proponent of the arts and highe ...
, in 1939.[ She was cremated to ensure that her remains could be accommodated in the small interment chamber beneath the chapel.][ George's widow, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, was interred beneath the chapel on 9 April 2002 following her funeral at Westminster Abbey.] Margaret's ashes were placed in her parents' tomb at the same time. With the royal monogram
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, a c ...
representing Margaret carved below the inscriptions, Margaret's tombstone is now placed separately in the right-hand corner of the chapel and reads:
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (2022)
On 19 September 2022, in a private service attended only by members of the royal family, Elizabeth II was interred beneath the memorial chapel following her state funeral at Westminster Abbey earlier that day. Elizabeth's husband, Philip
Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...
, who died in 2021, had been placed in the royal vault of St George's Chapel following his funeral at the chapel. He was also then interred beneath the King George VI Memorial Chapel along with his wife. After their interments, a replacement ledger stone with an additional metal star of the Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George C ...
between the couples' names was put into the floor of the chapel. The ledger now reads:
References
External links
Royal burials
in the Chapel by location
{{Authority control
1969 establishments in England
Burial monuments and structures in the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II
George VI
House of Windsor
Modernist architecture in England
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
Religious buildings and structures completed in 1969
Stone buildings in the United Kingdom
Windsor Castle