The King’s Table was a carved stone

table Table may refer to: * Table (furniture), a piece of furniture with a flat surface and one or more legs * Table (landform), a flat area of land * Table (information), a data arrangement with rows and columns * Table (database), how the table data ...

that was a symbol of royal power in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The table was used by

monarchs A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power in ...

from the 13th century onward for coronation feasts and state banquets. Edward I, the king who took the

Stone of Scone The Stone of Scone (; gd, An Lia Fàil; sco, Stane o Scuin)—also known as the Stone of Destiny, and often referred to in England as The Coronation Stone—is an oblong block of red sandstone that has been used for centuries in the coronati ...

from the

Kingdom of Scotland The Kingdom of Scotland (; , ) was a sovereign state in northwest Europe traditionally said to have been founded in 843. Its territories expanded and shrank, but it came to occupy the northern third of the island of Great Britain, sharing a l ...

, was the first English monarch recorded to have used it. The mid 13th-century style of carving means that the table could date back to Henry III. Henry VIII used the table for feasts after his marriages to Catherine of Aragon and

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...

. The table was originally constructed with Purbeck marble, sourced from

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

, and repaired over a 300-year period with the first major change occurring in 1307. The King's Table was broken into pieces by

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...

following the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

and buried under the Palace of Westminster. A new table was created during the

English Restoration The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland took place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in continental Europe. The preceding period of the Protectorate and the civil wars came to ...

. The broken pieces of the original were placed in the foundations of a

dais A dais or daïs ( or , American English also but sometimes considered nonstandard)dais
in the Random House Dictionary< ...

built in the 17th century in Westminster Hall, which was used by

James II of England James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...

at his coronation banquet. The first piece of the table was rediscovered in the 1960s beneath the floor of Westminster Hall. Archaeologists rediscovered more pieces of the table in 2006.

References

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External links

Stone table of royal power lunch found in seat of democracy
''The Times Online'', 9 June 2006 13th-century works 1960s archaeological discoveries Tables (furniture) Edward I of England Henry VIII Limestone sculptures in the United Kingdom Oliver Cromwell Palace of Westminster James II of England Henry III of England

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References

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