London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Long Lost Royal Bed May Finally Serve UK Monarch

Long Lost Royal Bed May Finally Serve UK Monarch

Although a little larger than king size, an unusual bed stored in Britain's Palace of Westminster with a remarkable history could see its first royal sleepover ahead of Charles III's coronation in May.
Although a little larger than king size, an unusual bed stored in Britain's Palace of Westminster with a remarkable history could see its first royal sleepover ahead of Charles III's coronation in May.

The regal crib, which has its origins in a thousand-year-old tradition observed up to the time of Henry VIII in the 16th century, was lost for decades but is ready for service after a remarkable journey.

On the night before coronation, the sovereign traditionally spent the night at the Palace of Westminster, then the Royal Palace.

After falling out of favour, the tradition was revived two centuries ago for the coronation of George IV in 1821.

But that bed was destroyed in the fire that ravaged Parliament in 1834.

So another one, finished in 1858, was made but has "actually never been used the night before the coronation", parliamentary historian Mark Collins told AFP.

Discovery in mill

It was not ready for Queen Victoria's coronation in 1838 and subsequent monarchs chose not to spend the night at Westminster.

The bed was dismantled and stored away during World War II, forgotten as the Victorian era fell out of fashion.

Its whereabouts were unknown at the time of Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953 and it was not until the late 1970s that a V&A Museum expert, Clive Wainwright, launched an appeal to try to find the bed.

His efforts proved successful, with a family coming forward to reveal it was located at a woollen mill in Wales.

It had been bought at an auction for £100 ($119) in the 1960s by the parents of Richard Martin, now 70.

"They knew it was a special item, they knew that it was something important, but they didn't know where it had come from at all," said historian Collins.

And for about 20 years, the bed had a very busy life. One of the family's children, Benedict, was even born there in 1965.

'Night-time throne'

The fantastical piece stirred the imagination of a young Richard Martin on his way to the land of nod.

"When I was a child... we thought that whoever lived in the bed, who slept in the bed, would put their cigarette" in little holes carved in the wood, while reading or drinking tea, he told AFP.

"Nobody else had a bed like that", he said, calling it "a night-time throne".

The bed was bought back from the family and then restored.

The original royal red and purple hangings, adorned with the rose for England, the thistle for Scotland and the clover for Ireland, had long disappeared and were recreated in 1984.

The public can now see the piece following Speaker Lindsay Hoyle's decision to open the rooms up for tours, but it will be hidden from view during the King's coronation weekend, starting May 5.

The "State Bed" lives a stone's throw from Big Ben in a dedicated room in parliament's Speaker's quarters, with windows overlooking Westminster Bridge and the London Eye.

The upper part of the bed, which has a walnut frame with gilding and royal symbols, is over three metres (about 10 feet) high.

The question now remains whether Charles will captain its maiden royal voyage.

Ms Collins said it will be ready for action, whatever the decision.

"I don't think it'd be too long before we actually find out whether it'll be used again.

"The bed the bed is definitely ready, just in case."
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×