Westminster Abbey and Parliament Square

Westminster Abbey is the third church on the site and was mostly built in the 1200s. Every single monarch in England has been crowned here since 1066 and it is the site of royal weddings including William and Kate. This afternoon, all the dignitaries will walk through the west door for today’s ceremony of thanksgiving for the commonweath. 

17 monarchs are buried here including Mary Queen of Scots, the first Queen Elizabeth, and the parents of Henry the 8th. Those not buried here are at Windsor. It also houses the bodies or ashes of otherfamous statesmen and writers including the ashes of Stephen Hawking and Sir Isaac Newton. 

The architecture of Westminster Abbey is gothic and reflects the love of lights and colors in the stained glass popular at the time. It was previously a monastery but the abbey’s monasteries were dissolved by Henry the 8th in the 1530s when he broke from the Catholic Church. It is structured inside to accommmodate the coronation area. 

Flags in the square outside the Abbey represent the countries of the Commonwealth. The square statues  include Churchill looking at parliament. The first woman statue, honoring Millicent Fawcett who faught to give women the right to vote, only appeared last year in Parliament Square. Oher statues include Abraham Lincoln, Ghandi, and other fighters for civil rights and democracy. 

The other end of the square is the Houses of Parliament. Big Ben is currently under scaffolding so not visible for us.