Visitors to Westminster Abbey will be allowed to stand for the first time on the exact spot where the King will be crowned - but only if they take their shoes off. Special guided “barefoot” tours in celebration of the May 6 coronation will include access to the Cosmati pavement, one of Britain’s greatest medieval art treasures, which is usually roped off to the public.
The intricate 13th century mosaic floor – at the heart of the Abbey’s coronation theatre – has been the site of the crowning of Kings and Queens for more than 700 years. It was covered over with carpet at many previous coronations including Queen Elizabeth II’s in 1953 and George VI’s in 1937, but for the King’s it will remain uncovered, the Abbey said.
Rich in symbolism, it is said to depict the universe, with a spherical globe at its centre, and even foretells the end of the world. Tourists – kept to small groups of 10 – will be asked to remove their shoes and walk in socks to help protect the pavement, made of geometric pattens of marble, stone, glass and metal, in the Sacrarium.
