Chapel Royal at St. James’s Palace in London, England

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The north gatehouse, the main entrance of St James’s Palace on Pall Mall. The large window to the right of the gatehouse is the stained glass window of the Chapel Royal; Credit – Wikipedia

The Chapel Royal at St. James’s Palace is a royal peculiar which means it is under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch. It is also a chapel royal, an establishment in the royal household serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign. It is located in the main block of St. James’s Palace in London, England, less than a half-mile from Buckingham Palace. St. James’s Palace was built in the 1530s during the reign of King Henry VIII on the site of a leper hospital dedicated to St. James the Less, hence the name St. James’s Palace. St. James’s Palace was displaced in the late-18th and early-19th centuries as a residence by Buckingham Palace.

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St. James’s Palace is still a working palace, and the Royal Court is still formally based there, despite the monarch residing elsewhere. Ambassadors from foreign countries to the United Kingdom are still accredited to the Court of St. James’s. St. James’s Palace is the home of several members of the British royal family and their household offices, and it hosts many receptions each year for charities associated with members of the royal family. The State Apartments are sometimes used for entertaining during state visits, as well as for other ceremonial and formal occasions. For instance, the Accession Council meets in St. James’s Palace following the death of a monarch, and the accession of a new monarch is proclaimed by Garter King of Arms from the Proclamation Gallery overlooking Friary Court of St. James’s Palace.

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The Chapel Royal at St. James’s Palace, with its oak paneling, marble floors, and green lamps on the pews, is small and seats only 150 people. Old tapestries hang from the cream-colored walls and the ceiling is decorated with golden swirls of royal initials and coats of arms. A beautiful stained glass window over the altar floods the chapel with natural light.

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The chapel ceiling was copied from the mosaics in the ambulatory vault at Santa Costanza, a 4th-century church in Rome, Italy. The honeycomb-like ceiling panels were painted by Hans Holbein the Younger with royal cyphers and coats of arms in honor of King Henry VIII’s (short-lived) marriage to his fourth wife Anne of Cleves.

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The current stained glass window over the altar, designed by artist John Napper, was installed to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee in 2002. A tree in the center panel is occupied by birds, red and white flowers that resemble Tudor roses, and plaques with names of countries affiliated with Queen Elizabeth II. ‘ER’ (Elizabeth Regina, Elizabeth the Queen in Latin) is written on the trunk of the tree. The two side panels show the Gospel writers Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Click on the photo below to see an enlargement.

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The stained glass window commemorating Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee

In 1836, alterations to the chapel were carried out by architect Sir Robert Smirke. Smirke enlarged the chapel, installed oak paneling, and added a new ceiling at the south end, decorated with the names and royal cyphers of King William IV, the king at that time, and his wife Queen Adelaide to match the earlier ceiling painted by Holbein. During World War II, the chapel was damaged by a bomb but was fully restored.

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Interior view of the Chapel Royal in St James’s Palace, 1816

The Chapel Royal at St. James’s Palace has been used since the time of King Henry VIII and is still used by the British royal family. Both Prince George of Wales and Prince Louis of Wales, sons of Prince William, The Prince of Wales, were christened there. When St. James’s Palace was a royal residence, the royal family and their courtiers worshipped at the Chapel Royal. Queen Mary I’s heart is buried beneath the choir stalls. In 1588, Queen Elizabeth I said prayers in the Chapel Royal as she waited to receive messages of the progress of the Spanish Armada. In 1649, after being convicted of treason and other high crimes and sentenced to death during the English Civil War, King Charles I was held at St. James’s Palace. On the day of his execution, King Charles I received Holy Communion in the Chapel Royal and then walked the short distance from St. James’s Palace to the Palace of Whitehall where a scaffold for his beheading had been built outside the Banqueting House.

Christenings at the Chapel Royal, St. James’s Palace

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Christening of Princess Beatrice of York

Weddings at the Chapel Royal, St. James’s Palace

Wedding of the future King George V and Princess Victoria Mary of Teck; Credit- By Laurits Regner Tuxen (1853-1927) – Royal Collection [1] Identification key [2], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8759360

Other Royal Events at the Chapel Royal, St. James’s Palace

  • The coffin of Diana, Princess of Wales rested in the Chapel Royal, St. James’s Palace from August 31 – September 5, 1997. On September 5, 1997, the coffin was moved to Kensington Palace where it would remain until the funeral at Westminster Abbey on September 6, 1997.
  • Meghan Markle, the future wife of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, was baptized and confirmed into the Church of England at the Chapel Royal, St. James’s Palace on March 6, 2018.

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Works Cited

  • Bull, M., 2020. St James’s Palace: Photos inside Princess Anne’s official London residence. [online] Express.co.uk. Available at: <https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/property/1400245/princess-anne-royal-family-inside-st-James-palace-chapel-pictures-Beatrice> [Accessed 15 March 2021].
  • Colinburns.com. 2021. The British Monarchy. [online] Available at: <http://www.colinburns.com/di/www.royal.gov.uk/palaces/chapel.htm> [Accessed 15 March 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Chapel Royal. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapel_Royal#St_James’ss_Palace> [Accessed 15 March 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. St James’s Palace. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_James%27s_Palace> [Accessed 15 March 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2019. British Royal Christenings: House of Hanover. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/house-of-hanover-christenings/> [Accessed 15 March 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2019. British Royal Christenings – House of Stuart. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/british-royal-christenings-house-of-stuart/ 2019> [Accessed 15 March 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2012. Weddings of British Monarchs’ Children: Tudors – Windsors. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/royal-weddings/british-royal-weddings/weddings-of-british-monarchs-children/> [Accessed 15 March 2021].
  • The Royal Family. 2021. The Chapel Royal. [online] Available at: <https://www.royal.uk/chapelroyal> [Accessed 15 March 2021].