Westminster Abbey has been the site of every royal coronation since 1066. Every English and British monarch since William the Conqueror has been crowned at the Abbey (except for those who were never formally crowned: Edward V and VIII). The coronation ceremony has not changed much in the last 1,000 years. The Archbishop of Canterbury presides over the ceremony, during which the monarch takes an oath to uphold the law and the Church. After the oath, the monarch is anointed with holy oil and formally crowned.

Behind its walls, the Abbey houses the remains of Britain's luminaries. More than 3,000 illustrious figures are laid to rest here, from Edward the Confessor to scientific and literary geniuses.

• Edward the Confessor, Anglo-Saxon king and founder of the first abbey
• Geoffrey Chaucer, pioneer of English literature, buried in Poets' Corner
• Sir Isaac Newton, scientific genius, immortalized near the entrance to Henry VII's Chapel
• The Unknown Soldier, a sacred symbol of the First World War, in the nave
• Statues of 20th-century Christian martyrs above the Great West Gate

Its aisles tell stories of glory and mystery. The majestic tomb of Elizabeth I shares the space with the burial place of Mary Stuart, the tragic queen. Poets' Corner whispers timeless verses, capturing the spirit of Dickens and Kipling. Every headstone, every memorial, tells a piece of British history in this cathedral of remembrance.