The Royal Tombs of Westminster Abbey: Who Lies Where

Short answer: about 17 monarchs are buried in Westminster Abbey, by Wikipedia’s estimate. The medieval kings lie around the shrine of Edward the Confessor behind the high altar. The Tudors and Stuarts lie in the Lady Chapel at the east end: Henry VII, Elizabeth I and Mary I in one tomb, Mary, Queen of Scots, and finally George II, the last monarch buried here. Queen Elizabeth II is not here; she is buried at Windsor.

Edward the Confessor’s shrine

The oldest royal grave in the Abbey is that of Edward the Confessor, the king who built the first great church on the site. It was consecrated on 28 December 1065, and Edward died about a week later, on 5 January 1066.

Henry III rebuilt the church around him. On 13 October 1269, the day the new church was consecrated, Edward’s remains were moved into the shrine that still stands just behind the high altar.

The shrine sits in St Edward the Confessor’s Chapel, which has been closed to general visitors since 1997. You can reach it only at worship there or on some tours, including the Abbey’s verger-led tours (about 90 minutes, Abbey entry plus £10, booked on arrival). The way in is 10 steps and a steep ramp, and no photography is allowed in the shrine. See the verger tour.

Henry III and the Plantagenets

The kings of the 13th and 14th centuries lie in the same chapel, around Edward’s shrine.

• Henry III, who began the present church in 1245, died on 16 November 1272. He was first buried in Edward the Confessor’s old grave, and in 1291 his body was moved to a tomb built by his son Edward I. The tomb is Purbeck marble with porphyry and Cosmati mosaic, and his gilt bronze effigy is by the London goldsmith William Torel. His heart was sent to Fontevraud in France, where some of his ancestors lay.
• Edward I and Eleanor of Castile.
• Edward III and Philippa of Hainault.
• Richard II and Anne of Bohemia, who had married in the Abbey in 1382.
• Henry V, who died in 1422, lies near the shrine under a chantry chapel. His queen, Katherine of Valois, is buried in the chantry.

Henry VII and Elizabeth of York

Henry VII spent heavily on a new Lady Chapel at the east end, and it holds his tomb. Its foundation stone was laid on 24 January 1503, and it was consecrated on 19 February 1516.

He and his queen, Elizabeth of York, are buried together in a vault beneath their tomb in the chapel. Elizabeth died on 11 February 1503 and Henry on 21 April 1509. The tomb, with gilt bronze effigies, was designed in the Renaissance style by the Italian sculptor Pietro Torrigiano. The couple had married in the Abbey in 1486.

Henry VII’s vault also holds James I, who has no monument. Edward VI lies in front of the altar.

Elizabeth I and Mary I in one tomb

The half-sisters Mary I and Elizabeth I share a tomb in the north aisle of the Lady Chapel.

• Mary I died on 17 November 1558 and was buried on 14 December 1558 in a vault in the north aisle.
• Elizabeth I died at Richmond Palace on 24 March 1603 and was buried on 28 April 1603, first in Henry VII’s vault.
• In 1606 Elizabeth’s coffin was moved and placed on top of Mary’s, beneath a new monument erected by James I. The sculptor was Maximilian Colt.

The base of the monument reads, in translation: “Partners in throne and grave, here we sleep Elizabeth and Mary, sisters in hope of the Resurrection.”

Mary, Queen of Scots

Mary, Queen of Scots has her tomb in the south aisle of the Lady Chapel, on the opposite side from Elizabeth I.

She was executed at Fotheringhay Castle on 8 February 1587 and buried at Peterborough Cathedral on Elizabeth I’s orders. Her son, by then James I of England, ordered her body moved to the Abbey by a royal warrant of 28 September 1612, and she was reburied there on 11 October 1612. The tomb is by William and Cornelius Cure.

Later Stuart monarchs, Charles II, William III, Mary II and Anne, lie in a vault in the south aisle. The Abbey says that for lack of space no monuments could be built, so only small inscribed stones mark them.

Why Elizabeth II is not here

No monarch has been buried in the Abbey since George II, who lies with Queen Caroline in a vault under the central aisle of the Lady Chapel. The Abbey’s own page gives lack of space as the reason later monuments were small. Wikipedia notes that every monarch who died after George II was buried at Windsor, either in St George’s Chapel or at the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore.

Queen Elizabeth II fits that pattern. Her state funeral was held in the Abbey on 19 September 2022, the first funeral of a monarch there for more than 260 years. She was buried the same day in the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. See royal funerals at Westminster Abbey.

Seeing the tombs

The Lady Chapel tombs (Henry VII, Elizabeth I and Mary I, Mary, Queen of Scots) are on the standard route, up 12 steps plus 3. The medieval tombs around Edward’s shrine are not. A standard Westminster Abbey entrance ticket costs $43; to have the royal stories told as you go, book a guided tour of the Abbey from $100, or see every option on our tours page.