Throne Room

Lore & Background

A throne room is an impressive setting for a monarch to preside 'in majesty' over official ceremonies, to hold council, to grant audiences, to receive homage, to award high honors and offices, and to perform other official functions. Any of these could just as well be transferred, even on a permanent basis, to one or more other rooms, even outside the palace or ambulant. It can also be where the royal court can gather. A common misconception is that kings and other ruling princes governed their lands seated on a throne for most of the working day. This may have been true in earlier times, for some rulers who actually presided over their council; yet often, another room was used, but only in peacetime. Many others were almost constantly on the move with an ambulant court. It could even have been that the crown did not have an effective capital, as in England during most of the time before the Norman Conquest. Or it could have been that the crown had, rather, a series of alternative residences, as did the Holy Roman Emperors. In their case, these developed into palatinates under the Habsburg dynasty when they also acquired extensive crown lands outside Germany and Austria, and their court often travelled on an almost continental scale. Other monarchies frequently changed their capital, but then they would have used a mobile throne, possibly in addition to the permanent one used for enthronement and/or coronation. There are cases in Africa and Asia where the very name of the 'capital' is not a fixed place, but was the place wherever a king settled for a few years. In some climates court migrated annually between a summer and a winter capital. It was also common to spend quite some time, without need for practical reason, in secondary residences, not in the least hunting lodges. Even when their capitals were fixed, English and French Renaissance kings used to travel extensively, and maintained many royal castles, in addition to paying visits to grandees of the realm. Henry VIII's most frequently used residence was, in fact, at Hampton Court, which was then outside London. Even when in the main or only palace, the monarch often spent much time in other parts of the residence, such as the dining hall, the chapel, private quarters (for rest and family life), possibly a separate presence room, the council chamber, ballroom, gardens, court, theatre, and other recreat

In Their Own Story

Conker, having been cast into space and then battling Heinrich aboard a spaceship, loses hope as Heinrich crawls back aboard. The game suddenly freezes, and Conker communicates with the programmers through a command-line interface. He promises not to tell anyone about the lockup if they help him deal with Heinrich. Among many weapons—ranging from a comically oversized mallet to a laser cannon—Conker chooses a katana and requests to be taken to the Panther King's throne room. There, with a single clean slice, he decapitates Heinrich. With the Panther King's servants released from his control, Conker is crowned the new king, though he does not want this and wishes he had asked the programmers to bring Berri back.

Reader's Guide

Notable examples include: Austria – Hofburg (now a conference centre); Canada – Senate chamber (used for Speech from the Throne); China – Forbidden City (Hall of Supreme Harmony, Hall of Central Harmony, Hall of Preserving Harmony); Denmark – Rosenborg Castle (throne commissioned by King Frederik III, used for anointing ceremony) and Christiansborg (throne room used for receiving ambassadors); France – Versailles (throne commissioned by King Louis XIV, now a museum) and Fontainebleau Palace (Emperor Napoleon I converted King Louis XV's bedroom into an Imperial throne room); Monaco – Prince's Palace (used for historic festivals and civil marriages); Germany – Residence of Munich (former throne-room destroyed in WWII, now reconstructed) and Neuschwanstein (throne room has no throne); Hawaii – ʻIolani Palace (used by King David Kalākaua and Queen Liliʻuokalani); Portugal – Ajuda Palace (still used for state events); Russia – Peterhof (used by Tsars) and Winter Palace (St. George's Hall and Peter I's Room); Spain – Royal Palace of Madrid (throne room).

Did You Know?

• A common misconception is that kings governed their lands seated on a throne for most of the working day; often another room was used, but only in peacetime.
• Many monarchs were almost constantly on the move with an ambulant court, and some did not have an effective capital.
• The throne room at Neuschwanstein does not have a throne because Ludwig II of Bavaria did not live to see the castle's completion.
• The throne at Rosenborg Castle was inspired by King Solomon's throne and made from narwhal tooth.