As the national place of worship, St Paul’s Cathedral has been the site of eight royal jubilees, and there’s now an exhibition telling their story.
Among the items on display are the ornate copes, or ceremonial cloaks, worn at many of the Jubilee Services of Thanksgiving. This includes the celebrated ‘Jubilee Cope, designed by Beryl Dean for the 1977 celebrations, which is decorated with embroidered representations of the spires of the 73 churches in the Diocese of London as well as those of three Royal Peculiars and St. Paul’s Cathedral itself.
Souvenirs are in some glass cases as well as special items including scrapbooks made by staff at St. Paul’s to mark different festivities. There’s also tea towels, for no Jubilee is complete without tea towels – but these are all decorated by local schools.
Maybe more interesting to some are the wall panels with descriptions and photos from the eight previous jubilee celebrations that took place in the Cathedral.
As an exhibition, it’s an interesting addition to a visit to St Paul’s and tells a bit of the royal history of the place, although you can only see it if paying to go into the Cathedral as well. It can be found in the crypt close to the cafe.
The exhibition, Jubilee – St Paul’s, the Monarch and the Changing World is on display until the end of November.
Entry to the Cathedral is £18 for adults and £7.70 for children, and that gets you unlimited repeat visits for a year.