The British Monarchy

The Chapel ceiling, copied from the mosaic at St Constanza's in Rome, with panels attributed to Holbein, commemorates the short-lived marriage of Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves in 1540 by the use of heraldry and the names of the Cleve family lands. There are also two monograms of Edward VI, who in 1540 would have been three years old
Gerald Newbury, © Royal Collection

Royal marriages have taken place in the Chapel, including that of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert on 10 February 1840. The Duke of York and Princess Mary of Teck, later King George V and Queen Mary, were also married there in 1893
AC Cooper, © Royal Collection

The Chapel Royal

In origin and still in principle, the Chapel Royal is not a building but an establishment; a body of priests and singers to serve the spiritual needs of the Sovereign. It was Henry VIII who constructed the present Chapel within St James's Palace.

The original Tudor Closet was a gallery on stilts, and it was here that Elizabeth I said her prayers for the defence of the Realm against the threat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, having chosen to remain at St James's Palace to receive messages of its progress by fire beacons from Cornwall. At the end of the Civil War, Charles I was imprisoned in the Palace and received the Sacrament of Holy Communion before crossing St James's Park to his execution in Whitehall in 1649.

Alterations to the building were carried out in 1836 with the addition of the side galleries and a new ceiling with William IV and Adelaide to match the 1540 ciphers. The panelling dates from this time, and the pews were installed in 1876.

The conducting of services and the administration of the Chapel Royal, St James's Palace is the responsibility of the sub-Dean. This role was created in the 15th century and his responsibilities were to choose the music and anthems to be sung, authorise absences and prescribe penalties for minor offences that could be dealt with without recourse to the Dean.

The Chapel Royal has always been considered to be the cradle of English church music, and among its many noted organists and composers were Thomas Tallis, William Byrd, Orlando Gibbons and Henry Purcell - the latter lived in a suite of apartments in St James's Palace. The poet Dryden, who was frequently in debt, used to take refuge with Purcell in his apartments in order to avoid the clutches of persistent creditors.

One of the Chapel's most notable organists and composers was George Frederick Handel, who was appointed by George II on 25 February 1723 as 'Composer of Musick of His Majesty's Chappel Royal', a title carefully constructed to allow Handel, still a German citizen, to contribute to the musical development of the Chapel Royal without actually being a member of it. Handel composed the great anthem 'Zadok the Priest' for the coronation of George II in 1727 and it has been used at every coronation since. It is also sung each year at the Royal Maundy service in which the Queen distributes Maundy money.

There are two chapels in St James's Palace. Services are held in the Chapel Royal, St James's Palace, from October until Good Friday and in The Queen's Chapel, Marlborough Road, from Easter Sunday until the end of July.

Every Sunday:
8.30 Holy Communion
11.15 Sung Eucharist on the 1st Sunday of the month

Sung Mattins on other Sundays