The Queen has toured the site of a new building at Westminster Abbey which aims to transform the welcome offered to millions of visitors.
Camilla is patron of the £13 million project to create the King Charles III Sacristy, which will serve as a gathering place on major state occasions and house state-of-the-art welcome, ticketing and security facilities.
After visiting the site and viewing a model of the building, she said: “I can’t wait to see the final version.”
The Queen was met by the Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle, who, along with the architect behind the project, Ptolemy Dean, showed her some of the archaeological finds already made, including dozens of ancient burials.
Camilla appeared fascinated when the skeletons were pointed out and, after looking at one area of the site, said: “I thought I could see a bone – it’s a thigh bone.”
Mr Dean, the Abbey’s Surveyor of the Fabric, said: “This building will be transformational. At the moment 10% of our area in the Abbey is wasted, with storage and items all over the place.
“We’ll be able to get all of that stuff in our new building, all the detritus and visitor clutter, and people buying tickets and picking up tickets and sound guides, all of that will move into the new building.
“But, most importantly, we’ll be rebuilding a part of the building that was intended by Henry III, his great rebuilding of the Abbey, on its original 13th century footprint.”
The new building will be designed in sympathy with the Abbey’s Gothic architecture, with the project scheduled to be completed in 2026.
