The beautiful UK city where important king was crowned 60 miles from London (2025)

The sovereign was crowned in the city's magnificent cathedral (Image: Getty)

Besides London, many UK cities have a long and illustrious history, and this, of course, is laced with royalty. Before Westminster Abbey was built and subsequently became where the nation’s sovereigns were traditionally anointed and crowned, the ancient ceremony took place in other places. One of these places is the cathedral city of Winchester in Hampshire, 60 miles away from the cathedral where King Charles III was coronated. King Edward the Confessor, whose death resulted in the battle for the English throne that culminated in the Battle of Hastings, was crowned in Winchester Cathedral on Easter Sunday in 1042.

The pious monarch established the first large building on the site of the current Westminster Abbey building in the 1040s, with the construction of the current structure beginning sometime later in 1245. Edward’s tomb is still housed in the abbey, where visitors can see it. But it was in Winchester, a significant religious and royal centre, that his time as king began.

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Edward the Confessor ruled until 1066 (Image: Getty)

The sovereign was the last Anglo-Saxon king of the House of Wessex, having taken over from the Dane Harthacnut.

Before him was his half-brother, Harold Harefoot, who took over from his father, Cnut.

He united the three kingdoms of England, Denmark and Norway, which are referred to together as the North Sea Empire by historians.

Edward was the half-brother of Harthacnut, as they shared the same mother, Emma of Normandy.

She was married to Aethelred II, also known as Aethelred the Unready, of the House of Wessex, and King Cnut.

Edward's reign was relatively peaceful, apart from the odd skirmish with the Scots and Welsh.

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Edward the Confessor's tomb is in Westminster Abbey (Image: Getty)

The monarch did, however, show favour to Norman friends, which caused some resentment from the English, such as influential figures in the houses of Mercia and Wessex.

This ultimately led to Edward exiling Godwine, the Earl of Wessex, and his family.

He and his influential sons, including the future king Harold Godwinson, returned in 1052, but noble families were not prepared to engage them in civil war.

So they forced Edward to agree terms, and Godwine's lands were returned to him. Many of Edward's Norman associates were also exiled.