Westminster Abbey

England's most visited religious site, Westminster Abbey is a living monument to British history. Inside there are buried kings, statesmen, warriors, scientists, musicians and poets, including Charles Darwin, Geoffrey Chaucer, Charles Dickens, Mary I, James I and Charles II. Initially the site of a Norman abbey, Henry III built the present building in the 13th century to compete with the great European cathedrals of the time. The abbey has seen the coronation of every English monarch since William the Conqueror, with the exception of Edward V and Edward VIII. The abbey continues to play a crucial role in royal state occasions and was the setting for the coronation of the present monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, in 1953, as well as the funerals of the late Princess of Wales in 1997 and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in 2002.