Westminster Abbey significant event wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton
21st century
In June 2009 the first major building work in 250 years was proposed. A corona – a crown-like architectural feature – was suggested to be built around the lantern over the central crossing, replacing an existing pyramidal structure dating from the 1950s. This was part of a wider £23m development of the abbey completed in 2013. On 4 August 2010, the Dean and Chapter announced that, "[a]fter a considerable amount of preliminary and exploratory work", efforts toward the construction of a corona would not be continued.
The Cosmati pavement was re-dedicated by the Dean at a service on 21 May 2010 after undergoing a major cleaning and conservation programme. On 17 September 2010, Pope Benedict XVI became the first pope to set foot in the abbey, and on 29 April 2011, the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton took place at the abbey.In 2018, the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries were created in the medieval triforium. This is a display area for the abbey's treasures in the galleries high up around the sanctuary. A new Gothic access tower with lift was designed by the abbey architect and Surveyor of the Fabric, Ptolemy Dean.In 2020, a 13th-century sacristy was uncovered in the grounds of the abbey as part of an archaeological excavation. The sacristy was used by the monks of the abbey to store objects used in the Mass, such as vestments and chalices. Also on the site were hundreds of burials, mostly of abbey monks.On 10 March 2021, a vaccination centre opened in Poets' Corner to administer doses of COVID-19 vaccines.The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries
The Westminster Abbey Museum was located in the 11th-century vaulted undercroft beneath the former monks' dormitory. This is one of the oldest areas of the abbey, dating almost to the foundation of the church by Edward the Confessor in 1065. This space had been used as a museum since 1908 but was closed to the public in June 2018, when it was replaced as a museum by the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries, high up in the abbey's triforium, and accessed by the new Weston Tower, enclosing a lift and stairs.The exhibits include a set of life-size effigies of English and British monarchs and their consorts, originally made to lie on the coffin in the funeral procession or to be displayed over the tomb. The effigies date from the 14th to the 18th century, and some include original clothes.On display in the galleries is a portrait of the Queen called The Coronation Theatre, Westminster Abbey: A Portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, painted by the artist Ralph Heimans, depicting the monarch standing on the Cosmati pavement of Westminster Abbey, where she was crowned in 1953. Other exhibits include a model of an unbuilt tower, designed by architect Christopher Wren; a paper model of the abbey showing Queen Victoria's 1837 coronation; and the wedding licence of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, who were married in the abbey in 2011.