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Crown and Cathedral: Royalty at Durham

From warlike kings looking for St Cuthbert’s blessing, to the upheavals of the Tudor Dynasty and the Reformation, there are many links between royalty and Durham Cathedral. Here we look at some of their stories, and learn about some famous visitors from more recent times.

Oswald of Northumbria: King and Saint

Oswald was King of Northumbria from 634 until his death in about 642. He was regarded as a saint because he encouraged the spread of Christianity in the region, bringing St Aidan from Iona and giving him the island of Lindisfarne.

After Oswald was killed at the Battle of Maserfield his enemies cut his body into pieces. His head was sent to Lindisfarne, where it was kept as a holy relic. When Viking raids forced the monks to flee in 875, they put Oswald’s head in St Cuthbert’s coffin and carried it with them until they settled in Durham in 995. Today, Oswald still shares a tomb with Cuthbert in the Cathedral.

St Cuthbert and King Ecgfrith

Ecgfrith was King of Northumbria from 670 to 685, and played an important part in the life of St Cuthbert. Cuthbert’s reputation as a holy man had grown, and in 684 he was elected Bishop of Hexham. Cuthbert was living as a hermit on the remote island of Inner Farne and did not want the job. Ecgfrith and Trumwine, Bishop of the Picts in Northumbria, travelled to Inner Farne and begged him to accept. Cuthbert finally agreed to become a Bishop, but of Lindisfarne instead of Hexham.

Ecgfrith supported the growth of Christianity in the region, giving land to Benedict Biscop to build the monasteries of St Peter at Wearmouth and St Paul at Jarrow. In 685, Cuthbert warned Ecgfrith not to attack the Picts, as he had foreseen his death. Ecgfrith ignored this advice, and was killed in battle.

Kings and Prince Bishops

The Bishops of medieval Durham were appointed by the king, but saw themselves as defenders of the territory, privileges, and jurisdiction that belonged symbolically to St Cuthbert. Although not called ‘Prince-Bishops’ until the 19th century, these bishops exercised powers normally held only by the king. Charged with defending the Scottish border, they were allowed to levy taxes, mint coins, and raise their own army. The bishops kept these powers until 1836. Today the bishop’s coat of arms still shows a mitre encircled by a coronet, an image representing the bishop’s authority, both spiritual and secular.

“There are two kings in England, namely, the lord King of England wearing a crown…and the lord bishop of Durham wearing a mitre in place of a crown…” Master William de St Botolph, steward of the bishopric of Durham, August 1302

The Tudors and the Reformation

In 1517, German monk Martin Luther protested at corruption within the Church, and proposed a series of radical reforms. As his ideas swept across Europe, he and other reformers came to be known as ‘Protestants’. In England, King Henry VIII opposed this Reformation, but after disagreements with Pope Clement VII around his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Henry broke ties with Rome. In 1534 the Act of Supremacy declared Henry ‘Supreme Head on earth of the Church of England’ and the English Reformation was underway.

In 1536 the Dissolution of the Monasteries began. Meant to end corruption and abuse of power, for Henry it was also a way of filling the royal treasury. Religious houses were closed and their lands and wealth seized by the Crown. Durham Priory was closed in 1539, and the Cathedral was re-founded in 1541, now governed by a Dean and Chapter.

Some royal visits through the ages

934 - King Athelstan visits St Cuthbert at Chester-le-Street while on his way to invade Scotland. Athelstan gave many rich and costly gifts to Cuthbert to earn his favour. These included beautifully embroidered vestments, recovered from Cuthbert’s tomb in 1827 and now displayed in the Great Kitchen.

1027 or 1031 – the new Danish King of England, Cnut, walks five miles as a barefooted pilgrim from Garmondsway (near today’s Trimdon) to visit St Cuthbert’s shrine at Durham.

1072 – William the Conquerer visits Durham. He doubts St Cuthbert’s body is incorrupt and demands the tomb is opened, but before this can happen he is siezed by breathlessness and fever. Afraid he has angered Cuthbert, he jumps on a horse and flees, not stopping until he has crossed the River Tees into Yorkshire. William later makes many gifts of land, money and privileges to Cuthbert and his church at Durham.

1093 – King Malcolm III of Scotland is present when the foundation stone of Durham Cathedral is laid.

1255 – King Henry III is deeply in debt and borrows money and treasures from the Bishop of Durham and St Cuthbert’s shrine. He never repays the loan.

1333 – Queen Philippa tries to stay overnight in the Durham Priory with her husband, Edward III. The monks explain that this will offend St Cuthbert, and she flees in her nightgown to stay at the Castle instead.

1483 or 1484 – King Richard III visits St Cuthbert’s shrine and gifts his blue velvet Parliament robe to the Cathedral.

1503 – Princess Margaret Tudor visits Durham while travelling to marry King James IV of Scotland. One of her group, Richard Poell, is cured of an illness which had baffled doctors.

1603 – Scottish king James VI is travelling to London for his coronation as James I of England. He stays at Durham overnight, sleeping in an ornate four-poster bed in the Deanery.

1633 – King Charles I visits Durham, staying in the Castle. He views the tombs of St Cuthbert and St Bede and attends services in the Cathedral.

1967 – Queen Elizabeth II visits Durham Cathedral on 23rd March to distribute Maundy Money.

2018 – Charles, Prince of Wales (now King Charles III) visits Durham Cathedral and opens the new Cathedral Museum.