Rare royal artefacts go on show as new gallery with ‘best view in Europe’ set to open at Westminster Abbey

Last-minute preparations are made to the coronation chair of Queen Mary II ahead of the opening of the new Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries at Westminster Abbey in London. The previously private area, which stands 16m above the abbey’s main floor, was once hailed by poet Sir John Betjeman as offering the “best view in Europe”. The revamped space will contain more than 300 treasures spanning the building’s 1,000-year history. Visitors will reach the gallery, which opens on 11 June, through a new tower housing a staircase and lift put in as part of a £22.9 million, privately funded development project.