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Coronation Roll

Cabinet Office and Clerk of the Crown in Chancery

The challenge

A little known ceremonial part of a Coronation is the creation of a Coronation Roll, which records the official proceedings. Despite this tradition dating back to 1308, a Coronation Roll has never been made publicly available. In a historic first, we were tasked with creating a digital version of the Coronation Roll from the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla, to bring this historic tradition to the public for the very first time.

The website needed to be graphically appealing and appropriate for royal subject matter, interactive and engaging to appeal to varied audiences, and easy to navigate due to the significant amount of text, video, photography and audio.

The solution

We carried out interviews and focus groups with members of the public and invested stakeholders to determine what approach would have the biggest impact. After we presented our findings, we created a design inspired by the rich colours and designs of the Coronation regalia, paired with the neutral, natural colouring of the official record.

The final website features the historically-accurate Coronation Roll on a single page, alongside imagery to bring the text to life. Elements of the Roll are highlighted to click-through to further information in the form of videos, photography, audio clips and more. The result is an interactive and engaging website that preserves tradition while celebrating modernity.

The digital Coronation Roll features videos which display as pop ups within the website
The digital Coronation Roll features a record of the proceedings from the proclamations on Accession, to listing the Coronation Claims process and is followed by a complete record of the Coronation service as it occurred at Westminster Abbey on 6th May 2023.

The results

Our Coronation Roll website has been a huge success. In the first five days after the launch, the website achieved: 

  • over 15,000 unique users
  • over 40,000 page views
  • a 3 and a half minute average engagement time
  • visits from 138 countries worldwide, from Australia to Zambia

Notably, the website was presented to His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen, who commented on how important the digital Coronation Roll is for future generations.

Project summary

Client
Cabinet Office and Clerk of the Crown in Chancery
Objective
Create an interactive and engaging website to house the Coronation Roll to mark the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla
Audience
The general public and key stakeholders
Produced
Insight and analysis, graphic design routes, final graphic design, interactive web build

Great work starts with a conversation

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