It is said that King Edward the Confessor (1042-1066) used this piece of land (then called Thorney Island) to build upon it a church dedicated to St. Peter, along with a Benedictine monastery (1042-1066). However, the church was consecrated in 1065 just before Edward’s death.

King Henry III (1216-1272) in the 13th century decided to rebuild, and proclaimed the abbey not only a place of worship, but also a place for the coronations and burials of monarchs. Thus, every monarch since William the Conqueror (except Edward V and Edward VIII) have been crowned at the abbey.

All the Tudor monarchs were buried here except for Henry VIII, who is buried at St. George’s chapel in Windsor Castle with Jane Seymour. Henry VII and his wife, Elizabeth of York, were buried together here. Mary I and Elizabeth I also share a tomb. Edward VI, Elizabeth’s half-brother and Henry VIII’s only son, was buried here as well.

The abbey was seized by Henry VIII in 1534 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries and it became a cathedral until 1550. It was restored to the Benedictines under Mary I, but then was rejected under Elizabeth I in 1559. In 1579, Elizabeth established the abbey as a church responsible directly under the soverign instead of a dioceasan bishop, and made it the Collegiate Church of St. Peter.