2-756-260 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

'The King's Challenger Entering Westminster Hall', 1684, (1947). Officials and nobles inside Westminster Hall in the Palace of Westminster, London. The King's Champion '...once rode...between the tables of the roystering nobles to challenge any that disputed the Sovereign's right to rule'. The Champion was required to ride in full armour into Westminster Hall during the coronation banquet, escorted by the Earl Marshal and the Lord High Constable, all in full dress, robes and coronets, and await the challenge to all comers. From "The House of Commons", by Martin Lindsay M.P. [Collins, London, 1947]