On Sunday 1st October 1553, Mary I was crowned queen at Westminster Abbey by Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester. She was the first crowned queen regnant of England.

Here is a primary source account of the coronation ceremony from The chronicle of Queen Jane, and of two years of Queen Mary, and especially of the rebellion of Sir Thomas Wyat

On the afternoon of Saturday 30th September 1553, Queen Mary I left the Tower of London to process to Westminster, where she would spend the night at Whitehall preparing for her coronation at Westminster Abbey the following day.

On 29th September 1553, Michaelmas or the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels, Mary I created fifteen¹ Knights of the Bath as part of her coronation celebrations.

On 27th or 28th September 1553 (sources differ regarding the date), Mary I travelled in a decorated barge to the Tower of London to prepare for her coronation. She was accompanied by her half-sister, Elizabeth, and as they pulled up to Tower Wharf, they were greeted by music and cannons firing. It was traditional for monarchs to go to the Tower before their coronations and process from there to Westminster.