SECTIONS of the King’s Table, a symbol of royal power until it was smashed by Oliver Cromwell, have been found beneath the floor of the Palace of Westminster. The elaborately carved stone table was used by kings and queens from the 13th century for coronation feasts and state banquets but disappeared under Puritan rule.

It represented the power and authority of the monarch in the same way as the King’s Bench, a court, and the King’s Privy Wardrobe, also known as the Jewel Tower.