The family that bought the King's bed for £100

When Wendy Martin bought a mysterious aged bed, elaborate but successful pieces, she and her household knew it was special.

But it took 30 years for them find retired its existent intent - to accommodate the monarch the nighttime earlier their coronation.

King Charles volition apt slumber successful his ain furniture up of his coronation connected 6 May 2023. However, if helium wanted to beryllium genuinely accepted helium could slumber successful the Palace of Westminster - besides known arsenic the Houses of Parliament, successful the authorities bed.

The communicative of however the furniture fit-for-a-king ended up with the Martins, successful a Welsh woollen mill, is an unusual communicative involving a Northamptonshire auction location and a frugal Speaker of the House of Commons.

"My household lived an unusual life," says Richard Martin recalling his childhood. "We amassed a batch of things."

He grew up successful Grafton Regis, a tiny colony successful Northamptonshire, on with his six siblings and parents Wendy and Ron, successful a medieval location helium describes arsenic "rambling".

Wendy utilized to regularly be section auction income and 1 time successful the mid-1960s came location with a bed, bought for £100 (around £1,500 successful today's money).

"It was a magnificent thing," says Richard but besides "ridiculously implicit the apical - radical would spot it and accidental 'what the hellhole is that'."

"It had these precise carved and gilded bits astatine the extremity of the post. It looked similar small spires, similar towers connected a church.

"And determination were these holes successful the posts - arsenic a kid I had the thought that this was wherever you enactment your cigarette."

Since William the Conqueror determination had been a contented that monarchs would walk the nighttime astatine the Palace of Westminster earlier they ascended to the throne.

For galore years, the palace was the superior residence of the monarch, and fixed its adjacent proximity to Westminster Abbey, wherever coronations instrumentality place, it made consciousness for the king oregon queen to enactment there.

The contented dwindled and the past monarch to enactment successful the Palace of Westminster was George IV, who according to historiographer David Cannadine was "not successful the champion of health... and perennially tense of the mob" and truthful appreciated the abbreviated travel to the abbey. He was besides a romanticist and enjoyed replicating his forebears' traditions.

The authorities furniture aboriginal suffered harm successful a occurrence and a caller 1 was built successful 1859 measuring 6ft agelong and 12ft high, made of walnut with gilt inlay.

As expansive arsenic the furniture is, nary of the consequent monarchs chose to instrumentality up the connection of a sleepover successful Parliament.

Instead it sat successful the Speaker's House - the authoritative residence of the Speaker who presides implicit House of Commons debates - and stayed determination until the 1940s erstwhile it disappeared.

It was not until the precocious 1970s, that 1 antheral began to inquire questions.

In 1979, Clive Wainwright, an interiors adept astatine the Victoria and Albert Museum, gave a lecture during which helium showed a representation of the furniture and wondered if anyone knew wherever it could be.

A Telegraph writer was successful the assemblage and the insubstantial aboriginal reported Mr Wainwright's plea: "It is the astir important authorities furniture designed successful the mid-19th century. There were not galore made... I wonderment if it is lurking successful retention somewhere, dismantled and forgotten."

As it turned retired the furniture was lurking somewhere, though not dismantled and not forgotten.

The furniture Wendy Martin brought backmost from the auction was successful 50 abstracted pieces and - similar a Victorian flat-pack - had to beryllium re-assembled, albeit without the instructions.

It was a situation Ron greatly relished, though determination was 1 portion that ever ended up the incorrect mode round.

Despite the cumbersome quality of the object, it became portion of the family's life.

Richard remembers taking his parent a cupful of beverage portion she sat successful the bed.

Ron and Wendy's youngest lad Benedict was adjacent calved successful it and erstwhile the household moved to a woollen mill successful Wales, the furniture went with them.

It was portion they were determination that the Telegraph published Clive Wainwright's entreaty to anyone who whitethorn person seen the bed.

Wendy got successful interaction with the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Clive died successful 1999, but his widow Jane inactive remembers his joyousness erstwhile helium heard the furniture had been located.

The precise adjacent time helium jumped successful his car and drove done dense snowfall from London to Wales to spot if the Martins truly had unknowingly bought the monarch's bed.

"He was delighted," she said. "He knew it immediately."

The Martin household weren't wholly amazed to larn of the bed's origins.

"Obviously we didn't cognize what it was... we conscionable knew it was important. You couldn't spot that furniture and not realise it was thing special," says Richard.

It seems unusual that specified an important portion of furnishings could person been truthful easy mislaid.

Parliamentary historiographer Mark Collins explains that the furniture was mothballed during World War Two, erstwhile Edward Fitzroy, the Speaker astatine the time, felt it was a atrocious look to beryllium surviving successful specified expansive surroundings during a clip of war.

The furniture was aboriginal enactment into retention and astir the 1960s it turned up astatine the auction location successful Northamptonshire, wherever Wendy Martin spotted it.

Richard Martin says: "It was the 60s, the authorities wanted to beryllium modern and thrusting, it wanted to get escaped of aged fuddy-duddy stuff."

However, by the 1980s attitudes had changed and Clive Wainwright, on with Tory MP Sir Robert Cooke embarked connected a run to get the furniture backmost to Parliament.

Reports from the clip suggest the Martin household were initially unsure astir selling.

"We've decided not to marque immoderate hasty decisions. We've slept successful it for 15 years and it has large sentimental value," Wendy told the newspapers, portion Ron said the furniture was becoming a "fine attraction" for visitors to their mill.

However, aft a twelvemonth the household decided to springiness the furniture backmost to Parliament.

It is not known however overmuch they were paid, but estimates suggest the furniture had a worth of much than £20,000 astatine the clip - acold much than Wendy Martin had primitively paid for it.

Richard says the household could person got a overmuch higher terms if they had sold it to a backstage purchaser but decided it was close for the furniture to instrumentality to Parliament.

"I deliberation my parents felt they had performed a work by keeping it and looking aft it, I deliberation they were rather proud."

Returned to London, the furniture underwent restoration - including adding costly silk hangings - earlier being displayed successful the Speaker's House, wherever it stands to this day.

People wishing to spot the furniture can publication tours of the Speaker's House - including the furniture - pursuing Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle's determination to unfastened the rooms up for tours.

Sir Lindsay said: "The information that thing arsenic large arsenic this could spell "missing" and extremity up successful a Welsh woollen mill years aboriginal seems rather incredible, but it conscionable adds to the intrigue surrounding the bed.

"'It truly is simply a nationalist treasure."