For the first time ever you can stand in the spot where Charles will be crowned - but there's a catch

Visitors to Westminster Abbey will soon be given the opportunity to stand on the exact spot where King Charles III will be crowned, but there is a catch.

Shoes will not be allowed to be worn when touring the coronation site - the Cosmati pavement - to protect its delicate patterns made from marble, stone, glass, and metal dating back to the 13th century.

A week after Charles' coronation on 6 May, special guided "barefoot" tours will take place inside the abbey including access to the mosaic pavement, which is usually cordoned off to the public.

The floor, located in front of the High Altar, was covered by a carpet for many previous coronations including Queen Elizabeth II's and George VI's, but for the King's, it will remain uncovered, the Abbey said.

Hidden for over 150 years, the pavement underwent cleaning and conservation in 2010 before being unveiled to the public once more.

Visitor groups will be limited to 10 people at a time, and, as well as making history by standing in the coronation spot, they'll learn about the floor's significance and past.

A spokesperson for the Abbey said: "It will be the first time in living memory that the Abbey has invited visitors to walk on the Cosmati pavement where the Coronation Chair will be placed for the crowning of HM The King on Saturday 6 May."

The pavement was laid down in 1268 under the rule of Henry III and has been the coronation site for more than 700 years.

It is considered the best surviving example outside Italy of Cosmati stonework named after the Italian family which developed the technique of elaborate inlays of small triangles and rectangles of coloured stones and glass mosaics set into stone matrices or encrusted upon stone surfaces.

Its intricate designs and colours coalesce with the pavement and is said to depict the universe with a globe at its centre.

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An inscription on it is supposed to even predict the end of the world, claiming it would last 19,683 years, with a riddle adding together the life spans of different animals including dogs, horses, men, stags, ravens, eagles, and whales.

The Crown and Church tours will run until 29 July.