Her Majesty’s Theatre in London to be renamed for coronation of King Charles III

Her Majesty’s Theatre in London is to be renamed in May for the coronation of King Charles III.

Home to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera, the West End venue has confirmed it will become His Majesty’s Theatre on King Charles III’s coronation on 6 May.

The theatre was first established in 1705 as the Queen’s Theatre before coming the King’s Theatre in 1714.

The venue first became Her Majesty’s Theatre in 1837 before changing to His Majesty’s Theatre in 1901. The current title has been in place since Queen Elizabeth II’s reign began in 1952.

In a statement, operators LW Theatres said: “Today, we confirmed that we will change the name of ‘Her Majesty’s Theatre’ on Haymarket to mark the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III.

“From Saturday 6th May 2023, the theatre will be ‘His Majesty’s Theatre’.

“The decision to change the name of this theatre is in keeping with a historic precedent which began in the 1700s. The Queen’s Theatre, the first theatre built on this site in 1705 by John Vanbrugh, was named such by permission of Queen Anne. The theatre has since been rebuilt three times and has changed its name in line with each reigning British monarch. It first became The King’s Theatre in 1714 on the accession of George I.

“The current building, designed by Charles J. Phipps and built in 1897, was named Her Majesty’s Theatre for Queen Victoria. Upon the ascension of Edward VII, with permission from the King, the name was changed to His Majesty’s Theatre, and at the start of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, after the same permission was granted, the theatre’s name changed again.”