By Royal Command: Sunderland children crowned winners of King Charles' coronation chair competition

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School children from Sunderland will take a trip to the Tower of London after winning a national competition to design a coronation chair for King Charles III.

Fulwell Junior School was one of 15 winners named along with Milnthorpe Primary School, Cumbria and Dacre Braithwaite Primary School, Harrogate.

In January, school children were tasked with creating a chair fit for a King, and more than 1,500 schools entered the competition.

The winning designs are being developed with global public art producers Wild in Art and will be installed at the Tower of London during the Coronation celebrations.

School children from Sunderland will take a tour of the Tower of London where the coronation chair will be in situ over the summer. Credit: PA

The benches will remain in situ throughout the summer, before being transported to the winning schools as a lasting legacy of the Coronation.

One pupil said:"I feel really excited because we worked really hard on it."

Another added:"We are writing a letter to the King to see if he will sit on it."

The illustrated Coronation bench designs explore the pupils' hopes for the future during the reign of King Charles III.

The competition has provided the opportunity for conversations about coronations past, including the late Queen Elizabeth II, whilst linking to the present and what the ceremony symbolises as the nation transitions to a new era.

Pupils at Fulwell Junior School were keen to ensure that their design related to the locality of their school in the north east region and chose the theme of coast, seas and rivers to carry the symbolic messages.

The key elements of the design are the inclusion of heraldic beasts representing the four nations with a ship's wheel at the centre symbolising the leadership and responsibility of the monarch - steering and guiding us through stormy seas.

Pupils at Fulwell Junior School were keen to ensure their design related to the locality of their school. Credit: PA

A windmill - a local landmark featured on the school's badge - sits at the back of the bench beneath the Angel of the North celebrating our industrial past and dawning of the information age.

There is a lighthouse symbolising hope and security plus seagulls and puffins are included to represent resilience and loyalty.

Otters decorate the sides and represent the renewal of both our rivers and industry.

The colour theme of blue and yellow mirrors both the school's colours and also the theme of stability, loyalty, optimism and hope.

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