A bed truly fit for a king! Charles offered a unique bedroom to Parliament before the coronation

He has no shortage of palaces to rest his head on the night before he is crowned.

But Charles III may also seize the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sleep in a unique bedroom in Parliament on the eve of his coronation.

The Mail may reveal that he is being offered the use of a king’s bed – and which has mysteriously disappeared – in the grandest residence in Westminster ahead of the May 6 ceremony.

The State Bed, in the State Apartments of Speaker’s House, was built in honor of the tradition dating back to William the Conqueror that the monarch slept in nearby Westminster Abbey in the Palace of Westminster the night before the coronation.

However, George IV is the only royal to have actually done this in the Speaker’s House, in 1821 – and that was in a different bed. The old Houses of Parliament were destroyed by fire in 1834 and their Gothic Revival replacement was not ready for Queen Victoria’s accession.

The state bed, designed by Augustus Pugin, was carved from walnut in 1859 by John Braund. It stands 10 feet high and 7 feet 6 inches wide, has a large intricate canopy and gilded inlay, and features the royal coat of arms.

It remained in the state bedroom on the first floor of Speaker’s House until 1943, when it was thought to have been moved to a shop. From there, the bed was sold – and forgotten.

It was only rediscovered decades later in a woolen factory in West Wales following an appeal from the Victoria and Albert Museum. It was found in 1979 when owners Ron and Wendy Martin admitted to sleeping in the national treasure for 20 years – and that their son Benedict was born in it – at their country home in Northamptonshire. Then they moved to a cottage in Maesllyn, Ceredigion – where the bed was too big. So they stored it in the mill next door.

The couple had bought the bed at auction for less than £100 in the 1950s, but turned down a government offer estimated at £5,000 for it. But they sold it in 1981 and it was restored with money from the National Heritage Memorial Fund.

About 1,500 members of the public will get to see the State Bed prior to the coronation, as tickets have just gone on sale for tours of the State Apartments between April 1 and 15. And last night Commons Chairman Sir Lindsay Hoyle said: ‘Visitors to Speaker’s House are always surprised to see this huge, beautifully crafted bed of embroidered fabric and hear about its fascinating history. We believe it was stored away with other heritage furniture during the Second World War to protect it from bombing, which destroyed the House of Commons Chamber in 1941.

‘The fact that something as big as this could go ‘missing’ and end up years later in a woolen factory in Wales seems rather unbelievable, but it only adds to the intrigue surrounding the bed. It truly is a national treasure, and I’m glad even more people can see it on tours of Speaker’s House.”

Book tickets at: ukparliament.seetickets.com/timeslot/the-state-apartments -of-speaker-s-house-tour