A throne room or throne hall is the room, often rather a hall, in the official residence of the crown, either a palace or a fortified castle, where the throne of a senior figure (usually a monarch) is set up with elaborate pomp—usually raised, often with steps, and under a canopy, both of which are part of the original notion of the Greek word thronos.
Function
A throne room is an impressive setting for a monarch to preside 'in majesty' over official ceremonies, to hold council, to grant audiences, to receive homage, to award high honors and offices, and to perform other official functions. Any of these could just as well be transferred, even on a permanent basis, to one or more other rooms, even outside the palace or ambulant. It can also be where the royal court can gather.
A common misconception is that kings and other ruling princes governed their lands seated on a throne for most of the working day. This may have been true in earlier times, for some rulers who actually presided over their council; yet often, another room was used, but only in peacetime.
Many others were almost constantly on the move with an ambulant court. It could even have been that the crown did not have an effective capital, as in England during most of the time before the Norman conquest. Or it could have been that the crown had, rather, a series of alternative residences, as did the Holy Roman Emperors. In their case, these developed into palatinates under the Habsburg dynasty when they also acquired extensive crown lands outside Germany and Austria, and their court often travelled on an almost continental scale.
Other monarchies frequently changed their capital, but then they would have used a mobile throne, possibly in addition to the permanent one used for enthronement and/or coronation. There are cases in Africa and Asia where the very name of the 'capital' is not a fixed place, but was the place wherever a king settled for a few years. In some climates court migrated annually between a summer and a winter capital. It has also common to spend quite some time, without need for practical reason, in secondary residences, not in the least hunting lodges.
Even when their capitals were fixed, English and French Renaissance kings used to travel extensively, and maintained many royal castles, in addition to paying visits to grandees of the realm. Henry VIII's most frequently used residence was, in fact, at Hampton Court, which was then outside London.
Even when in the main or only palace, the monarch often spent much time in other parts of the residence, such as the dining hall, the chapel, private quarters (for rest and family life), possibly a separate presence room, the council chamber, ballroom, gardens, court, theatre, and other recreational facilities.
Nowadays, throne rooms are only used for occasional grand ceremonies. Paperwork is done in an office, and most guests are received in a salon.
Notable examples
The following are notable throne rooms. Others are listed in the article on thrones.
Austria
Hofburg
Once the seat of the Holy Roman Empire and the Austrian Empire for over 600 years, the Hofburg Imperial Palace's throne room now serves as a conference centre, used by the Austrian Congress and for other international events.
Canada
The chamber of the Senate of Canada in Centre Block, which takes many of its design cues from the chamber of the British House of Lords at the Palace of Westminster, contains three thrones at its head. These thrones are used for the annual Speech from the Throne, which can be seen as a form of royal audience for Parliament, and thus the Senate chamber can be seen as a throne room in the royal presence.
China
In the Forbidden City, China's last imperial palace, the principal throne rooms are the three halls of the Outer Palace: the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony and the Hall of Preserving Harmony, of which the Hall of Supreme Harmony was the most important.
Denmark
Rosenborg
The throne in the throne room at Rosenborg Castle (now a museum) in Copenhagen was commissioned by King Frederik III in about 1663, and used by the absolutist kings of Denmark from 1671 to 1840 for the anointing ceremony. It was probably created by Bendix Grodtschilling. It was inspired by King Solomon's throne which, according to the Bible, was made of ivory and had six steps with lion figures on each. Tooth of Narwhal was chosen as the material, both because it was found in Danish waters and owing to its mythical associations with the unicorn; twelve lions were also commissioned, three of which, in silver, have been preserved in the room.