Chapel Royal

The Queen's Chapel at St James's Palace in London, UK, one of numerous chapels royal in Britain

The Christ Church Royal Chapel near Deseronto, Canada, one of Canada's three chapels royal

A chapel royal is an establishment in the British and Canadian royal households serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the royal family.

Historically, the chapel royal was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarch. The term is now also applied to the chapels within royal palaces,^[1] or a title granted to churches by the monarch. In the Church of England, working royal chapels may also be referred to as royal peculiars, an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the monarch. The dean of His Majesty's chapels royal is a royal household office in the United Kingdom that, in modern times, is usually held by the Bishop of London.^[2] In Canada, the three chapels royal are affiliated with some of the country's First Nations.

A British chapel royal's most public role is to perform choral liturgical service.^[3] The British chapels royal have played a significant role in the musical life of the nation, with composers such as Tallis, Byrd, Bull, Gibbons, and Purcell all having been members of the choir.^[4] The choir consists of gentlemen of the chapel royal singing the lower parts alongside the boy choristers known as the children of the chapel.