King Æthelstan, reigning from 924 to 939 and crowned in 925 in Kingston, was the first king to rule a unified England, predating William the Conqueror by over a century. His reign marks a pivotal chapter in English history.

Based on an original maquette of King Æthelstan by renowned sculptor Andrew Sinclair, this project uses the VR and AR platform to create an immersive experience that highlights King Æthelstan’s reign and the Saxon period. By blending historical accuracy with state-of-the-art digital interaction, the initiative seeks to educate, engage, and entertain audiences.

While projects such as the British Museum’s VR and AR experiences, Dockland’s Museum’s “London Sugar & Slavery” exhibition, and the Smithsonian 3D Digitization program showcase the trend of using technology in historical engagement, our project stands out through:

• Partnering with a world-renowned artist, adding an artistic dimension by unveiling the sculpture exclusively in VR and AR, ultimately positioning the project as a groundbreaking initiative that merges art with cutting-edge technology.
• A focus on local context by linking the digital experience to King Æthelstan’s coronation site, deepening appreciation for local heritage and fostering community involvement.
• Using a VR headset with mixed reality and hand-tracking (Meta Quest 3) to provide a direct interaction experience.
• This project marks the first-ever digitization of King Æthelstan, preserving his legacy in an entirely new format.

The project’s ultimate goal is to promote local pride and community spirit while engaging, educating, and entertaining wider audiences with a strong connection to Kingston upon Thames’ local history. Through immersive storytelling and interactive engagement, we aim to bring King Æthelstan’s era to life in an unprecedented way.

We are collaborating with Shopping Mary Limited, a Kingston-based sculpture company, who in liaison with the sculptor Andrew Sinclair, provides both artistic expertise and business support for this initiative.

Latest Developments (2025 Update)

The King Æthelstan Project has recently entered a new and ambitious phase, supported by a KERI Collaboration Grant from Kingston University. This funding brings together the Institute of Cyber, Engineering and Digital Technologies (CEDT) and the Institute of Design, Arts and Creative Practice (DACP) to develop a bold interdisciplinary approach that combines fine art, immersive technology, and historical storytelling.

The project has also become an official partner of Kingston 2025, a cultural programme organised by the Royal Borough of Kingston marking the 1100th anniversary of King Æthelstan’s coronation. Two major public events are already in planning: a preview at the Ancient Market House on 19 July and a main showcase during the Saxon Re-enactment Weekend on 27 July 2025 at Canbury Gardens.

As part of the new development phase, we’ve welcomed sound designer Dr Leah Kardos and her team from Kingston School of Art, who are creating a spatial audio soundscape and adaptive music composition to deepen the experience. Subtle animations and an AI-driven voice-based storytelling agent are also underway. We have also expanded our software development team to support these technical enhancements.

These advances will culminate in a more emotionally resonant, shared mixed reality experience — reinforcing the project’s role as a cultural highlight of Kingston 2025.

Technical and space requirements

This experience is currently implemented as an application for the Meta Quest 3 VR/AR headset. It is also compatible with older Quest 2 and Quest Pro headsets, though with some limitations. No additional hardware is required; however, a laptop or smartphone wirelessly connected via the internet can be used to view the image cast directly from the headset in real time.

VR headsets should only be used indoors, but we are currently exploring the possibility of controlled outdoor use. An unobstructed space of at least 3 x 3 meters, preferably larger, is required for optimal use. At present, the application supports a single participant at a time, but we are working on introducing virtual co-presence. Given the size of the virtual statue and spatial constraints, the recommended maximum number of simultaneous participants is around five. However, there is no strict technical limit, and the exact number will be determined in due course. We also plan to develop a version of the experience for mobile phones, using AR technology similar to that used in Pokémon GO. This version would support an unlimited number of users and could be easily associated with either an indoor or outdoor location.