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Queen Elizabeth acceded to the throne in 1953.

Do you think that it is necessary to use the definite article before the word "throne"? In the phrase "how to deal with being in prison" there is no article. My sentence tells about becoming the queen. There is no particular throne in play.

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    There is a particular throne, the throne of England (etc). It's deictic.
    – Tᴚoɯɐuo
    Apr 18, 2017 at 16:12
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    @TRomano - Good point. As a matter of fact, I could change the sentence to say, Queen Elizabeth sat on a throne in Novemeber of 1959, and the meaning has changed. In the original, "the throne" refers to "the monarchy," whereas in my sentence, "a throne" refers to some physical throne-like chair (perhaps used in some ceremony). There is only one of the former, but their could be several of the latter.
    – J.R. ♦
    Apr 18, 2017 at 20:30

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Yes, you need to use the definite article before 'throne'. The throne in this case is not simple a chair for a monarch, it's a name for the office of the monarch itself. There is only one monarch.

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There is only one throne to which Queen Elizabeth II could accede: the throne of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. A definite article is required. Even if there were no particular "throne in play", an indefinite article would be required as throne is countable.

On the other hand, prison can be either an institution (countable) or a state (uncountable). In "how to deal with being in prison", we are talking about a state, rather than a specific institution, so no article is required. hospital, court and school work in the same way.

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  • Thanks for the answer. I thought that when you becoming a queen/king you are in a specific way "institutionalized".
    – bart-leby
    Apr 18, 2017 at 16:32
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    @bart-leby, your comment cracked me up. If you didn't intend it as funny, "institutionalized" is used to refer to someone who is put under the care or custody of an institution. The institution sometimes refers to prison, but more typically refers to a psychiatric hospital. So you can see the implication there for a new monarch. :-)
    – fixer1234
    Apr 18, 2017 at 19:53

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