events in fifteen fifty eight a lavish wedding ceremony was performed here when fifteen year old mary queen of scots married the heir to the french throne francis the second. napoleon bonaparte also used not done for an ostentatious ceremony here he crowned himself emperor of france in eighteen zero for taking the crown from the pope's hands and placing it on his own head. because the drill has withstood revolutions and wars its grand bell rang out the end of the second world war. not a dam has also played host to important memorials over the decades in one nine hundred seventy requiem mass was held here for the late general gong the service was broadcast to some five hundred million households worldwide four years later heads of state and royal representatives gathered to mourn former president george pompidou. and in one thousand nine hundred six some sixty heads of state and government attended the funeral mass for late french president francois mitterrand paying tribute to his friend and colleague german chancellor helmut kohl was moved to tears. when twenty thirteen moto dumb itself was the foc

mary queen of scots was married there to to the dauphin.nations, napoleon took the crown off the pillow. he wouldn't let the pope crown him, he crowned himself. emperor. hitler tried to call it, called back the german commander, said is paris burning? dresden had been leveled. coventry been leveled. it was paris's turn, all the bridges, notre dame cathedral was rigged with explosives. hitler couldn't destroy it, but we saw it burn yesterday. stuart: the good news, doug, if there is any good news here, the exterior has been maintained and the rich people of france are contributing literally hundreds of millions of dollars to restoration. last word to you. >> yes, stuart. the good news is the archbishop of paris, michelle arpetite the marble, cement, even the stained-glass is secure. he said we'll not have to rebuild notre dame. we'll be able to restore notre dame. stuart: doug wead, thank you for coming on our program. it was moving stuff you came through yesterday. we appreciate it it doug. >> thank you, stuart. stuart: get to your money, t

i get excited, in notre dame, something a bit more in my period, probably more of interest, mary stuart, mary queen of scotsa grounding in notre dame, charles de gaulle, you know, his funeral was at notre dame. it is part of our history, our heritage. and big events happened there. talk us through some of the historical objects, the relics inside the cathedral. we've been hearing a lot about the crown of thorns, which i think might surprise some people, because it's not often on display, is it? for me, the most important thing, two things, when i was watching it was please, please, the crown of thorns, definitely. but also the two towers. the two towers, you know, they are medieval, and i was like, please, stay strong. the fact that they didn't collapse is a symbol of hope. it's for france, and for notre dame. it is 850 years old, how rare is it in france as an example of great gothic architecture? we have older, you know, but i think that you have to realise that notre dame is at the heart of paris. it's the heart of the city. it's on the river, it is iconic. asa river, it is iconic. as a historian, is tha