 It derives its name from Alexandria where it resided for a number of years before it was brought by the Eastern Orthodox Patriarch Cyril Lucaris from Alexandria to Constantinople . Then it was given to Charles I of England in the 17th century . Until the later purchase of Codex Sinaiticus , it was the best manuscript of the Greek Bible deposited in Britain . Today , it rests along with Codex Sinaiticus in one of the showcases in the Ritblat Gallery of the British Library . A full photographic reproduction of the New Testament volume ( Royal MS 1 D. viii ) is available on the British Library 's website . As the text came from several different traditions , different parts of the codex are not of equal textual value . The text has been edited several times since the 18th century . 
