Discover The Royal Coronation Crown and Jewels
King Charles III will wear the St Edward's Crown when he is officially declared King at his Coronation this weekend. This will be the only time that Charles will wear this amazing crown.
The Royal Coronation Crown (also known as the St. Edward’s Crown) is part of the Coronation regalia that usually lives in the Tower of London, as it is only ever worn for a short part of the Coronation ceremony of British monarchs - the actual moment of crowning.
The design was was based on a much earlier crown that belonged to Edward the Confessor in the 11th century - this original crown featured far fewer gemstones than the recent version. In 1649, as the Civil War raged (after the execution of King Charles I) it ended up being melted down and turned into coins with other looted royal treasures.
The current crown was made in 1661 for the Restoration of the Monarchy and the Coronation of Charles II and it has been used for most of the British Coronations ever since.
It is made of 22ct gold, stands 30cm high and weighs a hefty 2.23kg (nearly 5lbs). The design of the crown features crosses and fleur-de-lis, as well as arches that rise from the base and are topped with a gold ball and cross. The crown is set with hundreds aquamarines and many other gemstones including rubies, sapphires, amethysts, topazes, tourmalines, garnet, spinel. It also features two gems I’d never heard of: jargoon (turns out it is a golden type of zircon) and a carbuncle (an almandine garnet). The crown’s purple velvet cap is trimmed with ermine (stoat) fur.
Originally the gemstones were not set permanently into the gold - in fact, the gemstones were hired in especially for coronations, but George V had these gemstones set permanently into the crown for his coronation.
The coronation ceremony involves many other ceremonial symbols of office, such as the Sceptre, the Orb and a golden spoon used for anointing the sovereign with holy oil. King Charles will also wear the much better known Imperial State Crown during the Coronation service too. This was the crown which was recently placed on the Queen's coffin for the lying-in-state and her state funeral.
This crown is a powerful symbol of the British monarchy and is considered one of the most important objects in the British Crown Jewels. The shape of this crown is used in the branding and iconography of Royal Mail, the Police Force and you’ll also see it featured on British passports.
After the Coronation, it will be returned to the Tower of London’s jewel room and wont be worn again until the Coronation of King William!
I’ll be down in London this weekend to take in some of the pomp and ceremony! How are you celebrating?
