 | Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom: Encyclopedia II - Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom - Crowns
Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom - Crowns
The collection of Crown Jewels contains various crowns, some of which are used by every Sovereign, others being made personally for Sovereigns or for Queens Consort. Typically the crown of a King has a slightly pointed arched top, while Queen's crowns have a slightly bowed top.
St. Edward's Crown was made in 1661. Made of gold, its design consists of four crosses pattee and four fleurs-de-lis, with two arches on top. Surmounting the arches is a jewelled cross pattee. The Crown includes 444 semi-precious stones. It is used through most of the coronation ceremony. Queen Elizabeth II opted to use a stylised representation of this crown in images of the Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom.
The Imperial State Crown was made in 1937 for King George VI, and was similar to the one made in 1838 for Queen Victoria. The present Crown is made of gold and includes four crosses pattee and four fleurs-de-lis, with two arches on top, surmounted by a cross pattee. The Crown includes many jewels: 2,868 diamonds, 273 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, and five rubies. Among the stones are several famous ones, including the Black Prince's Ruby (actually a spinel) and the Cullinan II diamond, also known as the Lesser Star of Africa. It is worn after the conclusion of the Coronation ceremony when the monarch leaves Westminster Abbey, and also at the annual State Opening of Parliament.
The Imperial Crown of India was created when King George V visited Delhi as Emperor of India. In order to prevent the pawning of the Crown Jewels, British law prohibited the removal of a Crown Jewel from the country. Thus, a new crown was made. Set with more than 6,000 diamonds, it was one of the heaviest crowns in the collection. It has since not been used.
The George IV State Diadem was made in 1820 for the coronation of King George IV, and was worn during the coronation processions of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II.
Queens consort, that is, wives of Kings, traditionally wore the Crown of Mary of Modena, queen of King James II. By the beginning of the 20th century that small crown was in a decrepit state. A new European-style crown, flatter and with more arches than was traditional in British crowns, was manufactured for Queen Alexandra, consort of King Edward VII. A new crown, more akin to traditional British crowns, was manufactured for Queen Mary, consort of King George V, who was crowned in 1911. The final new consort's crown in the 20th century was manufactured for Queen Elizabeth, consort of crown King George VI, who along with her husband was crowned in 1937. All three consorts' crowns in turn included the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond. This latter Crown of Queen Elizabeth was also worn, minus its arches, by the by-then Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother during Elizabeth II's coronation. It rested on top of the Queen Mother's coffin during her funeral in 2002.
Other related archives"Crown Jewels" or "Honours" of Scotland, 1303, 1603, 1661, 1820, 1831, 1838, 1905, 1911, 1937, 2002, 20th century, Alexandra, Archbishop of Canterbury, Australia, Austrian Crown Jewels, Bank of England, Black Prince's Ruby, Canada, Ceylon, Charles II of England, Christian, Commonwealth, Crown Jewels, Crown of Mary of Modena, Crown of Queen Elizabeth, Crown of Queen Mary, Cullinan I, Cullinan II, Defender of the Faith, Delhi, Dutch Crown Jewels, Edward VII, Emperor of India, French Crown Jewels, George IV State Diadem, George V, George VI, German Crown Jewels, Holy Ghost, Honours of Scotland, Honours of the Principality of Wales, Imperial Crown of India, Imperial State Crown, Iranian Crown Jewels, Irish Crown Jewels, James II, John of England, King George IV, King George V, King George VI, Koh-i-Noor diamond, Lord Great Chamberlain, Montreal, New Zealand, Oliver Cromwell, Pakistan, Papal Tiara, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Mary, Queen Victoria, Reformation, Restoration, Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom, Russian Crown Jewels, Sceptre with the Cross, Sceptre with the Dove, South Africa, Southern Rhodesia, Sovereign's Orb, St Edward's Crown, St. Edward's Crown, State Opening of Parliament, Sword of Mercy, The Wash, Thomas Blood, Tower of London, UK topics, United Kingdom, Westminster Abbey, William IV, Windsor Castle, World War II, alb, armill, bishops, colobium sindonis, coronation, crown, crowns, dalmatic, diamonds, emeralds, globus cruciger, gold bullion, orbs, pearls, rings, rubies, sapphires, sceptres, spinel, spurs, swords
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Crowns", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
