Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom: Encyclopedia II - Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom - Other Elements

Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom - Other Elements

The Ring was made for William IV's coronation in 1831. Previously, each Sovereign received a new ring to symbolise their "marriage" to the nation, though no new rings have been used since 1831.

When the Sovereign is anointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the anointing oil is poured from the Ampulla into the Anointing Spoon. The Ampulla is a hollow gold vessel shaped like an eagle, and the Spoon is a silver-gilt spoon set with pearls. Both were spared when Cromwell ordered the destruction of the new regalia; the Spoon, probably dating from the twelfth century, is thus the oldest element of the Regalia.

The Armills are gold bracelets said to symbolise sincerity and wisdom. Upon Queen Elizabeth II's coronation, a new set of gold armills was produced and presented on the behalf of various Commonwealth governments, namely: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, Ceylon, and Southern Rhodesia.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Other Elements", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki