St Edward's Crown
St Edward's Crown | |
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Heraldic depictions | |
Details | |
Country | United Kingdom |
Made | 1661 |
Owner | Charles III in right of the Crown.[1] |
Weight | 2.23 kg (4.9 lb) |
Arches | 2 |
Material | 22-carat gold |
St Edward's Crown is the centrepiece of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.[2] Named after Saint Edward the Confessor, versions of it have traditionally been used to crown English and British monarchs at their coronations since the 13th century.
The original crown was a holy relic kept at Westminster Abbey, Edward's burial place, until the regalia were either sold or melted down when Parliament abolished the monarchy in 1649, during the English Civil War.
The current St Edward's Crown was made for Charles II in 1661. It is 22-carat gold, 30 centimetres (12 in) tall, weighs 2.23 kilograms (4.9 lb), and is decorated with 444 precious and fine gemstones. The crown is similar in weight and overall appearance to the original, but its arches are Baroque.
After 1689, owing to its weight the crown was not used to crown any monarch for over 200 years. In 1911, the tradition was revived by George V and has continued ever since, including at the 2023 coronation of Charles III and Camilla.[3] In 1953, Elizabeth II opted for a stylised image of this crown to be used on coats of arms and other insignia in Commonwealth realms to symbolise her royal authority.
St Edward's Crown is normally on public display in the Jewel House at the Tower of London.
History
Origin
Holy relic
St Edward's Crown rarely left Westminster Abbey. When
It was used in 1533 to crown the second wife of Henry VIII,
During the English Civil War, Parliament melted down the crown, regarded by Oliver Cromwell as symbolic of the "detestable rule of kings".[12] The crown was described in an inventory of Charles I's possessions as "King Alfred's Crown of gold wire-work set with slight stones and two little bells", weighing 79.5 ounces (2.25 kg), valued at £3 per ounce, total value £248 10s 0d.[13] An inscription on the lid of its box, translated from Latin, read: "This is the chief crown of the two, with which were crowned Kings Alfred, Edward and others". However, there is no evidence to support its dating from Alfred's reign, and the crown has always been referred to as St Edward's Crown (or Crown of St Edward) in the coronation order of service.[14]
Restoration
The monarchy was
His theory became accepted wisdom, and many books, including official guidebooks for the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London, repeated his claim as fact. In 2008, new research found that a coronation crown and sceptre were made in 1660 in anticipation of an early coronation, which had to be delayed several times. His other regalia were commissioned in 1661 after Parliament increased the budget as a token of their appreciation for the king. The crown at Cromwell's lying in state was probably made of gilded base metal such as tin or copper, as was usual in 17th-century England; for example, a crown displayed at the funeral of James I had cost only £5 and was decorated with fake jewels.[17]
In 1671, Thomas Blood briefly stole the crown from the Tower of London, flattening it with a mallet in an attempt to conceal it.[18] A new monde was created for the coronation of James II, and for William III the base was changed from a circle to an oval.[19] After the coronation of William III in 1689, monarchs chose to be crowned with a lighter, bespoke coronation crown (e.g., the Coronation Crown of George IV)[20] or their state crown, while St Edward's Crown usually rested on the high altar.[21]
20th to 21st century
Edward VII intended to revive the tradition of being crowned with St Edward's Crown in 1902, but on coronation day he was still recovering from an operation for appendicitis, and instead he wore the lighter Imperial State Crown.[22]
Jewels were hired for use in the crown and removed after the coronation until 1911, when it was permanently set with 444 precious and semi-precious stones. Imitation pearls on the arches and base were replaced with gold beads which at the time were platinum-plated.[23] Its band was also made smaller to fit George V, the first monarch to be crowned with St Edward's Crown in over 200 years, reducing the crown's overall weight from 82 troy ounces (2.6 kg) to 71 troy ounces (2.2 kg).[22]
It was used to crown his successor George VI in 1937, and Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, who adopted a stylised image of the crown for use on coats of arms, badges, logos and various other insignia in the Commonwealth realms to symbolise her royal authority. In these contexts, it replaced the Tudor Crown, which had been instated by Edward VII in 1901.[24] Use of the crown's image in this way is by permission of the monarch.[19]
On 4 June 2013, St Edward's Crown was displayed on the high altar in Westminster Abbey at a service marking the 60th anniversary of Elizabeth II's coronation, the first time it had left the Jewel House at the Tower of London since 1953.[25] In December 2022, the crown was removed from the Tower of London to be resized ahead of its use in the coronation of Charles III on 6 May 2023.[26]
Description
External videos | |
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2023 video of St Edward's Crown by the Royal Collection Trust (1:36) |
St Edward's Crown is 22-carat gold,
Usage
Although St Edward's Crown is regarded as the official coronation crown, only seven monarchs have been crowned with it since the Restoration:
In heraldry
St Edward's Crown is widely used as a heraldic emblem of the United Kingdom, being incorporated into a multitude of emblems and insignia. As the United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with a democratic government, the crown can also symbolise the sovereign authority of H.M. Government. Thus, for example, "The Crown" is commonly used to refer to several of its legal, executive and military functions. It is found on, amongst others, the
The design of King Charles III's royal cypher, announced in September 2022, features the Tudor Crown rather than the St Edward's Crown used in the cypher of Queen Elizabeth II. According to the College of Arms, it is envisaged that the Tudor Crown will be used in representations of the Royal Arms, badges and military uniforms.[31]
See also
References
- ^ "Crown Jewels". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 211. United Kingdom: House of Commons. 16 July 1992. col. 944W.
- ^ The Royal Household. "The Crown Jewels". The Official Website of the British Monarchy. Archived from the original on 8 October 2015.
- ^ "Coronation order of service in full". BBC News. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
- ^ H.R. Luard, ed. (1858). Life of St Edward the Confessor. Longman. pp. 215, 273, 281.
- ^ a b Keay, pp. 18–20.
- ^ Rose, p. 13.
- ^ Ronald Lightbown in Blair, vol. 1. pp. 257–353.
- ^ Steane, p. 34.
- ISBN 978-1-139-47466-5.
- ^ Arnold, pp. 731–732.
- ^ Ronald Lightbown in MacGregor, p. 257.
- ISBN 978-0-7100-8397-5.
- ^ Twining, p. 132.
- ^ Holmes, p. 216.
- ^ Royal Collection Trust. Inventory no. 31700.
- ^ Holmes, pp. 213–223.
- ^ a b Barclay, pp. 149–170.
- ISBN 978-0-7091-7814-9.
- ^ a b "Royal Crown and Cypher". Government of Canada. Canadian Heritage. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
- ^ Dixon-Smith, et al., p. 61.
- ^ Mears, p. 23.
- ^ a b Rose, p. 35.
- ^ a b Rose, p. 29.
- ^ "Victorian Coat of Arms". Victoria State Government. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
- ^ Gordon Rayner (4 June 2013). "Crown to leave Tower for first time since 1953 for Westminster Abbey service". The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ "St Edward's Crown removed from the Tower of London ahead of the Coronation". 3 December 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
- ^ Kathryn Jones (17 December 2014). "Royal Gold: Reflections of Power" (Podcast). Royal Collection Trust. 13:03 minutes in. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
- ^ Twining, p. 168.
- ^ Mears, et al., p. 23.
- ^ Moncreiffe, and Pottinger, pp. 38–46.
- ^ "Royal Cypher". College of Arms. 27 September 2022.
Bibliography
- Arnold, Janet (1978). "The 'Coronation' Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I". Burlington Magazine. 120 (908): 726–739+741. JSTOR 879390.
- Barclay, Andrew (2008). "The 1661 St Edward's Crown – Refurbished, Recycled or Replaced?". The Court Historian. 13 (2): 149–170. S2CID 159809217.
- Blair, Claude, ed. (1998). The Crown Jewels: The History of the Coronation Regalia …. The Stationery Office. ISBN 978-0-11-701359-9.
- Dixon-Smith, Sally; Edwards, Sebastian; Kilby, Sarah; Murphy, Clare; Souden, David; Spooner, Jane; Worsley, Lucy (2010). The Crown Jewels: Souvenir Guidebook. Historic Royal Palaces. ISBN 978-1-873993-13-2.
- Holmes, Martin (1959). "New Light on St. Edward's Crown". Archaeologia. 97: 213–223. .
- Keay, Anna (2011). The Crown Jewels. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 978-0-500-51575-4.
- MacGregor, Arthur, ed. (1989). The Late King's Goods: Collections, Possessions and Patronage of Charles I …. Alistair McAlpine. ISBN 978-0-19-920171-6.
- Mears, Kenneth J.; Thurley, Simon; Murphy, Claire (1994). The Crown Jewels. Historic Royal Palaces. ASIN B000HHY1ZQ.
- Moncreiffe, Iain; Pottinger, Don (1953). Simple Heraldry Cheerfully Illustrated. Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd.
- Rose, Tessa (1992). The Coronation Ceremony and the Crown Jewels. HM Stationery Office. ISBN 978-0-117-01361-2.
- Steane, John (2003). The Archaeology of the Medieval English Monarchy. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-64159-8.
- Twining, Edward Francis (1960). A History of the Crown Jewels of Europe. B. T. Batsford. ASIN B00283LZA6.
External links
- "St Edward's Crown". Royal Collection Trust. Inventory no. 31700.
- The Crown Jewels at the royal family website