Coronation Countdown: The Crown.
When King Charles III is crowned on 6 May at Westminster Abbey -the site of coronations for over 900 years-the actual crown used during the ceremony is known as St Edward’s Crown. This coronation crown is regarded as the centrepiece of the Crown Jewels (or Crown Regalia) of the United Kingdom and is of a traditional design, being composed of a gold circlet supporting four jewelled cross pattée (a symbol of Christianity used, inter alia, by the Knights Templar during the Holy Land Crusades) as well as four jewelled fleur-de-lys. Rising from the crosses pattée are four half-arches, set with precious stones, depressed in the centre and at the point of intersection is the ‘monde’ (French for ‘world’). This is an orb which represents, as the name suggests, the world that the monarch rules over. This is topped by a single cross pattée (again representing the Christian world) from which hang two platinised-gold drops. The purple velvet cap is trimmed with ermine. Two rows of gold beads border the circlet and outline the arches of the crown.
St Edward’s crown was apparently made using gold from an older crown (probably that of Edward the Confessor who reigned in the 11th century and is buried in the Abbey) for the coronation of another Charles-that of King Charles II in 1661. The crown, which was commissioned from the then royal jeweller, Robert Vyner, is 26 inches (66 centimetres) in circumference, stands 12 inches (30 centimetres) in height and is very heavy, weighing 4 pounds 12 ounces (or just over 2.15 kilos) as it is made of solid gold. In the earlier years, the stones which adorned St Edward’s Crown were hired (in 1661 the cost for this alone was a mighty £500), but this practice was changed for the coronation of the present King’s great-grandfather, King George V, in 1911, when Garrard, the Crown Jewellers, reset the Crown with 444 semi-precious stones including rubies, amethysts, sapphires, garnets, topazes and tourmalines. 16 of these stones are large collets set into the band of the crown. The crown is normally on display at the Jewel House of the Tower of London, although it was removed from there to allow for ‘modification’ work to be undertaken prior to the Coronation.
Interestingly, although St Edward’s Crown is today regarded as the official coronation crown, only six monarchs have actually been crowned using it (the last being Queen Elizabeth II in 1953). For instance, Queen Victoria thought it too heavy and preferred to make use of the lighter Imperial State Crown in June 1838. Her son, the ailing King Edward VII, followed suit in August 1902. In addition, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, St Edward’s Crown was used as a heraldic symbol of royal authority, being incorporated into a multitude of emblems and insignia such as those used by the military and the police. However, King Charles III has instead chosen to make use of the old Tudor Crown of State (which was destroyed in 1649 following the execution of King Charles I) as the royal cypher (also sometimes referred to as King Henry VIII’s Crown). In doing this, he is following in the footsteps of Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII and George VI.
It is also worth noting that the United Kingdom is unique amongst European monarchies for making use of its regalia for the consecration ceremony of the crowning of the Sovereign. The actual placing of the Crown on the Sovereign’s head is seen as the climax of the service and during which the entire assembly stand as the Archbishop of Canterbury (the Primate of the Church of England) first raises high St Edward’s Crown which is then ‘reverently’ placed upon the Sovereign’s head. This done, all the prince and princesses, peers and peeresses put on their coronets and a great shout goes up from the congregation, ‘God Save the King.’ Trumpets then sound in the Abbey while outside, as a Royal Salute, the great guns of the Tower of London are fired by the Honourable Artillery Company, while those in Hyde Park are set off by The King’s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery.
