The Imperial Crown or Crown of State played an important role in the coronation of King Charles. It is the crown that King Charles exchanged for the crown of St. Edward at the end of the coronation ceremony. He wore the Imperial Crown of State for the procession back to Buckingham Palace, accompanying Queen Camilla in the golden state carriage.
Sparkling with almost 3,000 stones, it includes 2,868 diamonds, 273 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds and five rubies. The crown weighs 1.06 kilograms.
Some jewellery experts have estimated its value to be between £3 billion and £5 billion. The 317-carat Cullinan II diamond alone (the diamond in the centre) is valued at £400 million.
Therefore, several experts have decided that determining the value of the crown is “almost impossible”. Royal expert Alastair Bruce had previously stated that the Crown jewellery collection (of which the crown is part) was beyond monetary value.
“The term “Imperial State Crown” e from the fifteenth century. When the English monarchs chose a crown design that ended with arches. To show that England was not subject to any other earthly power,” explains the British Royal Family website. “
This Imperial State Crown was built for the coronation of King George VI in 1937. But it is based on a crown designed for Queen Victoria in 1838 by the jewellers of the time, Rundell, Bridge & Rundell.’ But they shortened it by an inch for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
The Imperial State Crown is similar in appearance to the Crown of St Edward, for the coronation of Charles II in 1661. After the original was destroyed under Oliver Cromwell in the 17th century, when he ordered the abolition of the monarchy.
The Cullinan II stone was cut from the largest diamond ever recorded (a 3,601-carat stone found in Africa in 1905). It was given to Edward VII on his birthday by the government of Transvaal (now South Africa) in 1907.
The crown also includes the oldest gemstone in the royal collection: the Stuart sapphire. It is said to have once been placed on a ring often worn by Edward the Confessor, which is at the centre of the diamond cross.
At the front of the crown, above the central diamond, is the Black Prince's Ruby. A stone believed to have been worn by Henry V at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. Even the finish of the crown is lined with fur and purple velvet.
The original version of the crown was named after Edward the Confessor, ruler of England from 1042 to 1066. King Edward was canonised in 1161 and the crown was kept at Westminster Abbey as a holy relic. It was used at royal coronations for the next 400 years, including the coronation of Anne Boleyn as Queen Consort in 1533.
However, during the English Civil War of the 17th century, the enemies of the Cavaliers executed Charles I and confiscated and sold the crown along with much of the royal ornaments. So with the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 a new and impressive crown was needed.
Royal goldsmith Sir Robert Vyner was commissioned to create the version we know today. It was first presented at the coronation of Charles II in 1661 and at many coronations since then. Including the Queen's grandfather, George V, and her father, George VI, in 1911 and 1937, respectively.
Such is the legacy of St Edward's crown that his image was chosen by Queen Elizabeth II to be used throughout her reign as the widely recognised royal emblem for services such as HM Revenue and Taxes, police badges, passports and the Royal Mail. Despite an attempted theft in 1671, the Crown is usually kept in the Tower of London.
During her reign, Elizabeth II wore it every year at the official opening of Parliament. But according to the BBC, in 2018, she joked about how heavy the crown felt on top of her head. ’You can't look down to read the speech. You have to take the speech up, because if you did, your neck would break,“ the monarch explained. From 2019 onwards, she wore a lighter crown for the ceremony, while from 2021 she wore none at all.
Historian and author of The Crown Jewels, Anna Keay, told the BBC. “It can be quite hard to look at them sometimes because of the light that shines on them. It's literally dazzling... visually debilitating.” While BBC presenter Clive Myrie described seeing the crown up close as “almost unreal [...] The clarity of the diamonds is absolutely incredible.”.
The crown is normally kept in safekeeping at the Tower of London, where it is the centrepiece of the Crown Jewels exhibition. Recently, however, it was placed on the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II at her funeral.
Source: chatter.com
