Evening star., 1937-04-04
BRITISH CROWN
GEMS PRICELESS
But They Can Be Seen by
All for Mere
Shilling.

LONDON, April 3 (N.A.N.A0.-1t is
almost impossible to estimate in
money the value of the regalia belong
ing to the British crown. There are
those who say that $25 5000 to $780,
100000 would be a fair price for the
mass of jewels and gold which usually
Is kept in the Tower Of London for
any one to look at and which is
taken out from time to time for
coronations and for state openings
OF Parliament.
Some OF the jewels 60 back to
the early middle ages. In the imperial
great ruby, valued at something like
$50o,0O0, which once belonged to the
King of Granada and was given to
the Black Prince by the King of
Castillo in 1867. King Henry v wore
1t at the battle of Agincourt on his
helmet. That helmet is now in
Westminster Abbey.
Among other old jewels in the
regalia are the pearl earrings of Queen
Elizabeth, great sapphire which be-
longed to Edward the Confessor, and
probably the most famous diamond in
the world, the kohi-Noor, which once
blazed in the crown of Indian
emperors and three generations ago
was presented to Queen Victoria by
the British Army.
King Has Three Crowns.
The King has three crowns, the
{yV1r
crown and the crown of India. The
coronation crown is too heavy to
wear for any length of time. OF
solid gold, encrusted with pearls,
emeralds, rubies. diamonds and
sapphires, it weighs over pounds
and originally cost over sl5OOOO. This
is the crown which is placed on
the Kings head by the Archbishop of
Canterbury at the moment of corona
ton.
The imperial crown of India is
the newest. 1t was made in 1912
and used for the first time when
King George V was crowned Emperor
of India at Delhi in that year 1t
Is a marvellous piece of work COM
monty supposed to have cost $500, 900.
1t has worked into it over 5000
diamonds and a number of emeralds,
rubies and sapphires. One notable
stone is huge emerald and another
an enormous Indian ruby of the real
pigeons blood color which is so rare
Then there is the coronation ring,
called the wedding ring of England,
Srbo &c o,1o
during the croWning ceremony The
custom has been to make a new ring
for each King and there are three
or four of these rings among the
crown jewels in the Tower of London.
They are enormous ornaments. with
one large colored stone, either ruby
or sapphire, in the center, sur
rounded by large diamonds.
Orb Is Handed King.
This ring is placed on the Kings
finger Immediately after he has been
handed the orb, or globe of gold,
which represents the domination of
the world by the Savior. This orb,
which is covered with gems, has a
large amethyst at the top and, aris-
ing from the amethyst, is a cross
OF diamonds with ruby center. No
one knows what value to place on it.
During the ceremony at the abbey,
the King, seated on the throne, is
handed st. Edwards staff, also called
the rod Of justice and equity. This
is made of gold and stands over
feet high. The original St. Edward S
staff was said to have contained a
piece Of the true cross, but it is be-
lieved the present staff is a repro
duction made at the time of Charles
II and that the original staff was
lost during the Civil War, when
Cromwell swept away many of the
royal treasures after the execution
Of Charles I.
There is a collection of four swords,
all heavily jeWeled, which play their
part in the coronation. There is the
Jeweled sword of state, worth about
100000 and commonly supposed to
be the most beautiful and valuable
example of the sword-makers' art in
the world. The scabbard is of solid
gold and one Of the stones on it, a
large sapphire, Is said to be worth
$4,000. This is the sword which
is offered by the King in homage to
the church, which accepts it and al
lows the King to buy it back for
100 shillings.
Mercy Sword Blunted.
The other three are the sword Of
mercy. the point of which is blunted
to indicate the quality of mercy; the
sword of justice, which is carried be-
hind the King, and another sword Of
state bearing representations of the
supporters of the royal arms of Eng
land, the lion and the unicorn. All
these swords are heavily ornamented
in gold and jewels.
A striking piece of the royal re-
gala Is the sceptre, which the King
holds in his right hand for a certain
time during the ceremony. The top
OF the British sceptre looks as If it
had been mounted with a piece of
glass as large as a childs fist This is
the so-called major star of Africa,
the largest cut diamond in the world
1t Is almost impossible to place a
value on it, since except as a crown
Jewel or as museum piece so large
stone could scarcely be put to any
use without being cut up.
There are also the gold spurs with
which the King is presented These
are laid on the altar of the abbey by
the King to show that as head of the
armed force of the realm he places
that force at the service of God.
King Is Amounted.
The coronation ceremony reaches its
peak when the King is anointed with
tho consecrated oil, which make him
the anointed Of God and confers on
him the divine right of kings. This
holy oil Is kept in a vessel called
the ampulla, which is in the form Of
gold eagle surmounting small, hol-
low vessel which actually contains the
oil
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