page_title: Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom
section_title: Edward the Confessor
hierarchical_section_title: Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom / History / Middle Ages / Edward the Confessor
caption_attribution_description: English: First Great Seal of Edward the Confessor (obverse)
context_page_description: The Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, originally the Crown Jewels of England, are a collection of royal ceremonial objects kept in the Tower of London, which include the regalia and vestments worn at their coronations by British kings and queens.
  Symbols of 800 years of monarchy, the coronation regalia are the only working set in Europe – secular ceremonies have replaced coronations in other European monarchies – and the collection is the most historically complete of any regalia in the world. Objects used to invest and crown the monarch variously denote his or her roles as head of state, Supreme Governor of the Church of England, and head of the British armed forces. They feature heraldic devices and national emblems of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and recent pieces were designed to reflect the monarch's role as Head of the Commonwealth.
  Use of regalia by monarchs in England can be traced back to when it was converted to Christianity in the Middle Ages. A permanent set of coronation regalia, once belonging to Edward the Confessor, was established after he was made a saint in the 12th century.
context_section_description: Edward the Confessor is depicted on a throne and wearing a crown and holding a sceptre in the first scene of the Bayeux Tapestry. In 1066 Edward died without an heir, and William the Conqueror emerged as the first Norman king of England following his victory over the English at the Battle of Hastings. Wearing a crown became an important part of William I's efforts to cement his authority over his new territory and subjects. At his death in 1087, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reported: "[William] kept great state … He wore his crown three times a year as often as he was in England … He was so stern and relentless … we must not forget the good order he kept in the land". Those crown-wearings were held on the religious festivals of Easter, Whitsun and Christmas.
  In 1161 Edward the Confessor was made a saint, and objects connected with his reign became holy relics. The monks at his burial place of Westminster Abbey claimed that Edward had asked them to look after his regalia in perpetuity and they were to be used at the coronations of all future kings. A note to this effect is contained in an inventory of relics drawn up by a monk at the abbey in 1450, recording a tunicle, dalmatic, pallium, and other vestments; a gold sceptre, two rods, a gold crown, comb, and spoon; for the queen's coronation a crown and two rods; and for the Holy Communion a chalice of onyx stone and a paten made of gold – all of which were considered precious relics. Although the Abbey's claim is likely to have been an exercise in self-promotion, and some of the regalia had probably been taken from Edward's grave when he was reinterred there, it became accepted as fact, thereby establishing the first known set of hereditary coronation regalia in Europe. Westminster Abbey is owned by a monarch, and the regalia had always been royal property – the abbots were mere custodians. In the following centuries some of these objects would fall out of use and the regalia would expand to include many others used or worn by monarchs and queens consort at coronations.
  A crown referred to as St Edward's Crown is first recorded as having been used for the coronation of Henry III in 1220, and it appears to be the same crown worn by Edward. Being crowned and invested with regalia owned by a previous monarch who was also a saint reinforced the king's authority. It was also wrongly thought to have been originally owned by Alfred the Great because 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". The crown would be used in many subsequent coronations until its eventual destruction 400 years later. Few descriptions survive, although one 17th-century historian noted that it was "ancient Work with Flowers, adorn'd with Stones of somewhat a plain setting", and an inventory described it as "gold wire-work set with slight stones and two little bells", weighing 2.25 kilograms (79.5 oz). It had arches and may have been decorated with filigree and cloisonné enamels. Also in the Royal Collection in this period was an item called a state crown. Together with other crowns, rings, and swords, it comprised the monarch's state regalia that were kept separate from the coronation regalia, mostly at the royal palaces.
caption: First great seal of the Confessor
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