St. Edwards Crown

### Gems

345 rose-cut aquamarines, 37 white topazes, 27 tourmalines, 12 rubies, 7 amethysts, 6 sapphires, 2 jargoons, 1 garnet, 1 spinel and 1 carbuncle.

St. Edward's Crown is the crowning object in the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom and is traditionally the coronation crown of the monarchs of the United Kingdom. The current crown was made in 1661 for King Charles II for his coronation. Between 1689 and 1911 the crown was not used for the actual crowning but was always present during the coronation. The tradition was revived by King George V. The crown is currently owned by King Charles III.

### History

*See St. Edward's Crown (Original)*

The current St. Edward's Crown is not the original. The first crown was made for King Edward the Confessor during his reign between 1042 and 1066. It was described historically as " gold wire-work set with slight stones and two little bells" and weighted around 5 pounds. Edward would wear it during Easter, Whitsun, and Christmas. Upon his death in 1066 he was most likely buried with the crown in Westminster Abbey. After Edward was sanctified in 1162 the monks of the Abbey probably removed the crown as it was now a holy relic. The monks claimed that before Edward died, he entrusted the monks of The Abbey to look after his regalia for future coronations of all English Kings. However this was more likely self-promotion by the monks. The crown was kept in a wooden box bearing a Latin inscription that read "This is the chief crown of the two, with which were crowned Kings Alfred, Edward and others." This lead to the crown sometimes being called King Alfred's Crown despite there being no evidence that the crown existed during the time of King Alfred.

The crown was first used in the 1220 coronation of King Henry III in Westminster Abbey. It was then probably used in subsequent coronations; King Edward I in 1274, King Edward II in 1308, King Edward III in 1327, and King Richard II in 1377. After Richard II was forced to abdicate in 1399 he had the crown brought to the Tower of London where he symbolically handed it to then Henry IV saying "I present and give to you this crown with which I was crowned King of England and all the rights dependent on it." The crown would then be worn by King Henry V in 1413, King Henry VI in 1429, King Edward IV in 1461, King Richard III in 1483, King Henry VII in 1485, and King Henry VIII in 1509. King Henry VIII would also allow the crown to be used in the coronation of his consort Queen Anne Boleyn in 1533, an unprecedented move.

After the English Reformation and the new Church of England denouncing the veneration of medieval relics, the crowns' spot in coronations was down played. It would further be used in the coronations of King Edward VI in 1547, Queen Mary I in 1553, Queen Elizabeth I in 1559, King James I in 1603, and King Charles I in 1629.

### Loss

During the English Civil War Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell regarded the crown as the symbol of the "detestable rule of kings." It was sold by parliament and melted down in 1649.

### New Crown

After the monarchy was restored in 1660, a new crown was needed for the coronation of the restored King Charles II. The crown was supplied by the Royal Goldsmith, Sir Robert Vyner in 1661. It has been theorized that the crown uses gold from the original crown. This theory relies on the idea the the original was never in fact melted down at all. However this claim is unlikely. The crown was used in the 1661 coronation of King Charles II along with the coronation of King James in 1685. However in 1671 the crown was briefly stolen from the Tower of London by Thomas Blood who attempted to flatten it was a hammer to better conceal it. He was stopped before he could fully take the crown. A new monde was created for the coronation of James II. The crown was used for the coronation of King William III where the base was changed from a circle to an oval. His co-monarch Queen Mary II was not crowned with the crown. For all further coronations after King William III, the crown would not be physically worn but would sit on the high alter for the ceremony due to its weight and unwieldiness. These coronations without the worn crowns would be those of Queen Anne in 1702, King George I in 1714, King George II in 1727, King George III in 1761, King George IV in 1821, King William IV in 1831, Queen Victoria in 1838, and King Edward VII in 1902.

The tradition of wear the crown was revived by King George V in his coronation in 1911. Edward VII intended to revive the tradition in his 1902 coronation but was still recovering from an operation for appendicitis. Until in 1911 jewels were hired for use in the crown and were taken out after the ceremony. In 1911 it was set permanently with 345 rose-cut aquamarines, 37 white topazes, 27 tourmalines, 12 rubies, 7 amethysts, 6 sapphires, 2 jargoons, 1 garnet, 1 spinel and 1 carbuncle. Imitation pearls on the arches and base were replaced with gold beads which at the time were platinum-plated. Its band was also made smaller to fit the head of George V. This reduced the weight from 5.7 pounds to 4.9 pounds.

It was then used in the coronations of King George VI in 1937 and Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. It was again used for the coronation of King Charles III in 2023.

### Usage

St. Edward's Crown is one of the best known symbols of the UK and the British Monarchy. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, she adopted the crown as the crown of her heraldry. It was used on her Royal Cypher and Coat of Arms. It is also featured on many other coat of arms and symbols throughout the commonwealth realms such as on military and police uniforms and logos. It was replaced by the Tudor Crown by King Charles III in 2023.

Charles III wearing St. Edward's Crown