Imperial State Crown

St Edward's Crown, used to crown English monarchs, was considered to be a holy relic,[2] kept in the saint's shrine at Westminster Abbey and therefore not worn by monarchs at any other time. Instead, a "great crown" with crosses and fleurs-de-lis, but without arches (an open crown), was a king's usual headgear at state occasions until the time of Henry V, who is depicted wearing an imperial crown of state with gold arches (a closed crown).[3] Arches were a symbol of sovereignty, and by this point in history, the king of England was being celebrated as rex in regno suo est imperator – an emperor of his own domain – subservient to no one but God, unlike some continental rulers, who owed fealty to more powerful kings or to the Holy Roman Emperor.[4]

Henry VII or his son and successor Henry VIII may have commissioned a more elaborate version of the state crown which is first described in detail in an inventory of royal jewels in 1521, and again in 1532, 1550, 1574, and 1597, and was included in a painting by Daniel Mytens of Charles I in 1631.[5] The Tudor Crown had more pearls and jewels than its medieval predecessor, and the centre petals of each of the fleurs-de-lis had images of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and St George.[6] The crown weighed 2.8 kg (7 lb 6 oz troy) and was set with 168 pearls, 58 rubies, 28 diamonds, 19 sapphires, and 2 emeralds.[7][8]

Following the abolition of the monarchy and the execution of Charles I in 1649, the Tudor Crown was broken up by order of Oliver Cromwell during the Interregnum,[9] and its valuable components were sold for £1,100.[7]

Edward the Confessor holding a sapphire ring in The Wilton Diptych[10]

Upon the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, a new state crown was made for Charles II by Sir Robert Vyner. About 10 versions of the crown have existed since the Restoration.[11] The one made for Queen Victoria in 1838 is the basis for today's crown. Made by Rundell and Bridge using old and new jewels, it had a crimson velvet cap with ermine border and a lining of white silk. It weighed 39.25 troy ounces (43.06 oz; 1,221 g) and was decorated with 1,363 brilliant-cut, 1,273 rose-cut and 147 table-cut diamonds, 277 pearls, 17 sapphires (including St Edward's Sapphire, thought to have been taken from the Confessor's ring when his body was reinterred at Westminster Abbey in 1163), 11 emeralds, 4 rubies, and the Black Prince's Ruby (a cabochon red spinel).[12]

At the State Opening of Parliament in 1845, the Duke of Argyll was carrying the crown before Queen Victoria when it fell off the cushion and broke. Victoria wrote in her diary, "it was all crushed and squashed like a pudding that had sat down".[13] In 1909, the crown was altered to accommodate the 317-carat (63 g) Cullinan II diamond, also known as the Second Star of Africa.[14] A faithful copy of the Victorian crown, which had fallen into a poor state of repair, was made in 1937 by the jewellers Garrard & Co. for George VI.[15] (The empty frame of Victoria's crown survives in the Royal Collection, its monde and cross now sit on the current crown)[16] The Imperial State Crown's inner headband was adjusted and its arches lowered by 1 in (2.5 cm) in 1953 for Queen Elizabeth II.[17] The crown's arches were not restored to their original height for King Charles III but were kept at the same height as they were for Queen Elizabeth.