St Edward's Crown

Edward the Confessor wore his crown at Easter, Whitsun, and Christmas.[4] In 1161, he was canonised, 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 for the coronations of all future English kings.[5] Although the claim is likely to have been an exercise in self-promotion on the abbey's part, and some of the regalia probably had been taken from Edward's grave when he was reinterred there, it became accepted as fact,[5] thereby establishing the first known set of hereditary coronation regalia in Europe.[6] 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.[7]

St Edward's Crown rarely left Westminster Abbey. When Richard II was forced to abdicate in 1399, he had the crown brought to the Tower of London, where he symbolically handed it over to his successor 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".[8]

It was used in 1533 to crown the second wife of Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, which was unprecedented for a queen consort.[9] In the Tudor period, three crowns were placed on the heads of monarchs at a coronation: St Edward's Crown, the state crown, and a "rich crown" made specially for the new king or queen.[10] After the English Reformation, the new Church of England denounced the veneration of medieval relics and, starting with the coronation of Edward VI in 1547, the significance of the crown's link to Edward the Confessor was downplayed.[11]

During the English Civil War, Parliament melted down the crown, regarded by Oliver Cromwell as symbolic of the "detestable rule of kings".[12] The crown was described in an inventory of Charles I's possessions as "King Alfred's Crown of gold wire-work set with slight stones and two little bells", weighing 79.5 ounces (2.25 kg), valued at £3 per ounce, total value £248 10s 0d.[13] 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". However, there is no evidence to support its dating from Alfred's reign, and the crown has always been referred to as St Edward's Crown (or Crown of St Edward) in the coronation order of service.[14]

St Edward's Crown as it looked according to Francis Sandford at the English coronation of James II in 1685

The monarchy was restored in 1660 and in preparation for the coronation of Charles II, who had been living in exile abroad, a new St Edward's Crown was supplied by the Royal Goldsmith, Sir Robert Vyner.[15] It was fashioned to closely resemble the medieval crown, with a heavy gold base and clusters of semi-precious stones, but the arches are decidedly Baroque.[16] In the late 20th century, it was assumed to incorporate gold from the original St Edward's Crown, as they are almost identical in weight, and no invoice was produced for the materials in 1661. A crown was also displayed at the lying in state of Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England from 1653 until 1658. On the weight of this evidence, writer and historian Martin Holmes, in a 1959 paper for Archaeologia, concluded that in the time of the Interregnum St Edward's Crown was saved from the melting pot and that its gold was used to make a new crown at the Restoration.[17]

His theory became accepted wisdom, and many books, including official guidebooks for the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London, repeated his claim as fact. In 2008, new research found that a coronation crown and sceptre were made in 1660 in anticipation of an early coronation, which had to be delayed several times. His other regalia were commissioned in 1661 after Parliament increased the budget as a token of their appreciation for the king. The crown at Cromwell's lying in state was probably made of gilded base metal such as tin or copper, as was usual in 17th-century England; for example, a crown displayed at the funeral of James I had cost only £5 and was decorated with fake jewels.[17]

In 1671, Thomas Blood briefly stole the crown from the Tower of London, flattening it with a mallet in an attempt to conceal it.[18] A new monde was created for the coronation of James II, and for William III the base was changed from a circle to an oval.[19] After the coronation of William III in 1689, monarchs chose to be crowned with a lighter, bespoke coronation crown (e.g., the Coronation Crown of George IV)[20] or their state crown, while St Edward's Crown usually rested on the high altar.[21]

Royal cypher of Elizabeth II

Edward VII intended to revive the tradition of being crowned with St Edward's Crown in 1902, but on coronation day he was still recovering from an operation for appendicitis, and instead he wore the lighter Imperial State Crown.[22]

Jewels were hired for use in the crown and removed after the coronation until 1911, when it was permanently set with 444 precious and semi-precious stones. Imitation pearls on the arches and base were replaced with gold beads which at the time were platinum-plated.[23] Its band was also made smaller to fit George V, the first monarch to be crowned with St Edward's Crown in over 200 years, reducing the crown's overall weight from 82 troy ounces (2.6 kg) to 71 troy ounces (2.2 kg).[22]

It was used to crown his successor George VI in 1937, and Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, who adopted a stylised image of the crown for use on coats of arms, badges, logos and various other insignia in the Commonwealth realms to symbolise her royal authority. In these contexts, it replaced the Tudor Crown, which had been instated by Edward VII in 1901.[24] Use of the crown's image in this way is by permission of the monarch.[19]

On 4 June 2013, St Edward's Crown was displayed on the high altar in Westminster Abbey at a service marking the 60th anniversary of Elizabeth II's coronation, the first time it had left the Jewel House at the Tower of London since 1953.[25] In December 2022 the crown was removed from the Tower of London to be resized ahead of its use in the coronation of Charles III on 6 May 2023.[26]

St Edward's Crown is widely used as a heraldic emblem of the United Kingdom, being incorporated into a multitude of emblems and insignia. As the United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with responsible government, the crown can also symbolise the sovereignty (or authority) of the monarch. During the reign of Elizabeth II it was found on, amongst others, the Royal Cypher; the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom; the Royal Badges of England; and the badges of the police forces of England and Wales, NHS ambulance services, His Majesty's Coastguard, the British Army, the Royal Marines, the Royal Air Force and HM Revenue and Customs. It also formed the logo of Royal Mail.[30] In Scotland, the Crown of Scotland appeared in place of St Edward's Crown.

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the design of King Charles III's royal cypher was announced in September 2022, which featured the Tudor Crown rather than the St Edward's Crown. According to the College of Arms, it is envisioned that the Tudor Crown will be used in representations of the Royal Arms, badges and military uniforms.[31]