Symbol of royalty, the crown is solid gold and has 444 precious and semi-precious stones
The crown that King Charles III uses for his coronation ceremony this Saturday the 6th in London, UK is one of the great symbols of British royalty.
At the feast, Charles received the St. Edward’s Crown, which, according to the daily emailit has been used to crown British monarchs since the 13th century.
Lots of gold and precious stones
The original crown was a holy relic held in Westminster Abbey, Edward’s burial place, until it was dissolved by the Parliamentarians in 1649 during the English Civil War. The current version of St Edward’s Crown was made for Charles II in 1661. It was fashioned to closely resemble the medieval crown, with a heavy gold base and clusters of semi-precious stones, but the arches are very Baroque.
The crown is solid gold and weighs nearly 5 pounds. It is decorated with 444 precious and semi-precious stones, including tourmalines, white and yellow topaz, rubies, amethysts, sapphires, garnets, peridots, zircons, spinels and aquamarines.
Only six monarchs have been crowned with St Edward’s Crown: Charles II (1661), James II (1685), William III (1689), George V (1911), (1937) and Elizabeth II (1953). Until the beginning of the 1900s, the stones that make up the crown were rented on the occasion of the coronation and then returned. It was not until 1911 that George V ensured that the crown was permanently inlaid with his semi-precious stones.
In 1953, Queen Elizabeth II adopted a stylized image of the crown for use on coats of arms, badges, logos and other insignia in the Commonwealth realms to symbolize her royal authority. St Edward’s Crown is currently on public display at the Jewel House in the Tower of London and is only withdrawn for royal coronations.
Source: Terra
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