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TOWER OF LONDONOWE |
The Queen's Crown
Jewels in the Tower of London always attracting a high number of visitors.
On the seventh
anniversary of King Charles II coronation Samuel Pepys escorted the guest,
which were definitely not sober anymore, to the City of London. Later he noted
in his diary that he took them to the Tower of London and showed round. There
were also the crown and sceptres, rich plate. He mentioned that they never saw
it before and were pleased to see it.
The main
attraction, they were not allowed to see was the Koh-i-Noor. The magnificent
Indian Jewel which was presented to Queen Victoria in the mid-19th century. The
rest of the crown jewels must have been as impressive as it is today.
Nearly two and half
million people come to see these magnificent masterpieces last year. When
inside you stand on a long conveyor belt which goes slowly round to enable
everybody to look at the glass cases containing the crown jewels
Traditionally,
monarchs had crowns to be everyday and a special one for their coronation. The
Crown Jewels are the regalia used in ancient coronation ceremony in Westminster
Abbey.
The last time the
Queen worn the Imperial State Crown was on the Sate Opening of Parliament last
year. The St Edward's Crown which was made for Charles II in 1661 and weighs
nearly 5lb is only used for crowning ceremonies. The last time it was used for
15 minutes was in 1953.
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ST EDWARD'S CROWN |
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| WESTMINSTER ABBEY |
Most of the Crown
Jewels from the Anglo-Saxon period were lost by King John in the marshy area of
The Wash in 1216. In the Westminster Abbey they kept a replacement set and that
was stolen in 1303. The robbers were caught, received a nasty death and only
some items were found.
After that they
were kept in the more secured Tower of London. It didn't proof a complete
safeguard for the Crown Jewels. When King Charles I was executed in 1649 and
England became a republic under Oliver Cromwell the "trifles" of the
monarchy were melted down.
Today's Crown
Jewels dating back to the restoration of King Charles II. However, when they
melted the crowns down, the jewels were kept in the Treasury. Therefore, the
Black Prince Ruby still exists which King Henry V worn at Agincourt. Also the
gold was not and will not be used for anything else. It is also in the
Treasury.
Some coronations
were more flamboyant than others. King George IV describes his as
"gorgeous and extravagant. His Crown had 12,314 diamonds.
When his brother
William IV was crowned and insisted on cutting cost. He made his German consort
Queen Adelaide pay for her own crown which was with diamonds and coloured
stones.
In 1838 due to a
misunderstand the Coronation Ring was made too small for Queen Victoria and the
Archbishop of Canterbury had to force it on to her finger. Later she wrote in
her diary that she the greatest difficulties to take if off again and with
great pain.
Gold Crowns have to
be remade every century because the metal weakens and the stones could fall
out. Therefore, The Imperial State Crown which was made for George VI in 1937,
adapted for Queen Elizabeth II should be still perfect for the next coronation.
The Koh-i-Noor, was
only used for female crowns because of the ancient Indian curse. It was in four
different crowns since it came to Britain. Will the stone than be removed from
the Queen Mother's crown when Camilla gets crowned? Apparently, the Queen
Mother's crown was made with platinum-based which is much more stable.
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