History of King Charles and Queen Camilla's coronation crowns

Publish date: 2024-08-14

The royal family’s crowns bear the weight of the monarchy’s centuries of history — not to mention jaw-dropping jewels. No wonder King Charles III will wear two of them for his May 6 coronation.

The one he will actually be crowned with is St. Edward’s Crown, which weighs a whopping five pounds and measures 12 inches in height.

One of the most important pieces in the Crown Jewels, it’s also an enduring symbol of the British monarchy: Imagery of St. Edward’s Crown is used across Britain and the Commonwealth for everything from police emblems to coats of arms.

Charles will first be crowned with the weighty St. Edward’s Crown.
Queen Elizabeth II was also crowned with St. Edward’s Crown. Getty Images

It was made for the coronation of Charles II in 1661 after the original St Edward’s Crown (belonging to
King Edward the Confessor, who had it created in 1065) was melted down by politician Oliver Cromwell during Britain’s brief flirtation with republicanism.

The crown’s history includes being stolen in 1671 by Colonel Thomas Blood, a former Cromwell supporter who had been left penniless when the monarchy was restored and who bashed it with a mallet.

Charles is expected to leave his coronation wearing the State Imperial Crown. POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Made from a solid gold frame, it features 444 jewels including rubies, amethysts and sapphires. Designed
with an orb and a cross on the top — symbols of the globe and the church — it has a purple velvet cap and an ermine border.

The weight makes it difficult to wear, however, and some monarchs — including Queen Victoria — have chosen to be crowned with the New State Crown and simply have the St. Edward’s carried during the coronation procession.

But it was used to crown King Charles’s mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II. St. Edward’s will be placed on Charles’s head as he is crowned, but then replaced by the Imperial State Crown.

The State Imperial Crown weight less than half as much as St. Edward’s. AFP via Getty Images

That one is slightly smaller and lighter, at less than two-and-a-half pounds.

It’s adorned with 2,868 diamonds, 273 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds and 5 rubies in a silver mount and the the most used of the royal crowns.

What you need to know about the coronation:

The contemporary version of the State Imperial Crown was made in 1937, based on one worn by Queen Victoria, and contains some of the most famous jewels in the royal treasure chest.

Among them: the enormous 170-carat Black Prince Ruby, which has been part of the royal collection
since the 14th century. Henry V was said to have worn the stone in his helmet at the Battle of Agincourt
against the French.

The coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla will take place at Westminster Abbey. Getty Images

Beneath the ruby is an even more fabulous jewel: the 317.4-carat diamond known as Cullinan II which
is the second biggest stone from the largest rough diamond ever found.

The South African diamond, named after the owner of the mine, was gifted to Edward VII by Prime Minister Louis Botha as a symbol of peace after the Boer War in the early 1900s. The even larger Cullinan I — at 530.4 carats, the largest clear-cut diamond in the world — is mounted in the head of the Sovereign’s Sceptre which will also be part of the coronation ceremony.

The Imperial State Crown also features hanging pearls worn by Tudor Queen Elizabeth I and the 104-carat Stuart Sapphire, which was first used for the coronation of the Scottish King Alexander II in 1214.

Camilla will wear Queen Mary’s Crown. Royal Collection Trust via Getty Images

The stunning $6.2 billion crown is topped by a diamond bejeweled cross containing King Edward’s sapphire, which is said to have been taken from a ring on the ancient King’s hand after he died in 1066.

Queen Camilla, meanwhile will wear Queen Mary’s Crown — which was made for the consort of George V in 1911. It will be the first time a queen consort crown has been re-used since the 18th century and is being done “in the interests of sustainability and efficiency,” according to Buckingham Palace.

But there will be a major difference; The crown, which is mounted with 2,200 diamonds, was known for
previously holding the controversial Koh-i-Noor diamond. But that has now been replaced by more Cullinan diamonds from the Queen’s private collection: The Cullinan III, which is a pear-shaped 94.4-carat drop, and the square-cut 63.6-carat Cullinan IV.

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