About:
What is the St Edward’s Crown?
- St Edward’s Crown is the crown historically used at the moment of Coronation, and was worn by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth at her Coronation in 1953.
- It was made for Charles II in 1661, as a replacement for the medieval crown which had been melted down in 1649. The original was thought to date back to the eleventh-century royal saint, Edward the Confessor – the last Anglo-Saxon king of England.
- Edward the Confessor (reigned 1042-66), who deposited his Royal ornaments for safe-keeping in Westminster Abbey, may have been the first monarch to assemble the regalia, or the distinct objects worn exclusively by royals.
- Britain is the only European monarchy still using its regalia for the consecration ceremony of crowning the Sovereign.
- Other items included in the regalia are the Coronation Chair (used at every coronation since 1300), the two Royal maces, three swords and St Edward’s Staff (dating from 1661).
Imperial State Crown
- It is worn by the monarch at the end of the coronation ceremony and at formal occasions like the State Opening of Parliament, reminding us the Crown Jewels is a working collection.
- It has the Cullinan diamond (also known as the Star of Africa) embedded in it, considered among the biggest diamonds ever discovered.
- Another stone featured in it is the Black Prince’s Ruby, believed to have origins in or around Afghanistan.
