The Crown Jewels form the centerpiece of the royal coronation and symbolize the pageantry and history of the British monarchy through the ages.
– The Imperial State Crown –
The crown was commissioned in 1937 for the coronation of King George VI.
Queen Elizabeth II wore it after her coronation ceremony for formal occasions such as the State Opening of Parliament.
The crown features 2,868 diamonds, 269 pearls, 17 sapphires and 11 emeralds.
It weighs 1,060 grams (2.3 pounds) and is 31.5 centimeters (12.4 inches) tall.
The second largest stone, cut from the Cullinan Diamond – the largest diamond ever mined – graces the front.
– The Scepter of the Sovereign –
A golden staff topped with a globe, cross and dove, the scepter’s design symbolizes the Christian Holy Spirit.
It is linked to the monarch’s pastoral role towards the people.
It weighs 1,150 grams and is 110.2 centimeters long.
– The Scepter of the Sovereign –
The scepter represents the monarch’s temporal power and good governance and complements the spiritual power symbolized by the sovereign’s scepter with cross.
It weighs 1,170 grams and is 92.2 centimeters long.
At the top is the largest colorless cut diamond in the world, the Cullinan I. It weighs 106 grams and is known as the “First Star of Africa”.
Due to the weight of the diamond, the scepter had to be strengthened in 1910.
– The Sphere of the Sovereign –
The orb represents the power of the monarch and the Christian world.
The gold jewel is surrounded by a band of diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphires and pearls and crowned with amethyst and a cross.
It is 27.5 centimeters high and weighs 1,320 grams.
– The golden ampoule –
The eagle-shaped vessel contains the consecrated oil used in coronation ceremonies.
The eagle’s head can be removed so that oil can be poured into the vessel.
The design is based on a legend that the Virgin Mary appeared to the medieval English saint Thomas Becket and presented him with a golden eagle and oil to anoint future English kings.
It weighs 660 grams and measures 20.7 x 10.4 centimeters.
– the spurs –
Gold, leather, velvet and gold thread make up some of the oldest pieces of Britain’s royal coronation paraphernalia.
The use of spurs to represent knighthood at coronations dates back to the coronation of Richard I in 1189.
Spurs were traditionally fastened to the king’s feet during coronation ceremonies, but were presented and placed on the altar for queens.
– The Cullinan Diamond –
When it was discovered in South Africa in 1905, it was the largest diamond ever mined, weighing 621 grams uncut.
The Transvaal government gave it to King Edward VII on his 66th birthday in 1907 as a gesture of reconciliation after the Second Boer War (1899-1902).
Three Asschers employees from Amsterdam worked 14 hours a day for eight months to cut and polish nine large stones from the original gemstone.
When workers began cutting the diamond, the first blow broke the knife rather than the diamond.
– St Edward’s Crown –
Crown jeweler Robert Viner made it for the coronation of King Charles II in 1661, after the previous medieval crown was melted down by Parliamentary rebels in 1649 during the English Civil War.
Monarchs did not wear the solid gold crown at coronation ceremonies for more than 200 years because it was too heavy.
It weighs 2,040 grams and is 30.2 centimeters tall.
– coronation ring –
The ring dates back to the coronation of King Wilhelm IV in 1831.
Queen Victoria didn’t wear it to her coronation in 1838 because her fingers were too small.
– Purple Robe of Possession –
It took twelve seamstresses from the Royal School of Needlework 3,500 hours to make it.
The robe is of silk and embroidered with the monarch’s cipher, ears of corn and olive branches.
– The Stone of Scone –
Also known as the “Stone of Destiny”, it is the ancient symbol of the Scottish monarchy.
The sandstone slab weighs 152 kilograms.
English King Edward I confiscated it in 1296 and incorporated it into the throne of Westminster, London.
Scottish nationalists stole it from London’s Westminster Abbey in 1950 and it later turned up in Arbroath Abbey, Scotland. It was officially returned to Scotland in 1996.
The stone will only leave Scotland for a coronation in Westminster Abbey.
