St. Edward's Crown
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St Edward's Crown was one of the English Crown Jewels and remains one of the senior British Crown Jewels. It is the official coronation crown used in the coronation of a new monarch. It is mainly the same as the crown made in 1661 for the coronation of the restored King Charles II, to replace the crown destroyed under Oliver Cromwell's order during the English Civil War. It is said to be a copy of the crown of King Edward the Confessor, which may itself have incorporated material from a crown of Alfred the Great.[1]
Traditionally, the crown is used only in the coronation of the Sovereign, with the exception of Anne Boleyn, who was crowned with St. Edward's crown in 1533. [2] The original crown of St Edward, worn by him at Christmas 1065, was reputedly used for the Coronation of William I, Christmas Day 1066, in token of his inheritance by right, not by conquest, and by subsequent Norman kings until the first coronation of Henry III, who was first crowned by the Bishop of Winchester at Gloucester with a chaplet in October 1216.[3]
The crown made for King Charles II is reputed to contain gold from the earlier crown (destroyed by order of Cromwell). It is also reputed to contain pearls owned by Queen Elizabeth I. That destroyed crown might have been a copy of the crown of Edward the Confessor rather than the original, if as suggested the original was lost by King John in 1216.[4] However, Stanley maintains that the original crown and regalia survived until 1642, and were kept in the Treasury of Westminster until the time of Henry VIII.[5]
The crown's design includes a base with four cross pattées alternating with four fleurs-de-lis, above which are two arches surmounted by a cross. In the centre is a velvet cap with an ermine border. The crown is made of solid gold and set with 444 precious stones. Formerly, it was set with jewels hired for the coronation and then the crown was dismantled, leaving only the frame. However, in 1911, the jewels used were set permanently.
Queen Victoria and Edward VII chose not to be crowned in it because it weighs 4 lb 12 oz (2155 g). They chose to be crowned with the lighter Imperial State Crown.
St. Edward's Crown has been used as a symbol of royal authority since 1953 in the Commonwealth Realms, and can be seen on coats-of-arms, badges and other items.
[edit] Notes
- ^ King-Hall 1936-37.
- ^ Alice Hunt, The Drama of Coronation: Medieval Ceremony in Early Modern England, Cambridge University Press, 2008
- ^ Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, Historical Memorials of Westminster Abbey (London, John Murray 1876 (4th Edn)), 42-54.
- ^ This theory is referred to by Stanley 1876, p. 54, citing vol. I of a work by Reinhold Pauli, (presumably his continuation of J. M. Lappenberg's Geschichte von England, 1154-1509 (Henry II to Henry VII), (Gotha 1853-1858)), p. 489.
- ^ Stanley 1876, pp. 45, and 458-459.
[edit] Source
- Stephen King-Hall, The Crowning of the King and Queen (London: Evans Brothers (Russell Square), 1936-1937), Plate 1 and caption, facing p. 4.
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