The crown of

King Christian V Christian V (15 April 1646 25 August 1699) was king of Denmark and Norway from 1670 until his death in 1699. Well-regarded by the common people, he was the first king anointed at Frederiksborg Castle chapel as absolute monarch since the decree ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

was the

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

used at the coronation of all of Denmark's absolutist kings. While the reign of such monarchs ended in 1849, the crown is still used during a Danish king's ''

castrum doloris Castrum doloris (Latin for ''castle of grief'') is a name for the structure and decorations sheltering or accompanying the catafalque or bier that signify the prestige or high estate of the deceased. A ''castrum doloris'' might feature an elabora ...

'', the last time in 1972. Used by the kings from

Christian V Christian V (15 April 1646 25 August 1699) was king of Denmark and Norway from 1670 until his death in 1699. Well-regarded by the common people, he was the first king anointed at Frederiksborg Castle chapel as absolute monarch since the dec ...

Christian VIII Christian VIII (18 September 1786 – 20 January 1848) was King of Denmark from 1839 to 1848 and, as Christian Frederick, King of Norway in 1814. Christian Frederick was the eldest son of Hereditary Prince Frederick of Denmark and Norway, Hereditar ...

. The crown was made by Paul Kurtz in Copenhagen, 1670–1671. It is made of

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

with enamel and table-cut stones, weighting in total 2080 g. The jewel also contains 2 garnets and 2

sapphires Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, vanadium, or magnesium. The name sapphire is derived via the Latin "sapphi ...

, of which the largest dates back to

Frederick I of Denmark Frederick I (Danish and ; ; ; 7 October 1471 – 10 April 1533) was King of Denmark and Norway. He was the last Roman Catholic monarch to reign over Denmark and Norway, when subsequent monarchs embraced Lutheranism after the Protestant Re ...

. Frederik III had large parts of his daughters' trousseau bought in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, which, already at that time, was a centre for European fashion. But the jewellery was commissioned to Kurtz. He was, therefore, considered an outstanding jeweller. In 1670–1671 he made his principal piece of work, Crown of Christian V. The closed shape was inspired by the crown of

Louis XIV Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...

of France, but Kurtz replaced the lily-shaped points of the French crown with palmettes and adorned the crown with a row of diamonds intertwined with palmette and acanthus. In that way a "white" play of light was created, which was framed by blue and red in the sapphires and garnets of the crown ring and the blue

monde A ''monde'', meaning 'world' in French, is an orb located near the top of a crown. It represents, as the name suggests, the world that the monarch rules. It is the point at which a crown's half arches meet. It is usually topped off either w ...

and cross in the top. The crown forms part of the

National Coat of arms of Denmark The coat of arms of Denmark ( da, Danmarks rigsvåben) has a lesser and a greater version. The state coat of arms () consists of three pale blue lions passant wearing crowns, accompanied by nine red lilypads (normally represented as heraldic ...

and the Royal Coat of arms. Since 1671, the crown has been the de facto symbol of the state power. It is included in stylized and varied forms in most state institutions, including ministries.

References

The Danish Monarchy – Collections – Rosenborg Palace

External links

Christian V’s Crown
Rosenborg.
The Crown of Christian V
kongehuset.dk Danish monarchy Tourist attractions in Copenhagen Christian V of Denmark Individual crowns Crowns in heraldry 1671 works {{Denmark-stub