The State Crown of Mary of Modena is the

consort crown A consort crown is a crown worn by the consort of a monarch for their coronation or on state occasions. Unlike with reigning monarchs, who may inherit one or more crowns for use, consorts sometimes had special crowns made uniquely for them and ...

made in 1685 for Mary of Modena, queen of England, Scotland and Ireland. It was used by future queens consort up until the end of the 18th century. Originally set with hired diamonds, the crown is set with crystals for display in the

Jewel House The Jewel House is a vault housing the British Crown Jewels in the Waterloo Block (formerly a barracks) at the Tower of London. It was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1994 and refurbished in 2012. Regalia have been kept in various parts of ...

at the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...

. Mary also had a

diadem A diadem is a type of crown, specifically an ornamental headband worn by monarchs and others as a badge of royalty. Overview The word derives from the Greek διάδημα ''diádēma'', "band" or "fillet", from διαδέω ''diadéō'', " ...

, also in the Jewel House, and a

coronation crown A coronation crown is a crown used by a monarch when being crowned. In some monarchies, monarchs have or had a number of crowns for different occasions, such as a coronation crown for the moment of coronation and a ''state crown'' for general u ...

, now owned by the

Museum of London The Museum of London is a museum in London, covering the history of the UK's capital city from prehistoric to modern times. It was formed in 1976 by amalgamating collections previously held by the City Corporation at the Guildhall Museum (fou ...

Description

The gold crown originally had 523 small diamonds, 38 large diamonds, and 129 large pearls. These have been replaced with quartz crystals. It is tall and weighs . The crown is decorated with crosses pattée and

fleurs-de-lis The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...

and has four half-arches, surmounted with a

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 pattée.

Origin

Traditionally, when a king is married, his wife is crowned as queen at their coronation ceremony. In 1649, the monarchy was abolished after a long civil war between

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

and his Parliament, and the Crown Jewels were either sold or turned into coins by the Mint. The coronation of Mary of Modena and her husband, James II and VII, marked the first time a queen was crowned after the restoration of the monarchy, Charles II having been unmarried when he took the throne in 1660.Mears, et al., p. 25. Mary of Modena's Diadem

Three pieces of headgear were made for the queen: a

to wear in procession to

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

, a coronation crown for the crowning, and a state crown to wear upon leaving the Abbey.Rose, pp. 36–37. Made by Richard de Beauvoir, the state crown was covered in diamonds valued at £35,000, and the bill for hiring them was £1,000. She paid for the crowns and diadem out of her own pocket, and also commissioned two new sceptres and a coronation ring for the ceremony. Mary's diadem was set with 177 diamonds, 78 pearls, 1 sapphire, 1 emerald, and 1 ruby; it now contains artificial gemstones and cultured pearls, and is also on display at the Tower of London. It is tall and weighs . Her empty coronation crown was acquired from a private dealer by the

in 1956. It had been sent to the

Crown Jeweller The Crown Jeweller is responsible for the maintenance of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, and is appointed by the British monarch. The current Crown Jeweller is Mark Appleby, who was appointed in 2017. History The post was created in 1843 ...

Rundell & Bridge Rundell & Bridge were a London firm of jewellers and goldsmiths formed by Philip Rundell (1746–1827) and John Bridge (baptized 1755–1834). History When Edmond Walter Rundell, nephew of Philip Rundell, was admitted as a partner in 1804, th ...

, for maintenance work in the 19th century, but was never returned to the Royal family. Originally, the crown weighed and was set with 419 diamonds, 46 large pearls, 7 rubies, 7 sapphires, and 2 emeralds.Twining, p. 158.

Usage

The crown was subsequently used by queens regnant Mary II and

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

; and by queens consort Caroline of Ansbach and

Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and of Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until the union of the two kingdoms ...

. In 1831, the crown was judged to be too theatrical and in a poor state of repair, and so another crown was made for the new queen,

Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen , house = Saxe-Meiningen , father = Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen , mother = Princess Louise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg , birth_date = , birth_place = Meiningen, Saxe-Meiningen, Holy ...

.Keay, p. 137. However, it is possible that Adelaide was crowned using one of Mary of Modena's crowns.

References

Bibliography

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External links