The Crown of Queen Alexandra was 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 ...

of the British queen

Alexandra of Denmark Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 to 6 May 1910 as the wife of ...

. It was manufactured for the 1902

coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra The coronation of Edward VII and his wife, Alexandra, as King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and as Emperor and Empress of India took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on 9 August 1902. Originally scheduled for 26 ...

Background

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

's death in January 1901 ended 64 years of the United Kingdom lacking a crowned queen consort, and

Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Franz August Karl Albert Emanuel; 26 August 1819 – 14 December 1861) was the consort of Queen Victoria from their marriage on 10 February 1840 until his death in 1861. Albert was born in the Saxon duch ...

had not been crowned as a consort. Traditionally, queens consort had been crowned with the 17th century Crown of Mary of Modena. However, in 1831,

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 ...

was crowned with a 4 half-arched new small crown, the

Crown of Queen Adelaide The Crown of Queen Adelaide was the consort crown of the British queen Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen. It was used at Coronation of William IV and Adelaide, Adelaide's coronation in 1831. It was emptied of its jewels soon afterwards, and has never be ...

, because the Modena crown was judged unsuitable for use. In 1902 it was decided to use neither the Modena nor Adelaide crowns for the first coronation of a queen consort in seven decades. Instead it was decided to create a brand new

, to be named after Queen Alexandra.

Style

The crown departed from the standard style of British crowns, and was more akin to European royal crowns. It was made of platinum for lightness, less upright than the norm in British crowns, and more squat in design, with an unprecedented eight half-arches. Its front arch joined a jewelled cross into which was set the

Koh-i-Noor The Koh-i-Noor ( ; from ), also spelled Kohinoor and Koh-i-Nur, is one of the largest cut diamonds in the world, weighing . It is part of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. The diamond is currently set in the Crown of Queen Elizabeth The ...

diamond. As with the later

Crown of Queen Mary The Crown of Queen Mary is the consort crown made for Mary of Teck in 1911. Mary bought the Art Deco-inspired crown from Garrard & Co. herself, and hoped that it would be worn by future queens consort. It is unusual for a British crown because ...

and Crown of Queen Elizabeth, the arches were detachable, allowing the crown to be worn as a

circlet A circlet is a piece of headwear that is similar to a diadem or a corolla. The word 'circlet' is also used to refer to the base of a crown or a coronet, with or without a cap. Diadem and circlet are often used interchangeably, and 'open crowns' ...

. The Crown of Queen Alexandra was not worn by later queens; new crowns were created for

Mary of Teck Mary of Teck (Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes; 26 May 186724 March 1953) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 6 May 1910 until 20 January 1936 as the wife of King-Empe ...

in 1911 and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1937. The crown is now on display in 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 ...

. The major stones have been replaced with artificial stones referred to as paste.

References

{{Crowns Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom Alexandra Alexandra of Denmark