The Crown of Norway is the crown of the

King of Norway The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty king ...

and was made in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

in 1818 by

goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), plat ...

Olof Wihlborg. The crown is a ''corona clausa'' (closed model) consisting of a ring carrying eight hoops made of gold and surmounted by a monde of blue enamel and an amethyst cross on top of it. The crown is decorated with many

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living Exoskeleton, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pear ...

s and

gemstone A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, semiprecious stone, or simply gem) is a piece of mineral crystal which, when cut or polished, is used to make jewellery, jewelry or other adornments. Certain Rock (geology), rocks (such ...

s including

amethyst Amethyst is a Violet (color), violet variety of quartz. The name comes from the Koine Greek from - , "not" and (Ancient Greek) / (Modern Greek), "intoxicate", a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from Alcohol into ...

s, chrysoprases, a topaz and an alexandrite. Its front is adorned with a huge green

tourmaline Tourmaline ( ) is a crystalline silicate mineral, silicate mineral group in which boron is chemical compound, compounded with chemical element, elements such as aluminium, iron, magnesium, sodium, lithium, or potassium. This gemstone comes in a ...

, a gift of the Brazilian consul in Stockholm to King Charles III Johan. Its splendid colours and its richly elaborated ornaments make the crown typical of the Empire period. Although the goldsmith work was carried out by Olof Wihlborg, it is not known who designed the crown. The Crown has a height of 24.5 cm, a diameter of 18.5 cm by 20.7 cm and a weight of 1500

gram The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a Physical unit, unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one thousandth of a kilogram. Originally defined in 1795 as "the absolute Mass versus weight, weight of a volume ...

s. The Crown has been used at four coronations and has had a prominent place at two benedictions. It has also been placed on the coffin of the deceased monarch since King Carl Johan's death in 1844. The '' Royal Regalia of Norway'' is a collective term for three crowns, two orb and sceptres, the sword of state, the anointment horn, and a marshal's baton. When Carl III Johan of Norway (Charles XIV John of Sweden) came to the throne in 1818, it was clear he would be crowned in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

as prescribed by the Norwegian Constitution. None of the medieval Norwegian crowns or other regalia had survived, so the King himself ordered and paid for the items. The

coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

King Haakon VII Haakon VII (; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was King of Norway from 18 November 1905 until his death in 1957. The future Haakon VII was born in Copenhagen as Prince Carl of Denmark. He was the second son of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess ...

and Queen Maud in 1906 was the last to be held before the coronation requirement was removed from the Constitution. However, both the King's Crown and the Queen's Crown were placed on the altar during the Service of Consecration and Blessing for King Harald V and

Queen Sonja Sonja (born Sonja Haraldsen; 4 July 1937) is Queen of Norway as the wife of King Harald V. Sonja and the then Crown Prince Harald had dated for nine years prior to their marriage in 1968. They had kept their relationship a secret due to the ...

in 1991. The Regalia are kept in

Nidaros Cathedral Nidaros Cathedral () is a Church of Norway cathedral located in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county. It is built over the burial site of Olav II of Norway, King Olav II ( 995–1030, reigned 1015–1028), who became the patron saint of th ...

and are on display there.

In heraldry

The official crown of Norway has its official heraldic rendition. This design has been changed over the years and is most commonly recognised sitting atop the

coat of arms of Norway The coat of arms of Norway is the arms of dominion of King Harald V of Norway, and as such represents both the monarch and the Norway, kingdom (nation and the state). It depicts a standing Or (heraldry), golden lion (heraldry), lion on a Gules, r ...

. However, many sections of government and especially the military are permitted to use the Crown of Norway on their shields. The use of the crown is heavily regulated and must always be displayed at the top of any page or other display. The demi-lion on top of the crown was used by Norwegian governmental authorities from 1905, but was often omitted from about the year 1920, and officially omitted in the Royal Decree on the "arms of the realm" (Norwegian: ''riksvåpenet'') from March 19, 1937. The demi-lion was omitted from the Royal Coat of Arms of Norway when it was redesigned for the present king, Harald V.

External links and sources

Official home page for the crown jewels, page on the Crown

Home page of the Norwegian Royal Regalia

Nidaros Cathedral , The Crown Jewels

{{Types of Crowns Crown jewels

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

National symbols of Norway Monarchy of Norway State ritual and ceremonies

In heraldry

See also

External links and sources