St Edward's Crown

St Edward's Crown is the coronation crown of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. Named after Saint Edward the Confessor, versions of it have traditionally been used to crown English and British monarchs at their coronations since the 13th century. It is normally on public display in the Jewel House at the Tower of London.

The original crown was a holy relic kept at Westminster Abbey, Edward's burial place, until the regalia were either sold or melted down when Parliament abolished the monarchy in 1649, during the English Civil War. The current St Edward's Crown was made for Charles II in 1661. It is 22-carat gold, tall, weighs , and is decorated with 444 precious and fine gemstones. The crown is similar in weight and overall appearance to the original, but its arches are Baroque.

After 1689, owing to its weight, the crown was not used to crown any monarch for over 200 years. In 1911, the tradition was revived by George V and has continued ever since, including at the 2023 coronation of Charles III and Camilla.

History

Origin

Edward the Confessor wore his crown at Easter, Whitsun, and Christmas. In 1161, he was canonised, and objects connected with his reign became holy relics. The monks at his burial place of Westminster Abbey claimed that Edward had asked them to look after his regalia in perpetuity for the coronations of all future English kings.Keay, pp. 18–20. Although the claim is likely to have been an exercise in self-promotion on the abbey's part, and some of the regalia probably had been taken from Edward's grave when he was reinterred there, it became accepted as fact, thereby establishing the first known set of hereditary coronation regalia in Europe. A crown referred to as St Edward's Crown is first recorded as having been used for the coronation of Henry III in 1220, and it appears to be the same crown worn by Edward. Ronald Lightbown in Blair, vol. 1. pp. 257–353. It is believed Edward was the first English king to wear a crown with arches, known as an imperial or "closed crown", symbolising subservience to no one but God, in the tradition of Byzantine emperors. Edward's regalia kept in Westminster Abbey was recorded in an inventory made in circa 1450 by a monk of the abbey, Richard Sporley. There it is recorded as 'an excellent golden crown'.

St Edward's Crown rarely left Westminster Abbey, and there are no certain visual records of it. On Henry III's expedition to Britany in 1230, the nobles and the abbot of Westminster refused to allow the Crown of Saint Edward to leave the kingdom with Henry, a tradition which has continued. When Henry III created a new treasury at the Tower of London to hold his own regalia, that of earlier monarchs, including Saint Edward, remained at the abbey in the Pyx Chamber ("pyx" denoting a small box). In 1303, Richard of Pudlicott attempted a burglary of the treasury at the abbey, though most of the lost treasure was recovered.

When Richard II was forced to abdicate in 1399, he had the crown brought to the Tower of London, where he symbolically handed it over to his successor Henry IV, saying "I present and give to you this crown with which I was crowned King of England and all the rights dependent on it". It was used in 1533 to crown the second wife of Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, which was unprecedented for a queen consort.

Henry VII or his son and successor Henry VIII commissioned an elaborate crown, now known as the Tudor Crown, which is first described in detail in an inventory of royal jewels in 1521. Henry VIII wore the Tudor Crown during court ceremonies, in particular at Christmas when Henry would process to chapel in his coronation regalia. Both Edward VI and Mary I were crowned with three crowns in succession: first St Edward's Crown, second the Tudor Crown (termed the 'Imperiall crowne' in contemporary accounts) and finally in 'very rich' crowns made specifically for each of their coronations. Three crowns were also present at the coronation of Elizabeth I, and she was probably crowned in the same fashion as her predecessors. After the English Reformation, the Church of England denounced the veneration of medieval relics and, starting with the coronation of Edward VI in 1547, the significance of the crown's link to Edward the Confessor was downplayed.Ronald Lightbown in MacGregor, p. 257. James I reverted to the tradition of being crowned with St Edward's Crown only before donning his own crown to depart Westminster Abbey.

Destruction

During the English Civil War and following Charles I's flight from London in 1642, rumours circulated in London (which held some truth) that the king was attempting to sell the crown jewels in Holland in order to fund a war against parliament. Parliament declared that anyone trafficking the crown jewels—which were the property of the Crown and not the king personally—was an enemy of the state. In 1643, suspicions arose in parliament that the coronation regalia had been taken from Westminster Abbey to York by the royalist Dean of Westminster, John Williams. When the sub-dean refused to allow access for the regalia to be checked, a motion was brought before parliament to force the opening of the abbey treasury. The first motion failed, but a second motion passed which ordered the locks to be opened, an inventory made, and the locks changed. The inventory was taken by Henry Marten and George Wither, who were reported by Peter Heylyn to have mocked the regalia, with Marten having dressed Wither in St Edward's Crown and robes, who then, 'marched about the room with stately garb and afterwards with a Thousand Apish and Ridiculous Actions exposed these sacred ornaments to contempt and laughter'. Parliament ordered that the reglia be removed from the abbey and taken to join the rest of the crown jewels and plate at the Tower of London.

As parliament became more desperate for funds to maintain its forces against the king, the House of Commons passed a motion to melt down the king's plate and turn it into coinage, though the House of Lords objected. Following the execution of Charles I in 1649, parliament ordered that the regalia, then under the supervision of Sir Henry Mildmay, Master of the Jewel Office, 'be totally broken, and that they melt down all the gold and silver and sell all the jewels to the best advantage of the Commonwealth.' Henry Mildmay stayed away, but his nephew and Clerk of the Jewel House, Carew Mildmay, returned the instructions 'not obeyed', for which he was jailed at Fleet Prison. Nonetheless, an inventory and valuation was taken, and the reglia was broken up and sold or turned into coinage. St Edward's Crown was described in the inventory as, ' King Alfred's Crown of gold wire-work set with slight stones and two little bells', weighing , valued at £3 per ounce, total value £248 10s 0d. An inscription on the lid of its box, translated from Latin, read: 'This is the chief crown of the two, with which were crowned Kings Alfred, Edward and others'. However, there is no evidence to support its dating from Alfred's reign, and the crown has always been referred to as St Edward's Crown (or Crown of St Edward) in the coronation order of service.

Restoration

The monarchy was restored in 1660, and in preparation for the coronation of Charles II, who had been living in exile abroad, a new St Edward's Crown and a new state crown were ordered from the Royal Goldsmith, Sir Robert Vyner. The new St Edward's Crown was fashioned to closely resemble the medieval crown, with a heavy gold base and clusters of semi-precious stones, but the arches are decidedly Baroque. In the late 20th century, it was assumed to incorporate gold from the original St Edward's Crown, as they are almost identical in weight, and no invoice was produced for the materials in 1661. A crown was also displayed at the lying in state of Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England from 1653 until 1658. On the weight of this evidence, writer and court historian Martin Holmes, in a 1959 paper for '' Archaeologia'', concluded that in the time of the Interregnum St Edward's Crown was saved from the melting pot and that its gold was used to make a new crown at the Restoration.Barclay, pp. 149–170.

His theory became accepted wisdom, and many books, including official guidebooks for the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London, repeated his claim as fact. In 2008, new research found that a coronation crown and sceptre were made in 1660 in anticipation of an early coronation, which had to be delayed several times. Charles II's other regalia were commissioned in 1661 after Parliament increased the budget as a token of their appreciation for the king. The crown at Cromwell's lying in state was probably made of gilded base metal such as tin or copper, as was usual in 17th-century England; for example, a crown displayed at the funeral of James I had cost only £5 and was decorated with fake jewels.

A new monde and cross were created for the coronation of James II, but otherwise the crown was little altered for successive coronations beyond re-setting loaned jewels for each occasion (jewels were not set permanently in the crown until 1911). After the coronation of William III in 1689, monarchs chose to be crowned with a lighter, bespoke coronation crown (e.g., the Coronation Crown of George IV) or their state crown, while St Edward's Crown usually rested on the high altar.

20th and 21st centuries

Edward VII intended to revive the tradition of being crowned with St Edward's Crown in 1902, but on coronation day he was still recovering from an operation for appendicitis, and instead he wore the lighter Imperial State Crown.Rose, p. 35.

Jewels were hired for use in the crown and removed after the coronation until 1911, when it was permanently set with 444 precious and semi-precious stones. Imitation pearls on the arches and base were replaced with gold beads which at the time were platinum-plated.Rose, p. 29. Its band was also made smaller to fit George V, the first monarch to be crowned with St Edward's Crown in over 200 years, reducing the crown's overall weight from to . It was used to crown his successor George VI in 1937, and Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.

On 4 June 2013, St Edward's Crown was displayed on the high altar in Westminster Abbey at a service marking the 60th anniversary of Elizabeth II's coronation, the first time it had left the Tower of London since 1953. In December 2022, the crown was removed from the Tower of London to be resized ahead of its use in the coronation of Charles III on 6 May 2023. Its circumference was enlarged by sawing the base into four pieces and welding 7mm-wide strips of gold into the gaps. Eight new gold beads were then added to the rim.

Description

St Edward's Crown is 22-carat gold, measures tall, and weighs . It has four fleurs-de-lis alternating with four crosses pattée, which support two dipped arches topped by a monde and cross pattée. Its purple velvet cap is trimmed with ermine. The crown features 444 precious and fine gemstones including 345 rose-cut aquamarines, 37 white topazes, 27 tourmalines, 12 rubies, 7 amethysts, 6 sapphires, 2 jargoons, 1 garnet, 1 spinel, 1 carbuncle and 1 peridot.

Usage

Although St Edward's Crown is regarded as the official coronation crown, only seven monarchs have been crowned with it since the Restoration: Charles II (1661), James II (1685), William III (1689), George V (1911), George VI (1937), Elizabeth II (1953) and Charles III (2023). Mary II and Anne were crowned with small diamond crowns of their own; George I, George II, George III and William IV with the State Crown of George I; George IV with a large new diamond crown made specially for the occasion; and Queen Victoria and Edward VII chose not to use St Edward's Crown because of its weight and instead used the lighter 1838 Imperial State Crown. When not used to crown the monarch, St Edward's Crown rested on the high altar; however, it did not feature at all in Queen Victoria's coronation.

Heraldry

After the restoration of the monarchy, Charles II based the heraldic crown on the new St Edward's Crown of 1661. It had four crosses pattée alternating with four fleurs-de-lis; the number of arches was reduced to two and the curvature of the arches was depressed at the point of intersection. On this pattern the royal crown was depicted until the reign of Queen Victoria. Although Fox-Davies states that the St Edward's Crown is supposed to be heraldically represented over the Royal Arms and other insignia because "it is the 'official' crown of England", various other crowns were depicted under Victoria, whose coronation, unusually, did not feature the St Edward's Crown at all. Early depictions of the Royal Arms during her reign featured the Imperial State Crown which was created for Victoria's coronation in 1838 and was similar to the St Edward's Crown but with a flatter top. However, depictions varied depending on the artist.

In 1876, Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India, and in 1880, the heraldic crown was altered to give it a more imperial form by making the arches semi-circular. However, Victoria had favoured a Tudor style crown since at least the 1860s. After the accession of Edward VII, the War Office raised the issue of a standardised design of the crown for use by the British Army, there being in use several crowns of different patterns. On 4 May 1901, the king approved a single Tudor Crown design based on the crown of Henry VII, as "chosen and always used by Queen Victoria personally".

George VI had ceased to use the style "Emperor of India" in 1948 following India's independence in 1947, and on the accession of Elizabeth II in 1952, she opted to change from the 1901 Tudor Crown to a design resembling St Edward's Crown, similar to that last used before the reign of Victoria. Charles III adopted the Tudor Crown on his accession in 2022, similar to that last used under George VI but with some differences. The cap of the heraldic crowns is always represented as crimson, regardless of the colour of any actual crowns.

Use of the crowns for commercial purposes is specifically restricted in the UK (and in countries which are party to the Paris Convention) under sections 4 and 99 of the Trade Marks Act 1994, and their use is governed by the Lord Chamberlain's Office. It is also an offence under Section 12 of the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 to give a false indication that any goods or services are supplied to the monarch or any member of the royal family.

See also

* Canadian royal symbols

Notes

References

Bibliography

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External links

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The Crown Jewels
at the royal family website

{{Canadian royal symbols

Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom
Individual crowns
Crowns in heraldry
National symbols of the United Kingdom
National symbols of Canada
1661 works
Edward the Confessor
Charles II of England