Stuart Sapphire
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The Stuart Sapphire is a blue
sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, cobalt, lead, chromium, vanadium, magnesium, boron, and silicon. The name ''sapphire ...
that forms part of the British Crown Jewels.


History

The early history of the gem is quite obscure, though it probably belonged to Charles II, and was definitely among the jewels that his successor James VII and II took with him when he fled to France after the
Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...
in December 1688. From there it passed to his son, James Stuart (the 'Old Pretender') who bequeathed it to his son, Henry Benedict, known later as Cardinal York, who wore it in his
mitre The mitre (Commonwealth English) or miter (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, see spelling differences; both pronounced ; ) is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of ...
. As the last descendant of James VII and II, the cardinal put the sapphire, along with many other Stuart relics, up for sale in about 1799. It was acquired around 11 years later by George IV as Prince Regent and returned to the United Kingdom from Italy. In 1820, George had the sapphire mounted on the clasp of a new armlet containing 335 diamonds, which was a gift for his mistress, Lady Elizabeth Conyngham, who wore it at the king's coronation the following year. Upon George's death in 1830, Lady Conyngham offered the armlet to his successor,
William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...
, but the king allowed her to keep it because it was not considered Crown property. After Queen Victoria ascended the throne in 1837 the sapphire took pride of place at the front of her new crown, just below the
Black Prince's Ruby The Black Prince's Ruby is a large, irregular cabochon red spinel weighing set in the cross pattée above the Cullinan II diamond at the front of the Imperial State Crown of the United Kingdom. The spinel is one of the oldest gems in the Cr ...
. It is thought Lady Conyngham presented it to Victoria on the advice of her son, Francis Conyngham, the
Lord Chamberlain The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Monarchy of the United Ki ...
. In 1909, during the reign of
Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...
, it was moved to the back of the crown to make way for the Cullinan II diamond. It still occupies that position in the back of the Imperial State Crown made in 1937 (a copy of Victoria's) and used by
Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...
. The crown is on public display with the other Crown Jewels in the
Jewel House The Jewel House is a vault housing the British Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, 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 ...
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 citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...
.


Description

The ovoid table-cut sapphire weighs . It is long, and has one or two blemishes but was evidently deemed to be of high value by the Stuarts. At some point a hole was drilled at one end, probably to introduce an attachment by which the stone could be worn as a pendant. On the back is a miniature plaque engraved with a short history of the Imperial State Crown.


See also

* St Edward's Sapphire *
List of individual gemstones A number of individual gemstones are famous in their own right, either because of their size and beauty or because of the people who owned or wore them. Aquamarines * Dom Pedro, the world's largest cut and polished aquamarine. It is currently h ...
*
List of sapphires by size This is a list of sapphires by size. Sapphire Sapphires are a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminum oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, copper, or magnesium. It is typ ...


References

{{Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom Individual sapphires Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom Charles II of England James II of England James Francis Edward Stuart Henry Benedict Stuart George IV