Was St. Edward’s Crown really destroyed by Oliver Cromwell?

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Alfred the Great, Charles II of England and Scotland, Edward the Confessor, English Civil War, Kingdom of England, Oliver Cromwell, Restoration, St. Edward's Crown

Edward the Confessor wore his crown at Easter, Whitsun, and Christmas. In 1161, he was made a saint, 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.

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.

An early description of the crown is “King Alfred’s Crown of gold wire-work set with slight stones and two little bells”, weighing 79.5 ounces (2.25 kg) and valued at £248 in total. It was sometimes called King Alfred’s Crown because of an inscription on the lid of its box, which, 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 the belief that it dated from Alfred’s time, and in the coronation order it always has been referred to as St Edward’s Crown.

St Edward’s Crown rarely left Westminster Abbey, but when Richard II was forced to abdicate in 1399, he had the crown brought to the Tower of London, where he symbolically handed it to 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”.

The monarchy was restored in 1660 after the English Civil War (1642-1649) and in preparation for the coronation of Charles II, who had been living in exile abroad, a new St Edward’s Crown was supplied by the Royal Goldsmith, Sir Robert Vyner. It 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. However, it is believed 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 VI-I had cost only £5 and was decorated with fake jewels.

On the weight of this evidence, writer and 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.

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.

Last evening I watched a documentary on YouTube called, The History of the British Monarchy Crown Jewels. In the documentary it is said that it is possible that the bottom half of St. Edward’s Crown is the original crown. Evidently there is only a record of a bill for the arches, the monde and the cross and this was due to the fact that the bottom half of the crown already existed and was in fact the original St. Edward’s Crown that had been saved from Cromwell’s destruction.

Coronation Crown of George IV of the United Kingdom

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Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach, coronation, Diamond Crown, Jefri Bolkiah, King George IV of the United Kingdom, Prince of Brunei, St. Edward's Crown, State Crown of George I, State Opening of Parliament

Although I have already featured my top 12 Crowns I still will feature other crowns and regalia from time to time.

When King George IV of the United Kingdom was coronated on July 19, 1821 he did not use St. Edward’s Crown for the ceremony, nor did he use the State Crown of George I as had his immediate predecessors; instead he had a new and and extravagantly expensive crown built.

Design

At 40 cm (16 in) tall and decorated with 12,314 diamonds, it was said to make him look like a “gorgeous bird of the east”. The innovative gold and silver frame, created by Philip Liebart of Rundell, Bridge & Rundell, had been designed to be almost invisible underneath the diamonds.

A plan to remove the traditional fleurs-de-lis and introduce the rose, thistle and shamrock, the floral emblems of England, Scotland and Ireland, was abandoned following objections by the College of Heralds. As a general rule, the maintenance caps in British crowns are made of crimson or purple velvet, but this crown differed in having a dark blue cap.

Fate

Because of the postponement of George IV’s coronation due to the trial of his wife, Queen Caroline, the final bill for the hiring of the stones came to £24,425. After his coronation, the king was reluctant to part with his new crown, and lobbied the government to buy it outright so he could use it for the annual State Opening of Parliament, but it was too expensive. The crown was dismantled in 1823 and has not been worn by any other monarch since then.

Emptied of its jewels and discarded by the royal family, the crown was loaned to the Museum of London by the Amherst family from 1933 until 1985. It was purchased by Asprey in 1987 and later acquired by Jefri Bolkiah, Prince of Brunei, who presented it to the United Kingdom. It had been valued at £376,000 in 1995 for the purposes of an application to export the crown to the United States.

The application was withdrawn during a review by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art. It is part of the Royal Collection and has been on public display in the Martin Tower at the Tower of London since 1996. Diamonds worth £2 million on loan from De Beers are displayed next to the crown to give visitors an idea of how it looked originally.

Although the frame of the crown is the only part that exists, a bronze cast of the crown was made.

A gilt bronze cast of the crown of George IV. The crown is surmounted by a monde and cross pattée above four half arches springing from four crosses, cast with oak leaves and acorns, interspersed with fleurs de lis and a circlet of foliage; with a purple velvet and ermine cap. The crown has a circular gilt-wood base with a glass dome and blue velvet cover Within the monde of the model is a parchment note giving details of its creation.

It was cast from George IV’s Imperial State Crown or Diamond Crown, supplied by Rundell’s for the coronation of 1821. The crown contained an extraordinary 12,314 diamonds. Although the frame of the original survives among the Crown Jewels, the stones were hired only for the coronation ceremony and were later removed from it. This model therefore gives the full impression of how it would have appeared.

George IV did purchase a bronze life-sized model of his crown for £38, on which the inscription reads: “Cast of the Rich Imperial Diamond Crown with which His Most Sacred Majesty King George IV was crowned on 19 July 1821”.

My Favorite Crown #2. St. Edward’s Crown

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coronation, Crown Jewels, Edward the Confessor, English Civil War, King Charles II of England, King Edward VII of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Oliver Cromwell, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Regalia, St. Edward's Crown

St Edward’s Crown is the centrepiece of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. Named after Saint Edward the Confessor, it has been traditionally used to crown English and British monarchs at their coronations since the 13th century.

The original crown was a holy relic kept at Westminster Abbey, Edward’s burial place, until the regalia was either sold or melted down when Parliament abolished the monarchy in 1649, during the English Civil War.

The present version of St Edward’s Crown was made for Charles II in 1661. It is solid gold, 30 centimetres (12 in) tall, weighs 2.23 kilograms (4.9 lb), and is decorated with 444 precious and semi-precious stones. The crown is similar in weight and overall appearance to the original, but its arches are Baroque.

A stylised image of this crown is used on coats of arms, badges, logos and various other insignia in the Commonwealth realms to symbolise the royal authority of Queen Elizabeth II.

When not in use, St Edward’s Crown is on public display in the Jewel House at the Tower of London.

Description

St Edward’s Crown is 22-carat gold, with a circumference of 66 cm (26 in), measures 30 cm (12 in) tall, and weighs 2.23 kg (4.9 lb). It has four fleurs-de-lis and four crosses pattée, supporting two dipped arches topped by a monde and cross pattée, the arches and monde signifying an imperial crown. Its purple velvet cap is trimmed with ermine. It is set with 444 precious and semi-precious stones, including 345 rose-cut aquamarines, 37 white topazes, 27 tourmalines, 12 rubies, 7 amethysts, 6 sapphires, 2 jargoons, 1 garnet, 1 spinel and 1 carbuncle.

Usage

Although it is regarded as the official coronation crown, after 1689, it was not used to crown a monarch for over 200 years. In 1911, the tradition was revived by George V, and all subsequent monarchs (except Edward VIII who was not crowned at all) have been crowned using St Edward’s Crown.

Only six monarchs have been crowned with St Edward’s Crown since the Restoration: Charles II (1661), James II (1685), William III (1689), George V (1911), George VI (1937) and Elizabeth II (1953). 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 version of the Imperial State Crown. When not used to crown the monarch, St Edward’s Crown was placed on the altar during the coronation; however, it did not feature at all at the coronation of Queen Victoria.

In heraldry

St Edward’s Crown is widely used as a heraldic emblem of the United Kingdom, being incorporated into a multitude of emblems and insignia. As the United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with responsible government, the crown can also symbolise “the sovereignty (or authority) of the monarch.” It can be found on, amongst others, the Royal Cypher; the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom; the Royal Badges of England; and the badges of the police forces of England and Wales, Her Majesty’s Coastguard, the British Army, the Royal Marines, the Royal Air Force and HM Revenue and Customs. It also forms the logo of Royal Mail, the United Kingdom’s postal service. (In Scotland, the Crown of Scotland may appear in place of St Edward’s Crown).
History

Edward the Confessor wore his crown at Easter, Whitsun, and Christmas. In 1161, he was made a saint, 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.

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.

Holy relic

An early description of the crown is “King Alfred’s Crown of gold wire-work set with slight stones and two little bells”, weighing 79.5 ounces (2.25 kg) and valued at £248 in total. It was sometimes called King Alfred’s Crown because of an inscription on the lid of its box, which, 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 the belief that it dated from Alfred’s time, and in the coronation order it always has been referred to as St Edward’s Crown.

St Edward’s Crown rarely left Westminster Abbey, but when Richard II was forced to abdicate in 1399, he had the crown brought to the Tower of London, where he symbolically handed it to 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. In the Tudor period, three crowns were placed on the heads of monarchs at a coronation: St Edward’s Crown, the state crown, and a “rich crown” made specially for the king or queen. After the English Reformation, the new Church of England denounced the veneration of medieval relics and, starting with the coronation of Edward VI in 1547, the significance of St Edward’s Crown as a holy relic was played down in the ceremony.

During the English Civil War, Parliament sold the medieval St Edward’s Crown, regarded by Oliver Cromwell as symbolic of the “detestable rule of kings”.

Restoration

St. Edward’s Crown as it looked at the coronation of James II of England in 1685.

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 was supplied by the Royal Goldsmith, Sir Robert Vyner. It 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 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.

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. His 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 VI and I had cost only £5 and was decorated with fake jewels.

In 1671, Thomas Blood briefly stole the crown from the Tower of London, flattening it with a mallet in an attempt to conceal it. A new monde was created for the coronation of James II, and for William III the base was changed from a circle to an oval. 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 century to present day

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.

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. 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 82 troy ounces (2.6 kg) to 71 troy ounces (2.2 kg).

It was used to crown his successor George VI in 1937, and Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, who adopted a stylised image of the crown for use on coats of arms, badges, logos and various other insignia in the Commonwealth realms to symbolise her royal authority. In these contexts, it replaced the Tudor Crown, which had been instated by Edward VII in 1901. Use of the crown’s image in this way is by permission of the monarch.

On 4 June 2013, St Edward’s Crown was displayed on the high altar in Westminster Abbey at a service to mark the 60th anniversary of Elizabeth II’s coronation, which was the first time it had left the Jewel House at the Tower of London since 1953.

History of wearing the Imperial State Crown for the State Opening of Parliament.

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Imperial State Crown., King Edward VII of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, King George V of the United Kingdom, kings and queens of the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, Small Diamond Crown, St. Edward's Crown, State Opening of Parliament

I have on my lists of topics to write about is the history of the State Opening of Parliament. Until then, and in light of Her Majesty not wearing the Imperial State Crown, I’d like to share a little history on wearing the State Crown during the opening of Parliament.

The Opening of Parliament began out of practical necessity. By the late 14th century, the manner in which the King gathered his nobles and representatives of the Commons had begun to follow an established pattern.

In the Tudor period, the modern structure of Parliament began to emerge, and the monarch no longer attended Parliament during normal proceedings. For this reason, the State Opening took on greater symbolic significance as an occasion for the full constitution of the State (Monarch, Lords and Commons) to be seen.

However, what is interesting is that wearing the Imperial State Crown for the State Opening of Parliament is a recent Twentieth Century development that began only as recently as George V (1910-1936). After the World War I which saw the toppling of many European thrones and with a country that was war weary, his advisers decided to brighten up the ceremony surrounding the event to increase visibility and respect for the monarchy, and one way this was achieved was by wearing the Imperial State Crown during the reading of the Monarch’s Speech.

Queen Victoria and Edward VII and monarchs before them did not wear a crown during the State Opening of Parliament. This makes the opening of the movie, “The Madness of King George III” (known simply as “The Madness of King George” in the United States) which depicts the king wearing a crown at the opening of Parliament very inaccurate. In her seclusion Queen Victoria rarely opened Parliament herself, but on those rare occasions she did open Parliament, Victoria wore her small diamond crown whilst Edward wore a plumed hat.

The Small Diamond Crown of Queen Victoria is a miniature imperial and state crown made at the request of Queen Victoria in 1870 to wear over her widow’s cap following the death of her husband, Prince Albert. It was perhaps the crown most associated with the queen and is one of the Crown Jewels on public display in the Jewel House at the Tower of London.

On Monday’s opening of Parliament the Imperial State Crown was carried by the Lord Great Chamberlain (the Marquess of Cholmondeley). During the speech it rested on a table next to the throne in front of the Marquess.

Her Majesty did not wear the crown due to the combination of her age of 93 and the weight of the crown. The Imperial State Crown is 31.5 cm (12.4 in) tall and weighs 1.06 kg (2.3 lb). The current version of the Imperial State Crown was made in 1937 and is worn by the monarch after a coronation (St Edward’s Crown having been used to crown the monarch) and is used at the State Openings of Parliament.

I sincerely hope that in the future reign of King Charles III and afterwards the wearing of the Imperial State Crown for the State Opening of Parliament continues.

Regaling about Regalia

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Austrian State Crown, Charles II of England and Scotland, Crown of Rudolf II, German Emperor and King of Prussia, Hohenzollern Crown, Imperial State Crown., Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, Oliver Cromwell, Otto I the Great, St. Edward's Crown

One of the things I liked about monarchy once I began studying it back many years ago were the regalia of each monarchy. Except for Britain these are hardly every used. So today I thought I would highlight the five crowns found in Europe that I like the best.

St. Edward’s Crown

This crown, named after King Edward the Confessor (1042-1066) was created for King Charles II and was allegedly made from materials contained in St. Edward’s original crown. The original St. Edward’s Crown was broken up by Oliver Cromwell when the monarchy was abolished in 1649. The crown is made of solid gold and contains 444 precious stones. 

Although it is called the official coronation crown it has not been worn as frequently as its title suggests. Here is a list of the monarchs who have been crowned with St. Edwards Crown since its recreation: Charles II (1661), James II (1685), William III (1689), George V (1911), George VI (1937) and Elizabeth II (1953). Mary II and Anne were crowned with small diamond crowns of their own. George I, George II, George III and William IV used a state crown made for King George I. King George IV used a large new diamond crown and Victoria and Edward VII  used the 1838 Imperial State Crown.

Imperial State Crown

This version (design) of the Imperial State Crown was made for Queen Victoria in 1838. Although the present Imperial State Crown uses the same jewels and design as the 1838 model this one was made in 1937 for King George VI. The Imperial State Crown is smaller and lighter than St. Edward’s Crown. The Crown contains 2,868 diamonds, 273 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, and 5 rubies. The most historical jewels on the crown are the Stuart Sapphire in the back, Cullian II also known as the Lesser Star of Africa which comes in at 317.4 carats and is the fourth largest polished diamond in the world. Atop the cross at the top of the crown is St. Edward’s Sapphire which was taken from a ring or a crown owned by King Edward the Confessor. Above the Lesser Star of Africa is the Black Prince’s Ruby (the Black Prince was the son of Edward III) which is actually not a ruby but a actually a spinel.

Both Queen Victoria and King Edward VII used this crown for their coronation, St Edward’s Crown was too large for Victoria and Edward had just recovered from an operation for an appendicitis. Generally the Imperial State Crown is used after the Coronation and annually at the State Opening of Parliament. If the Prince of Wales is up there in year at the time of his coronation I wonder if he will use the Imperial State Crown for his ceremony? 

Crown of Christian V

This beautiful ornate crown came to symbolize absolute monarchy in Denmark. Made in 1670-71 by Made by Paul Kurtz in Copenhagen for King Christian V and was modeled after a crown worn by King Louis XIV of France. prior to 1660 the crown was elective and there was no coronation in Denmark until absolutism became the style of rule. When the 1840 Constitution ended absolutism a coronation was no longer held. The Crown has since been used only for the castrum doloris (‘camp of woe’) at the death of the monarch when the crown is placed on the coffin. 

The Crown of the Austrian Empire

The original Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire was made for Otto I the Great 912-973 and remained in Nuremberg and was only allowed to leave the city for imperial coronations. Therefore, many monarchs had their own personal crowns made for usage at other times. This crown was made for Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II of the Habsburg  family.  The Crown was made in 1602 in Prague by Jan Vermeyen. This unusual crown was made out of three parts: the circlet, the high arch, and a mitre.

The Crown was last worn by Holy Roman Emperor Franz II who was the only Double Emperor in the history of the world. He was the last Holy Roman Emperor, abdicating that crown on the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. However, he was the first Emperor of Austria obtaining that elevated title in 1804. Therefore for two years he was the Emperor of two empires. Despite being the Imperial Crown for the Austrian Empire the crown was not used in coronations because the emperors were inaugurated instead of crowned. 

The Crown of Prussia (Hohenzollern Crown)

The crown was created for the last German Kaiser, Wilhelm II. He never had a coronation so this crown was never worn. The crown was made in 1888 to symbolize his rule as the King of Prussia. A Imperial Crown was not made for him. The crown itself contains a large sapphire and supports a diamond-studded cross, 142 rose-cut diamonds, 18 larger diamonds and 8 large pearls. It comprises eight half-arches.

This was Wilhelm’s personal crown and did not belong to the state. He was allowed to take it with him into exile in 1918 and today resides in the family residence of the Hohenzollern Castle.