Crown jewels British

The crown jewels British are the Attribut S of the royal capacity and the formal dresses carried by the sovereign of the the United Kingdom during crowning or of official Cérémonie. The crown jewels are composed of various objects: crowns, sceptres (sceptre with cross or Dove), spheres, sword S, rings S, spur S, paddle S, dalmatic, Bracelet S, but also the formal robe of the sovereign (Pallium) as well as other objects in relation to the ceremony.

The majority of the parts are a direct heritage of the period previous the reform Anglican and have a religious and crowned connotation. For example, the clothing worn by the sovereign after the Onction resembles at dawns and dalmatic carried by the bishop S.

The oldest collection of jewels dated from the Anglo-Saxon period and was lost by Jean of England in the East Anglia in 1216. A collection of replacement was created little of time after the loss. The crown of the prince Welsh Llywelyn the Last was added in 1284. These parts were flights in the Abbaye of Westminster in 1303 but were almost entirely found a few days later in the window of a jeweller which knew a disastrous destiny. They are stored with the Tour of London since 1303.

Oliver Cromwell dissolved the majority of the jewels of its time after the introduction of the the Commonwealth in 1649. Almost all the parts were replaced after the Restauration of Charles II of England. Period preceding the First English revolution it remains only three swords and a spoon.

The collection of the crown jewels British is regarded as one of largest and most invaluable in the world. It includes/understands in particular celebrates it Diamant Koh-i Nor (“mountain of light”).

Crowns

The collection of the jewels comprises various crowns of which some were used by all the sovereigns whereas others were manufactured on personal order for certain kings or queens. In general, the upper part of a crown intended for a king is slightly pointed whereas this part is slightly curved for a queen.

the crown of Saint-Edouard ( St Edward' S Crown ) was carried out in 1661. Manufactured out of gold, it consists of four pattée Croix S and of four flowers of lilies surmounted by two arcs. The crown is crimped of 440 invaluable stones. It is used during almost all the ceremony of crowning. The queen Elisabeth II chose to represent this crown in form stylized in the royal Armes of the United Kingdom.

the imperial crown of pageantry ( Imperial State Crown ) was manufactured in 1937 for the king George VI and is identical to that which had been created in 1838 for the queen Victoria. The current crown is out of gold and present four crosses pattées with four flowers of lily surmounted of two arcs themselves surmounted by a pattée cross. The crown is crimped many invaluable stones: 2.868 Diamond S, 273 Pearl S, 17 Sapphire S, 11 emerald S and 5 Ruby. At the time of the ceremony of crowning, this crown is carried by the monarch at his exit of the abbey of Westminster and during the opening ceremony of the Parliament.

the imperial crown of the Indies ( Imperial Crown off India ) was conceived for George V at the time of her visit with Delhi as a Empereur of the Indies. A law prohibited that the crown jewels leave the United Kingdom to prevent their setting in Gage. A new crown was thus created for this voyage. With more than 6.000 diamonds, it is one of the heaviest crowns of the collection. It was not used any more since.

the diadem of pageantry of George IV ( George IV State Diadem ) was created in 1820 for the crowning of George IV and was carried by the Victoria queen and the Queen Elizabeth II during the procession of crowning.

The queens consorts (i.e. wives of the kings) carried traditionally the crown of Marie of Modena, queen under Jacques II. But this small crown was at the beginning of the 20th century in a very bad condition. A new crown was thus designed for the queen Alexandra, consort of Edouard VII, in a more European style being detached from the British tradition. A new crown, nearer to the British style this time, was manufactured for the crowning of the queen Marie, consort of George V, in 1911. Lastly, a last version was created in 1937 for the queen Elisabeth, consort of George VI. Famous diamond Koh-i Nor was present successively on these three crowns. The last crown (without the arcs however) was carried by the queen mother during the crowning of Elisabeth II.

Crowns of Marie of Modena

the diadem of pageantry ( State Diadem ): carried by Marie de Modème and all the queens consorts until the 19th century on the way of their crowning.
the crown of crowning ( Coronation Crown ): the crown with which it was actually crowned. It is now with the Museum off London.
the crown of pageantry ( State Crown ): range at the time of the procession at the exit of the abbey, range then for very diverse occasions.

Earth and sceptres

Two sceptres belong to the royal badges.

the sceptre with the cross goes back to 1661 and named thus because it is surmounted by a cross. It was modified in 1905 to receive the Cullinan I (called the Great Star off Africa , the large star of Africa) and its 530 carats (106 G), the second larger diamond cut of the world after the Golden Jubilee. The sovereign holds this sceptre of the right hand during crowning.
the sceptre with the dove was also manufactured in 1661 and comprises at its top a dove which symbolizes the Holy Spirit. It is when the sovereign carries the two sceptres that the crown of Saint-Edouard is given to him.

The sphere of the sovereign, a kind of Globus crucigere , is a hollow sphere going back to 1661. Two invaluable stone ribbons surround it. It is surmounted by a cross encrusted with invaluable stones symbolizing the role of defender of the faith of the British monarch. The sovereign carries it left hand during part of the ceremony of crowning.

Swords

One uses five swords different throughout the ceremony from crowning.

the Jewelled Sword off Offering was forged for the crowning of George IV. The encrusted invaluable stones form the Emblème S of the nations of the United Kingdom: the pink for the England, the Thistle for the Scotland and the Clover for the Ireland. It is in fact the only sword given to the monarch, the others being simply presented him.
the sword of pageantry ( Sword off State ) is the largest sword of the crown jewels and is presented to him by the great chamberlain during crowning or of the opening ceremony of the Parliament.

The three other swords are: the sword of spiritual justice ( Sword off Negro spiritual Justice ), the sword of temporal justice ( Sword off Temporal Justice ) and the sword of leniency ( Sword off Mercy ). The blade of the latter is symbolically broken at its end.

Turn of London

The crown jewels are preserved at the Tour of London since 1303, date on which they were catch with the Abbaye of Westminster. After the crowning of Charles II, they were put under key and were visible after payment of an import duty with a guard. These provisions ended when the jewels were stolen by colonel Thomas Blood who had bound the guard. The jewels then were put in part of the tower called Jewel House kept by armed men. They were temporarily withdrawn from the tower during the Second world war. They would have been secretly stored in a safe of Sun Life Insurance to Montreal. According to other sources, the jewels would have been kept in the round tower of the Château of Windsor or to Fort Knox. The assumption of the castle of Windsor is most probable: the jewels should not legally leave the country and the risks related to a transport abroad are too important.

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