King Charles III (74) and King’s wife Camilla (75) were crowned this Saturday (May 6) in Westminster Abbey. Among other things, the Edward’s crown adorned the head of the new monarch. It is considered one of the most recognizable symbols of the British monarchy. Charles III follows royal tradition by wearing the crown at the coronation ceremony before donning the Imperial State Crown to exit Westminster Abbey at the end of the event. Wearing the Edwardian crown is a special challenge.
The crown still weighs 2.23 kilos. Composed of over 400 precious stones, it has been used at the coronation of British monarchs since the coronation of King Charles II (1630-1685) in 1661. The crown was designed by goldsmith Robert Viner (1631-1688). In addition to a solid gold frame, he used numerous precious stones, including rubies, sapphires, pearls, tourmalines, topaz, rubies, amethysts, garnets and aquamarines. The work of art with a purple velvet hood and an ermine fur border is said to be set with a total of 444 precious and semi-precious stones.
When the newly crowned monarch received the crown, it was symbolic of his accession to the throne. It took the Archbishop of Canterbury several attempts to place the heavy crown on Charles’ head. After the coronation, the crown is returned to the Tower of London, where it will remain until the next coronation. She is part of the Crown Jewels on display in the Tower. Before Charles, George V. (1865-1936), George VI. (1895-1952) and Elizabeth II (1926-2022). However, during her 70 years as Queen, Elizabeth II only wore this crown at the coronation ceremony.
Queen Camilla’s head adorned Queen Mary’s crown. The 1911 heirloom was recycled for the coronation of the king’s wife. Designed by royal jeweler Garrard for the coronation of King George V (1865-1936) and his wife Mary (1867-1953), the crown – inspired by Queen Alexandra’s (1844-1925) crown of 1902 – is set with 2,200 diamonds. Camilla also had to keep herself extra upright to balance the crown.
