THE CROWN OF GREAT BRITAIN

"Crowns appear to have been at an early period worn by kings in battle, in order that they might be easily recognised; and although it is quite po ible that this outward sign of sovereignty may have marked the wearer as being entitled to special protection by his own men, it is also likely that it was often a dangerous sign of importance. Upon the authority of their coins, the heads of the early British kings were adorned with variously formed fillets and ornamental wreaths. Helmets are also evidently intended to be shown, and on some of the coins of Athelstan the helmet bears upon it a crown of three raised points, with a single pearl at the top of each (Fig. 619). Other coins bear the crown with the three raised points without the helmet (Fig. 620). This crown of three points, bearing sometimes one and sometimes three pearls at the top of each, continued to be used by all the sole monarchs until Canute, on whose head a crown is shown in which the three points develop into three clearly-marked trefoils (Fig. 621). On the great seal of Edward the Confe or the king is wearing an ornamental cap, which is described by Mr. Wyon in his book about the Great Seals as bearing a crown with three points trefoiled; but the impre ions of this Great Seal that I have been able to see are so indistinct in this particular that I do not feel justified in corroborating his opinion. On some of the coins, however, of Edward the Confe or, an arched crown is very clearly shown, and this crown has depending from it, on each side, ta els with ornamental ends (Fig. 622). | Fig. 619. | Fig. 620. | | Fig. 622. | | Fig. 621. | "In the list of the English regalia which were destroyed under the Commonwealth in 1649 is found an item of great interest, viz. 'a gold wyer work crown with little bells,' which is there stated to have belonged to King Alfred, who appears to have been the first English king for whom the ceremony of coronation was used; and it is remarkable that on several of the crowns on coins and seals, from the time of Edward the Confe or until Henry I., little ta els or tags are shown which may indeed represent little bells suspended by a ribbon. "On King Alfred's own coins there is unfortunately nothing which can be recognised as a crown. 354 "On the coins of Henry II. a crown is shown with arches, apparently intended to be jewelled, as is also the rim. There are also ta els with ornamental ends at the back of the crown (Fig. 623). | Fig. 623. | Fig. 624. | | Fig. 625. | Fig. 626. | "William I. on his Great Seal wears a crown with three points, at the top of each of which are three pearls (Fig. 624), and on some of his coins a more ornamental form of crown occurs having a broad jewelled rim and two arches, also apparently jewelled, and at each side are two pendants with pearl ends (Fig. 625). William II. on his Great Seal has a crown with five points (Fig. 626), the centre one being slightly bigger than the others, and at the top of each a single pearl. At each side of the crown are pendants having three pearls at the ends. IMG:855465476085164071_fig628.png:Fig. 628. Fig. 628. IMG:855465476085164071_fig627.png:Fig. 627. Fig. 627. "On some of the coins of Stephen a pretty form of crown is seen. It has three fleurs-de-lis and two jewelled arches (Fig. 627). The arches disappear from this time until the reign of Edward IV. On the Great Seal of Henry I. the king wears a simple crown with three fleurs-de-lis points, and two pendants each with three pearls at the ends (Fig. 628), and after this the pendants seem to have been discontinued. | Fig. 629. | | Fig. 630. | "On the first Great Seal of Henry III. a crown with three fleurs-de-lis is shown surmounting a barred helmet (Fig. 629), and Edward I. wore a similar crown with three fleurs-de-lis, but having supplementary pearls between each (Fig. 630), and this form lasted for a long time, as modifications of it are found on the coins of all the kings till Henry VII. On the third Great Seal of Edward IV. the king wears a crown with five fleurs-de-lis, the centre one being larger than the others, and the crown is arched and has at the top an orb and cro (Fig. 631). Henry VI. on his first seal for foreign affairs, on which occurs the English shield, uses above it a crown with three cro es-patée and between each a pearl (Fig. 632), this being the first distinct use of the cro -patée on the English crown; and it probably was used here in place of the fleurs-de-lis hitherto worn in order to 355 make a clear distinction between it and the French crown, which has the fleurs-de-lis only and surmounts the coat of arms of that country. The king himself wears an arched crown, but the impre ions are so bad that the details of it cannot be followed. | Fig. 631. | | Fig. 632. | "Henry VII. on his Great Seal uses as ornaments for the crown, cro es-patée alternately with fleurs-de-lis, and also arches with an orb and cro at the top (Fig. 633) and, on some of his coins, he reverts to the three fleurs-de-lis with points between them, arches being still used, with the orb and cro at the top (Fig. 634). An ornamental form of crown bearing five ornamental leaves alternately large and small, with arches, orb, and cro at the top (Fig. 635), occurs on the shillings of Henry VII. On the crowns of Henry VIII., as well as upon his Great Seals, the alternate cro es-patée and fleurs-de-lis are found on the rim of the crown, which is arched, and has an orb and cro at the top, and this is the form that has remained ever since (Fig. 636). So we may consider that the growth of the ornament on the rim of the crown has followed a regular sequence from the points with one pearl at the top, of Æthelstan, to the trefoil of Canute; the arches began with Edward the Confe or, and the centre trefoil turned into the cro -patée of Henry VI. The fact that the remaining trefoils turned eventually into fleurs-de-lis is only, I think, a natural expansion of form, and does not appear to have had anything to do with the French fleur-de-lis, which was adopted as an heraldic bearing for an entirely different reason. The Royal coat of arms of England did bear for a long time in one of its quarterings the actual fleurs-de-lis of France, and this, no doubt, has given some reason to the idea that the fleurs-de-lis on the crown had also something to do with France; but as a matter of fact they had existed on the crown of England long anterior to our use of them on the coat of arms, as well as remaining there subsequently to their discontinuance on our Royal escutcheon. | Fig. 633. | Fig. 634. | Fig. 635. | Fig. 636. | "The cro -patée itself may po ibly have been evolved in a somewhat similar way from the three pearls of William I., as we often find the centre trefoil, into which, as we have seen, these three points eventually 356 turned, has a tendency to become larger than the others, and this difference has been easily made more apparent by squaring the ends of the triple leaf. At the same time it must not be forgotten that the cro -patée was actually used on the sceptre of Edward the Confe or, so it is just po ible it may have had some specially English significance. "I have already mentioned that as well as the official crown of England, which alone I have just been describing, there has often been a second or State crown, and this, although it has in general design followed the pattern of the official crown, has been much more elaborately ornamented, and in it has been set and reset the few historic gems po e ed by our nation. The fact that these State crowns have in turn been denuded of their jewels accounts for the fact that the old settings of some of them still exist. | Fig. 637. | Fig. 638. | Fig. 639. | Fig. 640. | "Charles II.'s State Crown is figured in Sir Edward Walker's account of his coronation, but the illustration of it is of such an elementary character that little reliance can be placed on it; the actual setting of this crown, however—which was the one stolen by Colonel Blood on May 13, 1671—is now the property of Lord Amherst of Hackney, and the spaces from which the great ruby and the large sapphire—both of which are now in King Edward's State crown—have been taken are clearly seen (Fig. 637). James II.'s State Crown, which is very accurately figured in Sand ford's account of his coronation, and pieces of which are still in the Tower, also had this great ruby as its centre ornament (Fig. 638). In Sir George Nayler's account of the coronation of George IV. there is a figure of his so-called 'new crown,' the arches of which are composed of oak-leaf sprays with acorns, and the rim adorned with laurel sprays (Fig. 639). The setting of this crown also belongs to Lord Amherst of Hackney, and so does another setting of a small State queen's crown, the ownership of which is doubtful. William IV. appears to have had a very beautiful State crown, with arches of laurel sprays and a cro at the top with large diamonds. It is figured in Robson's 'British Herald,' published in 1830 (Fig. 640). "There is one other crown of great interest, which, since the time 357 of James Sixth of Scotland and First of England, forms part of our regalia. This is the crown of Scotland, and is the most ancient piece of State jewellery of which we can boast. "Edward I., after his defeat of John Baliol in 1296, carried off the crown of Scotland to England, and Robert Bruce had another made for himself. This in its turn, after Bruce's defeat at Methven, fell into Edward's hands. Another crown seems to have been made for Bruce in 1314, when he was established in the sovereignty of Scotland after Bannock burn, and the present crown probably consists largely of the material of the old one, and most likely follows its general design. It has, however, much French work about it, as well as the rougher gold work made by Scottish jewellers, and it seems probable that the crown, as it now is, is a reconstruction by French workmen, made under the care and by order of James V. about 1540. It was with this crown that Queen Mary was crowned when she was nine months old. IMG:855465476085164071_fig641.png:Fig. 641. Fig. 641. "In 1661 the Scottish regalia were considered to be in danger from the English, and were sent to Dunnottar Castle for safety. From 1707 until 1818 they were locked up in a strong chest in the Crown-Room of Edinburgh Castle, and Sir Walter Scott, in whose presence the box was opened, wrote an account of them in 1810. The crown consists of a fillet of gold bordered with flat wire. Upon it are twenty-two large stones set at equal distances, i.e. nine carbuncles, four jacinths, four amethysts, two white topazes, two crystals with green foil behind them, and one topaz with yellow foil. Behind each of these gems is a gold plate, with bands above and below of white enamel with black spots, and between each stone is a pearl. Above the band are ten jewelled rosettes and ten fleurs-de-lis alternately, and between each a pearl. Under the rosettes and fleurs-de-lis are jewels of blue enamel and pearls alternately. The arches have enamelled leaves of French work in red and gold upon them, and the mount at the top is of blue enamel studded with gold stars. The cro at the top is black enamel with gold arabesque patterns; in the centre is an amethyst, and in this cro and in the corners are Oriental pearls set in gold. At the back of the cro are the letters I. R. V. in enamel-work. On the velvet cap are four large pearls in settings of gold and enamel (Fig. 641). "Generally, the Scottish work in gold is cast solid and chased, the foreign work being thinner and repou é . Several of the diamonds are undoubtedly old, and are cut in the ancient Oriental fashion; and many of the pearls are Scottish. It is kept in Edinburgh Castle with the rest of the Scottish regalia. None of the other pieces at all equal it in interest, as with the exception of the coronation ring of Charles I. 358 they are of foreign workmanship, or, at all events, have been so altered that there is little or no original work left upon them." Very few people are aware, when they speak of the crown of England, that there are two crowns. The one is the official crown, the sign and symbol of the sovereigns of England. This is known by the name of St. Edward's Crown, and is never altered or changed. As to this Mr. Cyril Davenport writes:— "St. Edward's crown was made for the coronation of Charles II. in 1662, by Sir Robert Vyner. It was ordered to be made as nearly as po ible after the old pattern, and the designs of it that have been already mentioned as existing in the works of Sir Edward Walker and Francis Sand ford show that in a sensual form it was the same as now; indeed, the existing crown is in all probability mainly composed of the same materials as that made by Sir Robert. The crown consists of a rim or circlet of gold, adorned with rosettes of precious stones surrounded with diamonds, and set upon enamel arabesques of white and red. The centre gems of these rosettes are rubies, emeralds, and sapphires. Rows of large pearls mark the upper and lower edges of the rim, from which rise the four cro es-patée and four fleurs-de-lis alternately, adorned with diamonds and other gems. The gem clusters upon the cro es are set upon enamel arabesques in white and red, of similar workmanship to that upon the rim. From the tops of the cro es rise two complete arches of gold cro ing each other, and curving deeply downwards at the point of intersection. The arches are considered to be the mark of independent sovereignty. They are edged with rows of large pearls, and have gems and clusters of gems upon them set in arabesques of red and white, like those upon the cro es. From the intersection of the arches springs a mound of gold, encircled by a fillet from which rises a single arch, both of which are ornamented with pearls and gems. On the top of the arch is a cro -patée of gold, set in which are coloured gems and diamonds. At the top of the cro is a large spheroidal pearl, and from each of the side arms, depending from a little gold bracelet, is a beautifully formed pear-shaped pearl. The crown is shown in the Tower with the crimson velvet cap, turned up with miniver, which would be worn with it. "This crown is very large, but whether it is actually worn or not it would always be present at the coronation, as it is the 'official' crown of England." St. Edward's crown is the crown supposed to be heraldically represented when for State or official purposes the crown is represented over the Royal Arms or other insignia. In this the fleurs-de-lis upon the rim are only half fleurs-de-lis. This detail is scrupulously adhered to, but during the reign of Queen Victoria many of the other details 359 were very much "at the mercy" of the artist. Soon after the acce ion of King Edward VII. the matter was brought under consideration, and the opportunity afforded by the i ue of a War Office Sealed Pattern of the Royal Crown and Cypher for use in the army was taken advantage of to notify his Majesty's pleasure, that for official purposes the Royal Crown should be as shown in Fig. 642, which is a reproduction of the War Office Sealed Pattern already mentioned. It should be noted that whilst the cap of the real crown is of purple velvet, the cap of the heraldic crown is always represented as of crimson. IMG:855465476085164071_fig642.png:Fig. 642. Fig. 642. —Royal Crown. The second crown is what is known as the "Imperial State Crown." This is the one which is actually worn, and which the Sovereign after the ceremony of his coronation wears in the proce ion from the Abbey. It is also carried before the Sovereign at the opening of Parliament. Whilst the gems which are set in it are national property, the crown is usually remade for each succe ive sovereign. The following is Mr. Davenport's description of Queen Victoria's State Crown:— "This beautiful piece of jewellery was made by Roundell & Bridge in 1838. Many of the gems in it are old ones reset, and many of them are new. The entire weight of the crown is 39 ozs. 5 dwts. It consists of a circlet of open work in silver, bearing in the front the great sapphire from the crown of Charles II. which was bequeathed to George III. by Cardinal York, with other Stuart treasure. At one end this gem is partly pierced. It is not a thick stone, but it is a fine colour. Opposite to the large sapphire is one of smaller size. The remainder of the rim is filled in with rich jewel clusters having alternately sapphires and emeralds in their centres, enclosed in ornamental borders thickly set with diamonds. These clusters are separated from each other by trefoil designs also thickly set with diamonds. The rim is bordered above and below with bands of large pearls, 129 in the lower row, and 112 in the upper. [The crown as remade for King Edward VII. now has 139 pearls in the lower row, and 122 in the upper.] Above the rim are shallow festoons of diamonds caught up between the larger ornaments by points of emeralds encircled with diamonds, and a large pearl above each. On these festoons are set alternately eight cro es-patée, and eight fleurs-de-lis of silver set with gems. The cro es-patée are thickly set with brilliants, and have each an emerald in the centre, except that in front of the crown, which 360 contains the most remarkable jewel belonging to the regalia. This is a large spinal ruby of irregular drop-like form, measuring about 2 ins. in length, and is highly polished on what is probably its natural surface, or nearly so. Its irregular outline makes it po ible to recognise the place that it has formerly occupied in the older State crowns, and it seems always to have been given the place of honour. It is pierced after an Oriental fashion, and the top of the piercing is filled with a supplementary ruby set in gold. Don Pedro, King of Castille in 1367, murdered the King of Granada for the sake of his jewels, one of which was this stone, and Don Pedro is said to have given it to Edward the Black Prince after the battle of Najera, near Vittoria, in the same year. After this, it is said to have been worn by Henry V. in his crown at Agin court in 1415, when it is recorded that the King's life was saved from the attack of the Duc D'Alençon, because of the protection afforded him by his crown, a portion of which, however, was broken off. It may be confidently predicted that such a risk of destruction is not very likely to happen again to the great ruby. "In the centre of each of the very ornamental fleurs-de-lis is a ruby, and all the rest of the ornamentation on them is composed of rose diamonds, large and small. From each of the cro es-patée, the upper corners of which have each a large pearl upon them, rises an arch of silver worked into a design of oak-leaves and acorn-cups. These leaves and cups are all closely encrusted with a ma of large and small diamonds, rose brilliant, and table-cut; the acorns themselves formed of beautiful drop-shaped pearls of large size. From the four points of intersection of the arches at the top of the crown depend large egg-shaped pearls. From the centre of the arches, which slope slightly downwards, springs a mound with a cro -patée above it. The mound is ornamented all over with close lines of brilliant diamonds, and the fillet which encircles it, and the arch which cro es over it, are both ornamented with one line of large rose-cut diamonds set closely together. The cro -patée at the top has in the centre a large sapphire of magnificent colour set openly. The outer lines of the arms of the cro are marked by a row of small diamonds close together and in the centre of each arm is a large diamond, the remaining spaces being filled with more small diamonds. The large sapphire in the centre of this cro is said to have come out of the ring of Edward the Confe or, which was buried with him in his shrine at Westminster, and the po e ion of it is supposed to give to the owner the power of curing the cramp. If this be indeed the stone which belonged to St. Edward, it was probably recut in its present form of a 'rose' for Charles II., even if not since his time. IMG:855465476085164071_fig643.png:Fig. 643. Fig. 643. —Queen Alexandra's Coronation Crown. "Not counting the large ruby or the large sapphire, this crown 361 contains: Four rubies, eleven emeralds, sixteen sapphires, 277 pearls, 2783 diamonds. [As remade for King Edward VII. the crown now has 297 pearls and 2818 diamonds.] "The large ruby has been valued at £110,000. "When this crown has to take a journey it is provided with a little casket, lined with white velvet, and having a sliding drawer at the bottom, with a bo on which the crown fits closely, so that it is safe from slipping. The velvet cap turned up with miniver, with which it is worn, is kept with it." This crown has been recently remade for King Edward VII., but has not been altered in any e ential details. The cap of the real crown is of purple velvet. Fig. 643 represents the crown of the Queen Consort with which Queen Alexandra was crowned on August 9, 1902. It will be noticed that, unlike the King's crowns, this has eight arches. The circlet which forms the base is 1½ inches in height. The crown is entirely composed of diamonds, of which there are 3972, and these are placed so closely together that no metal remains visible. The large diamond visible in the illustration is the famous Koh-i-no or. Resting upon the rim are four cro es-patée, and as many fleurs-de-lis, from each of which springs an arch. As a matter of actual fact the crown was made for use on this one occasion and has since been broken up. There is yet another crown, probably the one with which we are most familiar. This is a small crown entirely composed of diamonds: and the earliest heraldic use which can be found of it is in the design by Sir Edgar Boehm for the 1887 Jubilee coinage. Though effective enough when worn, it does not, from its small size, lend itself effectively to pictorial representation, and as will be remembered, the design of the 1887 coinage was soon abandoned. This crown was made at the personal expense of Queen Victoria, and under her instructions, owing to the fact that her late Majesty found her "State" crown uncomfortable to wear, and too heavy for prolonged or general use. It is understood, also, that the Queen found the regulations concerning its custody both inconvenient and irritating. During the later part of her reign this smaller crown was the only one Queen Victoria ever wore. By her will the crown was settled as an heirloom upon Queen Alexandra, to devolve upon future Queens Consort for the time being. This being the case, it is not unlikely that in the future this crown may come to be regarded as a part of the national regalia, and it is as well, therefore, to reiterate the remark, that it was made at the personal expense of her late Majesty, and is to no extent and in no way the property of the nation. 362