CROWN JEWELS or REGALIA are the visible emblems of royalty which pertain to a monarch. They vary greatly in dif ferent countries both in significance and value, but in European countries a crown, generally richly jewelled, is the chief of the insignia of sovereignty. The only crown jewels, except the Dan ish, that are on view are the crown jewels of England, which are kept in the Tower of London and guarded by a battalion of His Majesty's Guards. Upwards of 350,00o people of all nations annually view the crown jewels.
The king of England has three crowns :—(1) King Edward the Confessor's crown, also known as St. Edward's crown; (2) The imperial State crown; (3) The imperial crown of India. The crown known as St. Edward's crown was made for the coronation of Charles II. in 1662 after the pattern of the ancient crown destroyed by the Commonwealth. It consists of a circlet of gold adorned with rosettes of precious stones, surrounded by diamonds. The centre gems of these rosettes are rubies, emeralds and sapphires. From the circlet rise four crosses-pate, and four fleurs de-lys alternately, adorned with diamonds and other gems. From the tops of the crosses rise two complete arches of gold crossing each other. These arches are considered to be the mark of in dependent sovereignty. They are edged with rows of silver pearls, and have gems and clusters of gems upon them. On the top of the arches is a mound of gold surmounted by a cross, all richly jewelled. This is the crown of England and is the one used at English coronation ceremonies.
The imperial State crown was made for Queen Victoria in 1838. Many of the gems in this crown are of very ancient origin. Amongst these are the Black Prince's ruby, which is as large as a small hen's egg, and was owned first by the Black Prince, and later worn by Henry V. at the battle of Agincourt; the great sapphire from the crown of Charles II., known as the Stuart sapphire; the second largest portion of the Star of Africa diamond weighing 309 carats; Queen Elizabeth's pearl ear—drops; and the sapphire from the coronation ring of Edward the Confessor. There are altogether in this crown, exclusive of the larger stones, four rubies, I I emeralds, 16 sapphires, 277 pearls and 2,783 diamonds. It is the most valuable and beautiful crown in the world.
The imperial crown of India owes its origin to the law which forbids the crown of England being taken out of England. When, therefore, George V. was crowned in Delhi emperor of India, a new crown had to be made for him and his successors to the throne. This crown is finely designed on the English pattern, with four crosses-pate and four fleurs-de-lys set alternately on the upper rim of the circlet. From this spring eight half-arches which in their turn support a rich mound and cross at the top, all thick set with diamonds. There are several very fine emeralds, rubies, and sapphires in this crown. It cost £60,000.
Next in importance are the queen's crowns or diadems :---(i ) the crown of Queen Mary of Modena, consort of James II.; (2) the diadem of the same queen; (3) the State crown of Queen Mary, consort of George V. The crown of Queen Mary of Mo dena is of the usual formal shape and studded throughout with diamonds and pearls, no coloured stones being used. Queen Anne, in her statue outside St. Paul's cathedral, may be seen wearing this crown. The diadem of Queen Mary of Modena has along its upper edge a row of large pearls rising to a point in the front, with a single diamond at its highest point. Beneath this is a rich floral spray, in thick gold open-work, having large diamonds as leaves and flowers. On each side of the spray are a succession of large rosettes with large diamonds in their centres and small diamonds set all round them. This diadem cost £ I i o,000. The State crown of Queen Mary is a beautiful and light diamond crown, having in the centre of the circlet one of the lesser portions of the Star of Africa weighing 96 carats. In a cross-pate above this is the Koh-i-Noor the most renowned diamond in the world. It weighs in its present condition io6 carats (having originally weighed Boo carats). After a tragic history of many centuries, the diamond was captured by the British and presented by the Army of the Punjab to Queen Victoria after the Sikh Wars. The cross that surmounts the mound at the top of the crown is set with yet another lesser portion of the Star of Africa weighing 64 carats. The prince of Wales's crown is of gold without jewels and has one arch to distinguish it from a coronet. The arch was introduced by Charles II.
There are five sceptres :—(I) the king's royal sceptre with the cross; (2) the king's sceptre with the dove; (3) the queen's sceptre with the cross; (4) the queen's sceptre with the dove; (5) the queen's ivory rod. At the head of the king's royal sceptre is the greatest diamond in the world, known as the principal Star of Africa. It weighs 5161 carats, more than four times the weight of any other known diamond. This sceptre dates from Charles II. and is carried in the king's right hand at the coronation. The Star of Africa diamond was introduced by Edward VII.
There are two orbs :—(I) the king's orb; (2) the queen's orb. The orb is a golden ball, surmounted by a beautiful jewelled cross. The orb and cross are held to signify the domination of the Christian religion over the world. It is placed in the king's left hand at the coronation. The reason for there being two orbs is that William and Mary were jointly crowned king and queen of England, a second orb being made for the occasion.
St. Edward's staff, known also as the Rod of Justice and Equity, is of gold 4 ft. 71 in. in length and is supposed to guide the king's footsteps. It was re-made for Charles II. after the pattern of the old staff destroyed during the Commonwealth.
The Ampulla or Golden Eagle, and the Anointing Spoon are used at the coronation for the anointing of the king. These were both overlooked and escaped destruction during the Common wealth. They are very ancient indeed, and may well be of Byzan tine origin.
There are five swords :--(I) the sword of State; (2) the jewelled sword of State; (3) the swords named (a) Curtana or the sword of Mercy, (b) sword of Justice, spiritual, (c) sword of Justice, temporal. The sword of State, a long two-handled sword, is carried before the king on all State occasions such as the opening of parliament. The jewelled sword of State is used only at the coronation, when the king lays it on the altar to demonstrate that he places his military power at the service of the Church. This is very richly jewelled and is the most valuable in the world. The three swords, Curtana, the Sword Spiritual, and the Sword Temporal, are alike except that the point of Curtana has been broken off as a token of mercy.
The Golden Spurs of St. George are, as in the case of the jewelled sword, placed on the altar by the king at his coro nation, with a like significance.
The bracelets, another very ancient token of royalty, may be seen with the rest of the regalia at the Tower of London. As far back as ancient Hebrew days a bracelet was one of the insignia of a king.
Some portions of the Scottish regalia have been preserved and are kept in Edinburgh Castle. The chief of these is the Scottish crown, which is among the most ancient pieces of State jewellery in the kingdom. This crown seems to have been made for Robert Bruce in 1314, and, with some recon struction by French workmen, was worn by James V. about 1 S4o; Mary Queen of Scots was crowned with it when nine months old. Another interesting item is the coronation ring of Charles I. which was bequeathed to George III. by Cardinal York together with other Stuart relics.
The Irish crown jewels were stolen from Dublin Castle some years ago and have never been recovered. There was nothing of historic or of great intrinsic value amongst them.
See G. J. Younghusband and C. Davenport, The Crown Jewels of England 0919), (G. Yo.) Although examples of Merovingian (c. 450-650) jewels have come down to us, it is not until the Carlovingian period (7 50 980) that we find authentic evidence of crown jewels. Of Charle magne we have his crown, his sword, La Joyeuse, and his spurs. The crown is composed of eight gold plates, arched at the top, four incrusted with precious stones, four enamelled with the figures of Solomon, David, Hezekiah and Christ, to which Conrad II. (I ith century) added a Latin cross with a single arch. The sword has a scabbard of gold with insertions of cloisonne enamel and incrustations of precious stones; the hilt was added in 1804 by Napoleon I. who brought it back from Vienna. It is at the Louvre, Paris, where are also to be seen the great Emperor's gold spurs with repousee ornament; a hand of Justice in gold and ivory of the loth century, the sceptre of Charles V. (14th cen tury), tipped with a statuette of Charlemagne springing from a lily; a beautiful chased gold clasp from the cloak of Louis IX.; the finger ring of Louis X. bearing for bezel a sapphire engraved with the effigy of St. Louis; a statuette reliquary in rock crystal, mounted in silver gilt and enamel, and enclosing "deux chevaux de Notre Dame," besides much else. The Valois, Bourbons and Bonapartes were all great collectors of gems and patrons of jewel lers, but their treasures were often remounted and dispersed. The typical Bourbon crown, as introduced by Louis XIV. was a mass of diamonds, the jewelled band surmounted by eight fleur-de-lis, whence sprang arches supporting a large double fleur-de-lis. The Orleans branch placed a wreath of laurels round the band and substituted a mound for the double fleur-de-lis. Napoleon I. used for his coronation a fillet of gold incrusted with flowers in precious stones, surmounted by eight arches supporting a mound and cross, but a later crown had eight eagles with uplifted wings and eight palms supporting the mound and cross. The French crown dia monds and gems were constantly re-set for each succeeding mon arch, who added to the collection or alienated much of the treasure. Famous jewels and stones were lost during the Revolu tion, among these being the famous Regent diamond and the Dragon or Cote de Bretagne ruby, both of which were subse quently recovered. The Regent or Pitt diamond originally weighed 410 carats, but was reduced to 186-h- carats after cutting. It was sold by Thomas Pitt, Governor of Fort St. George, to Philip of Orleans, and was at various times mounted in the crown, on the mound, and on the hilt of the state sword (by Napoleon I.) . In 1848 the crown jewels of France were scheduled for sale, a scheme which was not carried out, but by a law of 1887 they were dis persed at auction (only a few, such as the Regent and those mentioned as preserved in the Louvre being kept). The sale (which included the famous eight Mazarin diamonds, a legacy from the great Cardinal) realized 7,207,252 francs.
The most precious item of the crown jewels of Italy is the iron crown of Lombardy, made to the order of Princess Theodolinda, widow of Authoris, king of Lombardy, and presented, A.D. 594, to the duke of Turin. It consists of a broad band of gold incrusted with rosettes in enamel and precious stones, with an inner circlet of iron, said to be forged from a nail from the True Cross. The modern crown is of gold and precious stones with 18 arches.
The crown of the German Empire, dating from 1871, is designed on the lines of that of Charlemagne, but four of the gold plates have a Latin cross between four small crosses in precious stones, and the four others have spread eagles with a star above ; it has, however, four arches supporting a mound and cross, and is lined with a high cap in gold brocade. The Prince Imperial's coronet is of gold, jewelled, and consists of a broad band surmounted by four crosses pattee and four displayed eagles, the arches support ing a mound and cross. Each of the States of the former German Empire had its crowns and jewels, the most famous of which are the White Diamond of Saxony, 484 carats, acquired by Augustus the Strong (16th century), and the Green Diamond of Dresden, 40 carats, which has belonged to the Saxon crown since The crown jewels of Portugal were amassed over a long period and contained a wonderful assortment of great value, among which is the Braganza diamond, claimed to be the largest known diamond. It is a Brazilian stone of 1,680 carats, but is probably a topaz.
Vienna was once the repository of priceless crown jewels, though some of these Napoleon I. took back to Paris, but Vienna is still very rich, the regalia being a mass of diamonds and rubies. The Imperial crown, made for Rudolph II. consists of a head band from which spring four small and four large lily-shaped ornaments in diamonds and rubies, tipped by large pearls, and within the circle is a globular cap in two sections, bordered by enamelled bands and pearls, representing the coronation cere monies, and between these sections are two hoops supporting a large sapphire. Far older, and more interesting, is the crown of Hungary or St. Stephen (loth century). It consists of a broad band of gold ornamented with panels of saints in enamel and precious stones, and an upper part (given by Pope Silvester II. when he bestowed the title of Apostolic King on Stephen, c. 1071), of square and pointed enamelled panels and four hoops support ing a cross, while from the sides and back jewelled trefoils hang from small chains.
Probably the most splendid collection of crown jewels belonged to the Romanoffs and were mostly preserved at the Winter palace, though now apparently dispersed. The imperial crown, begun for Catherine II. and finished for Paul I., is a superb piece of gold smith's work, incrusted with diamonds, pearls and rubies. It con sists of a broad head band, and above this a high globular cap in two sections, in front laurel leaves and palms and between the sections two half hoops of large stones, supporting a huge uncut ruby surrounded with brilliants and tipped with a cross. The Empress's crown was only slightly less magnificent. There were also a number of diadems, tiaras and nuptial crowns in diamonds, rubies and other precious stones. One of these nuptial crowns, a diamond tiara designed as wheat-ears and foliage, the jewelled sword of Paul I., with many other jewels were sold at auction in London in 1927. Among the other treasures in the white saloon of the Winter Palace is the imperial orb surmounted by diamond cross, the sceptre tipped with the Orloff diamond, the uncut diamonds known as the Moon of the Mountain, carats bought by Catharine II., the Shah, 85 carats, and a pale red ruby the Polar star, 4o carats. The Orloff is one of the famous diamonds of the world. It weighs 194i carats, is said to have been the eye of an idol in Mysore, was purchased by count Orloff at Amster dam in 1776, and was presented by him to the crown. There were also a large number of Russian and foreign orders, with stars and collars in diamonds and other precious stones. A miniature set of the imperial insignia in gold and brilliants was preserved in the Hermitage palace.
The Rumanian crown is unique in Europe, being of bronze and steel, made from Turkish guns captured at Plevna.