REGALIA, the ensigns of royalty, including, more particularly the apparatus of a coronation. The regalia of England were, prior to the reformation, in the keeping of the monks of Westminster abb"ey, and they arc still presented to the sovereign at coronation by the dean and prebendaries of that church. During the civil war the crown and most of the regalia fell victims to Puritan zeal; and on the restoration of the royal family, new ensigns had to be made for the coronation of Charles II., which, with occa sional alterations and repairs, have continued in use down to the present day. The regalia, strictly so called, consist of the crown, the scepter with the cross, the verge or rod with the dove, the so-called staff of Edward the confessor (made in reality for Charles II.), the blunt sword of mercy called Curtana, the two sharp swords of justice, spiritual and temporal, the ampulla or receptacle for the coronation oil, the anointing spoon (prob ably the only existing relic of the old regalia), the armillw or bracelets, the spurs of chiv alry, and various royal vestments. All these, with the exception of the vestments, are now exhibited in the jewel-room in the tower of London, in which are also a smaller crown, scepter, and orb for the coronation of a queen-consort, two other queen-consoits' scepters—one of ivory, made for Marie ("Este; and the state-crown of silver and dia monds, which was used at the coronation of queen Victoria, containing a large ruby and sapphire, the former said to have been worn by Edward the Black Prince. The prince of Wales's crown of gold, without stones, is modern.
The proper regalia of Scotland consist of the crown, the scepter, and the sword of state. 'The crown probably belongs to the time of Robert Bruce, and is adorned with crosses and fieurs de lis alternately. It was originally an open crown, but two concentric arches were added in the reign of James V., surmounted at the point of intersection by a mound of gold and a large cross pat6e. The scepter is of the time of James V. ; the sword was a present front pope Julius II. to James IV. in 1507. During the civil war the regalia were removed by the earl marischal for safe custody from the crown-room of Edinburgh castle, their usual place of deposit, to his castle of Dunnottar; and while Dunnottar wa-s besieged by the parliamentary army, the regalia were preserved by being conveyed by stratagem to the manse of Kinncff, by the wife of Ogilvy of Barns, the lien tenant-governor, amid the wife of the minister of Kinneff. From the restoration to the union
the regalia continued to be kept in the crown-room as formerly; at the beginning of each session they were delivered to the earl marischal or his deputy, in whose custody they remained while parliament was sitting, and were afteru and restored to the charge of the treasurer. William, ninth earl marischal, who opposed the treaty of union in all its stages, declined to witness its consummation, but appeared by his deputy, who took a written protest that the regalia should not be removed from the castle of Edinburgh without warning oiven to him or his successor in office. Front that time till 1818, the regalia remained locked in a chest in the crown-room, away from public gaze, and it tame to be the general belief that they had been secretly conveyed away to London, an ilea confirmed by the keeper of the jewel-office in the tower showing a crown which was 41Ieged to be that of Scotland. On Feb. 4, 1818, an order being obtained by warrant fndr the sign-manual of George IV., then prince-regent, the chest in the crown-room was broken open, and the crown, sword, and scepter were found as they bad been deposited at the union, along with a silver rod of office, supposed to be that of the lord high treasurer. They arc now in the charge of the officers of state for Scotland, as corn missionera for the custody of the regalia, and are exhibited iu the crown-room, along with a ruby ring set with diamonds, worn by Charles." at his coronation at Holyrood in 1033; the golden collar of the garter, sent by Elizabeth to James VI.; the St. George and dragon, or badge, of the order of the garter; and the badge of the order of the thistle, with figures of St. Andrew and Anne of Denmark, set in diamonds. These latter insignia were bequeathed by cardinal York, the last of the Stuarts, to George IV., and sent to Edinburgh castle in 1830 by order of William IV.