Key Takeaways on the British Royal Regalia
The British Royal Regalia signifies power and legitimacy of rulers. Worn at coronation ceremonies, the British Crown Jewels includes more than 100 items, like the ruby-embellished crowns and a scepter with the world’s largest diamond.
The Royal Collection Trust maintains the British Royal Regalia. Included in the collection are orbs, scepters, and crowns housed at the Tower of London today, which continue to be used during monumental royal occasions, such as the crowning of a new king or queen.
Weighing nearly 5 pounds, the St. Edward’s Crown is perhaps the most recognizable member of the crown jewels. Encrusted with rubies, amethysts, and sapphires, it was also made for the coronation of Charles II to replace the formerly destroyed medieval crown. Most recently, the solid-grown crown was used for the coronation of King Charles in 2023.
For over nine centuries, British kings and queens have undertaken their ceremonial coronations adorned in royal regalia, serving as symbolic representations of their monarchical authority.
Ruby-embellished crowns, a scepter bedazzled with the world’s largest diamond, and an orb bejeweled by rubies are just a few of the sacred accessories accompanying the world’s wealthiest, most powerful people on their crowning day.
Royal regalia is not unique to the U.K. Such ornate objects signify the power and legitimacy of rulers in modern-day Netherlands and Thailand, but have been practiced across monarchies throughout time. However, it’s the British Crown Jewels, comprising more than 100 items, that represent the most comprehensive collection of royal regalia in the world.
The British Royal Regalia Collection
“The Crown Jewels are much more than simply jewel-encrusted objects,” says Kathryn Jones, senior curator of decorative arts at the Royal Collection Trust. “They represent a long history of the relationship between the monarch and the people of Britain over centuries and act as a reminder that in Britain there is a constitutional monarchy.”
The Royal Collection Trust is responsible for maintaining the care and conservation of the Royal Collection, the British monarch’s national collection of art, jewelry, and other historic objects spanning 500 years of British royal history. Included in the collection are orbs, scepters, and crowns housed at the Tower of London today, which continue to be used during monumental royal occasions, such as the crowning of a new king or queen.
Read More: A Stone Age Village Buried a Mysterious Girl with Fine Jewelry Befitting Ancient Egypt
Origins of the Crown Jewels
The British coronation ceremony has changed little over the centuries since it was first held in 1066. After a monarch has died, the Archbishop of Canterbury crowns a new king or queen at Westminster Abbey in London while the royal person wears the coronation regalia. Central to the coronation regalia are the Crown Jewels, sacred objects that have evolved alongside British history.
“The Crown Jewels that we know today have evolved from these medieval origins; each one has a symbolic association with the attributes required of a sovereign: they represent the monarch’s roles as head of state, Supreme Governor of the Church of England, and head of the British armed forces,” says Jones.
Today’s Crown Jewels are not the original but rather a modern replacement. During the English Civil War in 1642, the medieval crown jewels were destroyed as a symbol of revolt against the monarchy. Items in the collection were sold to fund a new government, while gold and silver objects were melted down and turned into coins.
“Such was their symbolic importance that at the time of the Civil War that the Crown Jewels were destroyed by the Parliamentarians as a sign that the monarchy had been defeated,” says Jones.
In 1660, the monarchy was restored, and the newly seated King Charles II ordered the creation of a new regalia for his coronation in 1661. Nearly all of the Crown Jewels in use today date to this mid-17th-century origin, although subsequent additions and changes have been made over the centuries.
“One survivor from the medieval period is the 12th-century Coronation Spoon, which is still carried in the procession and placed on the altar during the ceremony,” says Jones.
Coronation Ceremonies and the British Royal Regalia Today
Today, the Crown Jewels are reserved for events of great historic and national importance, such as the State Opening of Parliament and the Coronation.
Weighing nearly 5 pounds, the St. Edward’s Crown is perhaps the most recognizable member of the crown jewels. Encrusted with rubies, amethysts, and sapphires, it was also made for the coronation of Charles II to replace the formerly destroyed medieval crown. Most recently, the solid-grown crown was used for the coronation of King Charles in 2023.
“Crowns are symbolic of royal authority. The origins of the symbolism of early headdresses, diadems, or circlets to denote authority have been lost, but the use of a crown in coronation was probably linked in origin to the coronation of popes. Because of the long historical associations with coronations, crowns in Britain have also come to be a symbol of continuity,” says Jones.
The Sovereign’s Sceptre with Cross, also made for Charles II and used in every coronation since, includes the world’s largest colorless cut diamond, the Cullinan I diamond. The scepter represents power and authority and is held by the monarch during the coronation ceremony.
The Sovereign’s Orb, a globe topped with a cross and mounted with emeralds, rubies, and sapphires surrounded by diamonds and pearls, is held in the monarch’s right hand during the ceremony. Before crowning, the new king or queen will place the Christian symbol on the high altar.
Set with nearly 3,000 diamonds, including the famous Cullinan II diamond, the monarch traditionally wears the Imperial State Crown as they leave Westminster Abbey after the coronation ceremony.
Why the Royal Regalia Is Important to Britain
The British Crown Jewels “form a key part of the Coronation service and add to the spectacle, pageantry and community of the Coronation procession,” says Jones, adding that they are also the only remaining working set of regalia in Europe.
According to Jones, the origins of crowning a ruler are complex. Archaeological evidence for using crowns to denote rulers dates back to 200 B.C.E. In Britain, records suggest a form of coronation dating from the Anglo-Saxon period, spanning from 410 to 1066 C.E.
“But the first use of hereditary crown jewels is associated with Edward I, or Edward the Confessor, who left a set of regalia to be used at the coronations of future English kings,” says Jones. During this time, the key items of regalia were the crown and scepter.
Read More: Ancient People Wore Jewelry for its Protective Power, and Other Mystical Purposes
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