The Crown Jewels
Most of Britain's medieval regalia was melted down in 1649, so the Tower's main coronation pieces are Restoration-era. One crown still outweighs a bag of sugar.
Published
Quick Facts
- Where they are
- Jewel House, Tower of London (the main English collection)
- Oldest surviving piece
- The Coronation Spoon, from the 12th century
- Why so little is old
- Parliament ordered the medieval regalia broken up in 1649
- St Edward's Crown
- Made in 1661; solid gold, about 2.2 kg; worn at the moment of crowning
- Biggest gem
- Cullinan I, about 530 carats, set in the Sovereign's Sceptre with Cross
- Famous theft attempt
- Colonel Thomas Blood, 1671
- Scotland's version
- The Honours of Scotland, Edinburgh Castle
- Ireland's lost set
- The Irish Crown Jewels, stolen from Dublin Castle in 1907 and never found
The crown that was almost a bag of scrap
Ask most people how old the Crown Jewels are and they'll say a thousand years. The truth is that nearly all of the main coronation pieces are younger than that suggests. After Charles I was executed, Parliament decided the royal regalia were symbols of tyranny. In 1649 the crowns, sceptres and orbs were ordered to be broken up and the metal sold or turned into coin. The medieval collection, much of it tied to Edward the Confessor, simply vanished into the melting pot. When the monarchy returned in 1660, Charles II had to start again. The principal replacement coronation regalia was made for him in 1661, which is why the central pieces in the Tower are Restoration-era creations rather than medieval relics. Other pieces are later still, such as the Imperial State Crown of 1937.
The one spoon that escaped
Almost nothing survived the purge, but the Coronation Spoon did. It dates from the 12th century and is used to hold the holy oil when a monarch is anointed. It is the oldest object in the collection. It escaped because it was bought by Clement Kynnersley, a former royal servant, and returned after the Restoration. A silver-gilt spoon is far less showy than a crown, which may be why it was worth saving. Its role matters. The anointing is the most sacred part of a coronation. Elizabeth II was anointed beneath a canopy in 1953, with the act kept off the television coverage. At the coronation of Charles III in 2023, the anointing was concealed behind a three-sided screen, and the spoon was once again at the heart of that moment.
Why the main crown is for one moment only
St Edward's Crown, made in 1661 for Charles II, is solid gold and weighs about 2.2 kg. That is heavy enough that nobody wears it for long. It is placed on the monarch's head at the crowning itself and then swapped. The replacement is the Imperial State Crown, a lighter piece made for George VI in 1937. It is the one seen at the State Opening of Parliament. It carries the Cullinan II diamond, the St Edward's Sapphire and the Black Prince's Ruby, which is actually a spinel, not a ruby. The Cullinan diamond itself was found in South Africa in 1905 and weighed 3,106 carats, the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found. Cut by Asscher of Amsterdam, it produced nine major stones. The largest, Cullinan I, sits in the Sovereign's Sceptre with Cross.
The fake vicar who attempted the theft and got a pardon
In 1671 Colonel Thomas Blood, an Irish-born adventurer, posed as a clergyman to gain the trust of the Jewel House keeper. He then knocked the keeper down, flattened St Edward's Crown with a mallet and tried to walk out with it. He was caught almost at once. What happened next is the real shock: Charles II pardoned him, and Blood even received lands in Ireland. Historians still argue about why the king was so generous. Since then, security has changed a good deal. The collection is still on public view at the Tower, but behind far stronger protection than a single elderly keeper.
Scotland's older, stranger set
Scotland has its own regalia, the Honours of Scotland: a crown, a sceptre and the Sword of State. They are the oldest set of regalia in the British Isles. The sceptre is now identified as a gift from Pope Innocent VIII to James IV in 1491, the sword came from Pope Julius II in 1507, and the crown was remade for James V in 1540. When Cromwell's army threatened in the 1650s, the Honours were smuggled out of Dunnottar Castle. They were hidden beneath the floor of Kinneff Church, and Christian Fletcher, the minister's wife, is remembered for her part in the rescue. After the 1707 Union they were locked in a chest in Edinburgh Castle and forgotten. In 1818 Walter Scott led a search, and the chest was opened. The Honours were rediscovered, and in 1819 they went on public display at Edinburgh Castle. In 2023 the Scottish crown and sceptre were presented to Charles III at St Giles' Cathedral, alongside the newly commissioned Elizabeth Sword, which stood in for the fragile 1507 Sword of State.
Wales, Northern Ireland and a vanished Irish set
Wales has no ancient crown to call its own. When Edward I conquered Wales in the 1280s, the regalia of Llywelyn the Last was taken to England. The best-known modern Welsh symbol is the Prince of Wales's coronet, designed by Louis Osman for the 1969 investiture at Caernarfon Castle. Northern Ireland has no regalia of its own either. But Ireland did have its own state jewels: the insignia of the Order of St Patrick, kept at Dublin Castle. In 1907 they were discovered missing, just before a royal visit. The jewels were never recovered, and no one was ever convicted. Sir Arthur Vicars, the Ulster King of Arms responsible for them, lost his job. The theft remains one of the great unsolved mysteries of the British Isles.
Notable people
- Charles II
- Thomas Blood
- Oliver Cromwell
- Clement Kynnersley
- Thomas Cullinan
- Joseph Asscher
- Walter Scott
- Christian Fletcher
- Louis Osman
- Sir Arthur Vicars
- Charles III
Keep exploring
The Royal Coat of Arms
Published
Wales has no place on the Royal Coat of Arms, but a Welsh dragon once held it up. Then a Scottish king swapped it for a chained unicorn.
The Patron Saints of the UK
Published
Three of the UK's four patron saints are on the Union Flag. The fourth, Wales's St David, is missing, and the dragon's absence has nothing to do with him.
The Union Flag
Published
The Union Flag is flown upside down by accident more often than you'd think, and there's a right way up hidden in its wonky white stripes.