The Jewels Of The British Monarchs @ Jewel Info 4 U
By: Ms Nandita Ray
Fascination with jewelry will never
end. From the Pasha to the Lazarus
the love for the beautiful baubles
knows no boundary. Mortals leave
behind their imperishable baubles
for posterity to rejoice in. One of
the vastly admired and appreciated
collections of jewelry belongs to
the British Royals. Infatuation and
involvement with jewelry by the
British Monarchs can be traced way
back to the beginning of the Empire.
However erotic excitement of
beautifying oneself and establishing
their exalted status led two
consorts Queen Mary and Queen
Alexandra create fantastic pieces of
jewelry, which still remain to
delight the wearer and the beholder.
The British Royal Jewelry
consists of famed crowns, tiaras,
necklaces, earrings, rings,
bracelets, swords and peerless
diamonds and rubies and emeralds,
spoon, maces, spurs plate and
medals. They are considered property
of the Government and cannot be
taken out of the country without
permission. Some of them are stored
in the Tower Of London for public
display. This is because the Crown
Jewels have had an exciting and
riotous history of attempted thefts!
Unbelievable History - It
is believed that King John lost the
Crown Jewels in quick sand in 1216.
While Edward the III pawned most of
his jewels in order to pay his angry
troops while fighting abroad. James
wife pawned the Crown jewels at the
beginning of a civil war in Holland.
The attempted theft of the Crown
Jewels by Col. Thomas Blood was bold
and reckless. He was however
apprehended at the East Gate of the
Tower with the Crown and the Orb and
one scepter. This attempt was in
1671. They were hidden underground
during World War Two but the exact
location was never disclosed.
Crown Jewels include the
famous crowns, banqueting plates,
insignia, robes, coronation spoon,
Royal maces, the spurs and famous
gems. All these jewels have a unique
history behind them and most of them
are still used in the coronation of
the monarch. Britain is the only
European country that has retained
this ancient tradition. The racy and
thrilling history that surrounds the
jewels make them very interesting
and appealing. Thus, a little
information is imperative since it
will go a long way to explain why
they are held in such awe. After the
execution of Charles the I, the
crown jewels were "totally broken".
This was done in order to signify
the removable and cessation of the
"detestable rule of Kings". Who else
but the traitor Oliver Cromwell had
this done! He was after all behind
the king's beheading. Some pieces
were sold intact like the Coronation
spoon and chain which were later
returned to Charles the II. The gold
that was smelted was made into coins
and the precious stones sold
separately.
Royal Regalia When Charles
the II ascended the throne he had
the entire lost regalia remade at
the cost of 12,185 pounds. They were
used for his coronation in 1661.
This was possible because a detailed
record existed. The regalia consist
of 2 of the Royal maces, 3 swords
each representing Mercy,
Spirituality and Justice, the St.
Edwards Staff (1661) and the Sword
Of State, symbolizing the
Sovereign's Royal authority. The
Ampulla, made from solid gold with
600 precious stones and pearls
embedded in it dating from 1661 is a
golden flask which holds the holy
oil. The anointing the spoon which
is considered the oldest surviving
item was probably made by Henry II
or Richard I .The spurs also
ancient, perhaps 1661, represent
Knighthood, the gold bracelets
representing sincerity and wisdom
and the Sovereign's Orb, which is
set with precious stones and pearls
for made for Charles I and cost him
1,150 pounds. The coronation ring is
also considered very famous. It
represents kingly dignity and was
made in 1831 for William IV's
coronation. Scepter with the crown
atop symbolizes the King's ephemeral
power while the one with the Dove
atop symbolizes the king's spiritual
role. The bracelets in the Regalia
are 11/2"wide and 21/2' broad. They
are made of solid gold and are lined
with deep red velvet. The emblems of
the three kingdoms and the symbol of
France, Fleur de Lys are enameled on
it.
Apart from these jewels used for
ceremonies there are famous jewels
of the Crown. These are seldom used
and are generally stored away.
Edward the Confessor's
Sapphire - this sapphire which
is set on the Maltese cross resting
atop the Imperial State Crown was
worn as a ring by Edward. He was
buried with it in 1066. When his
tomb was opened in 1101, the
sapphire was taken and reset in a
crown worn by Henry I.
The Timur Ruby - is a
magnificent spinel and weighs 325.50
carats. It is inscribed with the
names of the several (previous)
owners who were all Mughal emperors.
courtesy: www.royalcollection.org.uk
The Agra Diamond -
original owner was the Maharaja of
Gwalior a fancy pink (natural)
color, cushion cut stone weighing
28.15 carats and 21.10 by 19.94 by
11.59mm. It was given to Humayun
after the battle of Panipat. Babur
wore it on his turban. When the
English came to rule it was smuggled
out by them and has been in their
possession ever since.
The Imperial crown of India
was first made for queen Victoria
weighing 34.5 ounces and studded
with 6000 diamonds was last worn by
King George who wrote in his diary '
wearing it for 31/2 hours caused him
great discomfort '. So he had a new
Imperial crown made for his visit to
Delhi, India which has 2,868
diamonds, 273 pearls, 17 sapphires,
11 emeralds and 5 rubies. Famous
stones in this crown are the Black
Prince's ruby, weighing 150 carats
and 5cmlong and the Cullinan diamond
also known as the Lesser Star of
Africa.
The world's largest cut diamond
is now a part of the Royal scepter.
While the famous Kohinoor diamond
sits perkily on the Queen's
coronation crown which was once
'valued at half the expense of the
whole world'. It was also believed
that Kohinoor 'mountain of Light'
weighing 108.93 carats, was cursed.
Male owners would suffer but female
owners would rule the world.
St. Edwards Crown was made
in 1661. It is made from pure gold
and has four crosses pattee and four
fleur-de-tris with two arches on
top. It has 444 precious stones and
the gold is supposed to have come
from Edward the Confessor's original
crown and therefore carries his
name. It weighs about 5 pounds.
The State Diadem made in
1820 for the consort of King George
the IV and was used for the
coronation of Queen Victoria and
Elizabeth the II.
courtesy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_Jewels_of_the_United_Kingdom
Crown of Mary of Modena
was the queen of James the II and
her crown was worn by wives of the
following Kings. By the twentieth
century it needed renovation and
Queen Alexandra the consort of
Edward the VII added a new crown
with more arches was added to it.
However a new crown was made for
queen Mary, consort of George the V
in 1911.In 1937 the last new crown
was made for Queen Elizabeth, the
queen mother where the famous
Kohinoor diamond was set.
Queen Victoria wore a small
diamond crown whenever she could as
she preferred this to the Imperial
crown.
The Cambridge and Delhi durbar
Parure - is a marvelous set of
emerald jewelry that consists of
necklace, rings, earrings, bracelet
and an emerald diadem.
The Prince Albert Brooch -
is an enormous sapphire gifted to
Queen Victoria by Prince Albert.
This is a special gift since it was
given to her a day before their
wedding.
Queen Mary's - large ruby
earrings with its deep red glow
astounds the beholder.
The V shaped ruby and diamond
bandeau collar - which the
present queen Elizabeth wore for her
photograph on the front cover of the
book The Jewels of Queen Elizabeth
by Leslie Fields.
The Cullinan Diamonds -
the famous diamond cut into smaller
gems and gifted by the South African
Government to the British Monarchy.
It was cut into: -
Cullinan I which is also the second
largest cut diamond in the world. It
is also the largest of the nine
stones cut from the original
diamond. It weighs 530.20 carats. It
is pear shaped and is 58.9 by 45 by
27.7 millimeters. It has 76 facets.
It is set on the Royal Scepter and
ii can be removed and used as a
pendant. It is lionized as the "Star
of Africa".
Cullinan II weighs 317.40 carats
and is cushioned shaped and is set
in the center front band of the
Imperial State Crown of Great
Britain.
Cullinan III weighs 94.40 carats
and is pear shaped. As the norm goes
it can be used as a pin and hangs
from Cullinan IV.
Cullinan IV is cushion shaped and
set in the crown and can be used as
a pendant also. It weighs 60.60
carat.
Cullinan III and IV are known as
the "Lesser Stars of Africa".
Cullinan V weighs 18.80 carats
and is triangular pear shaped
diamond that is anchored in platinum
and this brooch was a part of a very
large stomacher that also carries
the Cambridge emeralds. Each part of
this stomacher can come apart and
worn as an individual brooch. It is
often worn by Queen Elizabeth II as
a brooch.
Cullinan VI marquise cut stone
weighing 11.50 carats. It was a gift
from Edward to his wife to be Queen
Alexandra a day before the wedding.
Today Queen Elizabeth uses it as a
drop pendant from her diamond and
emerald necklace.
Cullinan VII is also marquise cut
weighing 8.80 carats and is a piece
of jewelry that can alternate as pin
or pendant. Queen Mary added it as a
pendant to the oval cushion Cullinan
diamond VIII.
Cullinan VIII is cushion cut
weighing 6.80 carats. It carries the
Cullinan VII as a drop.
Cullinan IX is 4.39 carats pear
shaped ring in prong setting and
once belonged to Queen Mary wife of
King Edward. It now belongs to
Elizabeth the II.
Queen Mary's photograph taken in
1919 shows her wearing a platinum
and diamond pendant and chain have
most of the 96 smaller pieces of the
original Cullinan diamond. Queen
Elizabeth who inherited this piece
rarely wears this since it "gets
into the soup". The Cullinan diamond
was presented to King Edward VII in
1908. He had Mr. Asscher to cut it
into 9 major gemstones. After the 9
major pieces, 96 carats of
unpolished gems were taken by
Asscher as payment. They were
eventually bought by the King
himself. And thus Queen Mary started
the process of consolidating them
into jewelry for the Royal family.
Other Royal Jewelry
Caroline of Ansbach, consort of
George I was a keen collector of
jewelry especially cameos and
intaglio pieces.
Queen Mary the consort of George V
collected jade, lacquer, silver,
enamels, rings and Faberge' items
which are part of the famous jewelry
of the British Monarchy.
From the rule of Anne till the 20th
century it was common to use hired
jewels for the use in the crown and
other pieces of jewelry during
coronation only. Afterwards the gems
were returned and the regalia was
once again reset with plastic or
false stones and set out for public
display.
Britain is the only European
monarchy that still uses its
inherited Regalia. It has been in
use since 1660.
When the Imperial State Crown is
used, it is removed from its display
case and a note is left behind
saying "in use".
The first endeavor to consolidate
the jewels and safe keeping them was
executed by Edward the Confessor in
1042-66. He stored it in the
Westminster Abbey.
The Crown jewels have been locked in
the Tower of London since the
robbery in 1303.
After the restoration of Charles I,
the regalia was kept locked up in
the Tower and shown to visitors
after payment of a "viewing fee".
This system is still continuing.
After the second attempted robbery
an armed guard was appointed.
The visitors were locked in a
windowless room as they saw the
Regalia.
In 1994 a new block called the
"Jewel House" was inaugurated by the
present queen where the Crown Jewels
are displayed.
The crown Jewels form one of the
most famous and the most viewed
collection in the world.
The Crown Jewels form a part of the
National heritage and is held by the
Sovereign.
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