All About St Edward’s Crown, to be Used in King Charles’s Coronation

Charles III will be crowned king on Saturday in a solemn Christian ceremony steeped in 1,000 years of history and tradition, but adapted to reflect 21st-century Britain.

St Edward’s Crown will be placed on Charles’s head at 11:00 GMT to cries of “God Save the King”.

Here is all you need to know about St Edward’s Crown:

1. The St Edward’s Crown, the centrepiece of the Crown Jewels, will be placed on Charles’s head during the Coronation ceremony.
2. St Edward’s Crown, is a solid gold, sacred symbol of the monarch’s authority used only once in their reign. It is set with semi-precious stones, including rubies, amethysts and sapphires.
3. The crown has been used only for coronations and it was last worn in 1953 by his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
4. The crown was made for the coronation of the king’s namesake, Charles II, in 1661. The crown will be worn for less than an hour before being stored away for the coronation of the next monarch.
5. It is trimmed with a purple velvet cap hemmed with an ermine band and features four crosses-pattee and four fleurs-de-lis.
6. The crown has recently been resized to fit Charles’s head and weighs more than two kilograms (nearly five pounds).
7. The king will also wear the Imperial State Crown, which was last seen at the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September last year.
8. The crown was commissioned from the Royal Goldsmith, Robert Vyner, in 1661. Although it is not an exact replica of the medieval design, it follows the original in having four crosses-pattée and four fleurs-de-lis, and two arches, according to Royal Collection Trust.
9. The original version of the crown was named after Edward the Confessor, ruler of England from 1042 to 1066.
10. During Queen Elizabeth II’s era, the crown was widely recognisable regal emblem for services such as HM Revenue and Taxes, police badges, passports and the Royal Mail.

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