"Don't bow your head, your neck will break and your crown will fall off."
This is what Queen Elizabeth II complained about in an interview with the BBC about the coronation in 2018.
Crown of St. Edward
As we all know, Queen Elizabeth II, as a famous "crown household", has dozens of crowns that go out of the sky. And what makes her sigh so much is this famous St. Edward's crown.
Crown of St. Edward
As the longest surviving crown of the British Royal Family, it weighs 2.23 kilograms and has been served by 6 kings, witnessing the rise and fall of the United Kingdom for hundreds of years, and has now become the first crown of the British Royal Family.
Coronation exclusive
But you know what?
This crown is not the original, but a replica, and even if it is regarded as a treasure in Britain, it will not escape the fate of being destroyed, snubbed and stolen.
BBC interview footage
Today, our "Heirloom Crown" series, to introduce to the little friends is this heirloom treasure that the Queen of England laughs at as weighing a ton: the Crown of St. Edward.
St. Edward's Crown Circulating Picture
Edward the Confessor
The history of this crown dates back to the 11th century AD.
England was during the Anglo-Saxon period, and Edward was the monarch of this period.
Due to the rapid expansion of Christianity in England, Edward recited the scriptures every day in westminster abbey he built himself, and his devotion to Christianity was so great that he was also known as "Edward the Confessor" or "St. Edward the Confessor".
Edward the Confessor
Don't underestimate the name, in the hearts of medieval English, only those who believed in fidelity and dedicated their lives to God were eligible to be named "confessors" or "holy".
St. Edward, on the other hand, was centered on the interests of the people, enthusiastically governed the country, was extremely loyal to the Church, and was the most praised monarch in the history of Great Britain, and was hailed by later generations as "the wisest emperor before William I", and was revered by successive monarchs, and his name appeared frequently on the symbols of British royal power.
Silver coins with Edward's head printed on it
For example, the seat he sat on when he was coronated was called the "Throne of St. Edward"; A 330 ct sapphire in his collection, known as the "St. Edward Sapphire"; He asked jewelers to create a crown specially created for coronation, known as the Crown of St. Edward.
St. Edward's Throne
Among them, this crown not only highlights the supremacy of St. Edward's, but also a symbol of the royal power of England, becoming the oldest coronation crown in the history of England.
Crown of St. Edward
This crown is not the crown of the other
However, the St. Edward's crown that Mr. J wants to introduce to his friends today is not the one of st. Edward's time, but the one that Charles II commissioned jeweler Robert Viner to recast in 1660 based on the old crown.
The Crown of St. Edward is worn in The Crown
What the? There are 2 of this extravagant and precious St. Edward's Crown?
Yes, it is!
The crown built by St. Edward, after more than 600 years of circulation, was torn apart and dismembered during the reign of Charles I and sent to a mint in the Tower of London to melt.
Charles I with the original Crown of St. Edward
And all of this stemmed from the ruler of the time: Charles I.
After the death of James I, Charles I succeeded to the throne, he wantonly levied taxes, triggered the episcopal wars, reused controversial church figures, and in the last few years, the English Civil War broke out with Parliament, resulting in the people's livelihood and the resentment of all walks of life.
In 1649, Charles I was executed for treason, becoming the only king in English history to be publicly executed, and the crown of St. Edward, the symbol of kingship, was destroyed.
Death of Charles I
The first crown of the British Royal Family
In 1660, when British politics was in turmoil, Parliament declared that the monarchy would be restored and Charles II, the eldest son of Charles I, would become king.
In order to reaffirm the glory and glory of the monarch, Charles II commissioned jeweler Robert Viner to recast a crown based on the old crown, and the new crown continued to use the sacred title of "Crown of St. Edward".
Charles
The crown weighs 2.23 kg and is 30 cm high and is cast from pure gold.
The main structure of the crown continues the traditional British circular base, with 2 baroque arcades above.
Hand-drawn crown of St. Edward
Above the arcade is held a jewel inlaid with a cross, which symbolizes the monarchy, the cross symbolizes religion, and the ball is under the cross, which symbolizes surrender to God.
The circular base is surrounded by top mink hair, and above the base are four crosses representing Christianity and four irises representing the royal family of England as decorations.
Due to the tight time it took to make the crown, the 444 gems and semi-precious stones set on the crown were rented from members of the royal family and returned after the coronation.
With the exception of the Baroque arcade, which is slightly different from the original, the crown is similar to the original, and due to its extravagant style and significance, in addition to the coronation, the crown is usually hidden in the heavily guarded and highly secure Tower of London Jewellery.
Tower of London
But even so, there are still daring thieves who dare to take risks.
In 1671, a thief stole the crown, flattened it with a wooden stick for easy carrying, and by the time the police found the crown of St. Edward, it had become completely unrecognizable and had become an oval shape.
In 1685, Charles II died without heirs, and his younger brother James II wore the crown of St. Edward to succeed to the throne.
However, after only 3 years on the throne, he was stripped of the throne during the Glorious Revolution, and in 1689, his daughter Mary II and son-in-law William III, with the support of Parliament, succeeded to the throne, and they were also crowned with the crown of St. Edward, a symbol of power.
Mary II and William III
Due to the decline of the crown, for more than 200 years, the St. Edward's Crown gradually disappeared from the coronation ceremony, and it was not until 1910, when George V succeeded to the throne, that the St. Edward's Crown reappeared.
George V renovated this crown, and 444 glorious colored treasures such as peridot, ruby and sapphire were permanently set on the crown, with a unique shape and extraordinary meaning, making this crown one of the most valuable crowns of the British royal family.
George V wears the Crown of St. Edward
Except for Edward VIII, who abdicated without a coronation ceremony, the successors George VI and Elizabeth II both chose the Crown of St. Edward as the crown for their coronation.
However, due to the fact that the crown of St. Edward was too heavy, after the coronation process was over, Elizabeth II replaced the relatively lightweight Imperial Crown and george IV crown and continued the follow-up process.
Mr J said:
In the next article, Mr. J will introduce the imperial crown that is silly and indistinguishable from the St. Edward's Crown, so stay tuned
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