What are the crown jewels? The crown jewels are a collection of 142 objects, many are used in ceremonies such as the coronation.
The Crown Jewels are made up of 13 crowns, 6 swords, 6 sceptres, 16 trumpets, 13 maces, 3 robes, 3 rings, 3 coronets, 2 orbs, 1 spoon and bottle, and lots of pieces of plate.
Kings in England have used ceremonial goods since just after the Romans left. A king needed some way to show people he was the king, and things like crowns were a great way to do that. Things like crowns, ceremonial swords, ceremonial shields, and ceremonial helmets were used. The tomb of a king found at Sutton Hoo contained many items like this. In 597, Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury, started the tradition of anointing the king with holy oil. From this point on, the ceremonial goods became more associated with religion.
The tradition of crowning a king began in 959 when Edgar the Peaceful. Before him, kings had worn helmets, circlets, or diadems in the style of Roman emperors. Each king would choose his own style. After Edgar, successive kings were crowned at the start of their reign by the Archbishop of Canterbury. In 1042, Edward the Confessor was crowned with a crown that would end up starting the system that we have today.
Edward the Confessor died in 1066 and he was succeeded by Harold Godwinson, who is probably more famous as the king killed at Hastings in 1066, in the battle against William the Conqueror. In 1161, Edward the Confessor was made a saint and any object he had touched automatically became a holy relic. It just so happened that the monks at Westminster Abbey, where Edward was buried, had hung onto a lot of Edward’s things. The monks claimed that Edward had asked them to hold onto all of his things and to make sure that all future kings were crowned by them. This began two traditions that still exist today. Firstly, every king or queen of Britain is crowned at Westminster Abbey. And, secondly, they always use the same crown. Using the crown of an ancestor showed a claimant’s right to the throne, it showed the history and power of the throne, it was a symbol of continuity, and it was the crown of a saint. St. Edward’s Crown became the first official crown of England.
Successive kings and queens added to the Crown Jewels over the centuries and they sometimes used them as collateral on loans. The Crown Jewels were and still are the property of the monarch, although the monarch these days would not be able to sell or loan them out.
On January 30th, 1649, after the English Civil war had ended, Charles 1 was executed. The English Parliament abolished the monarchy and, realizing that they needed money to pay their army, started to sell off all of the possessions of the monarchy. The precious stones were taken out of the crown jewels and the crowns were melted down to make money. Unfortunately, only one thing survived: The anointing spoon. It was bought by Clement Kynnersley, an officer of King Charles I’s wardrobe, and he returned them to Charles II once the monarchy was restored.
Charles II set about having new Jewels made. As much as possible, they were modeled on the original pieces, as far as anyone could remember. Since the reign of Charles II, other pieces have been added to the collection until it has reached its current size. The most important objects are St. Edward’s Crown (it was named after the original), the Imperial State Crown, the Sovereign’s Sceptre with Cross, and the Sovereign’s Orb.
Together, all of the Crown Jewels contain 23,578 precious stones, and some of the largest diamonds in the world. The Sovereign’s Sceptre contains the Cullinan I diamond, which is 530 carats and the largest clear-cut diamond in the world. The Imperial State Crown has the Cullinan II diamond, which is 317 carats, and the crown of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, has the Koh-i-Noor diamond, which is 105 carats.
The Crown Jewels are owned by the monarch, but they could not sell them. The Jewels are not insured so their value has never been appraised. Some people suggest that the Cullinan I Diamond alone would be worth $525 million. Estimates put the value of all the Crown Jewels at about $5 billion. There have been several attempts to steal the Crown Jewels over the years, but none successful. The Crown Jewels are kept in a very secure location inside the Tower of London, and they are guarded at all times. It would be a pretty amazing crime to steal them.
So, what are the Crown Jewels? They are the items that kings and queens of England use to show that they are powerful and have rightfully inherited the throne. The Jewels were mostly melted down in the 17th century and the ones we have today were remade after that. And that is what I learned today.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_Jewels_of_the_United_Kingdom
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_the_Confessor
https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/history-and-stories/the-crown-jewels/#gs.ck43hl
https://www.royal.uk/crown-jewels
https://www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com/education/famous-sapphires/the-british-crown-jewels/