What is the St Edward’s Crown and how much does it weigh?
NOT ALL of us get to wear priceless jewels on our head as we are welcomed into a new job, but if you're a Monarch it's all part of the package.
We've got the lowdown on the St Edward's Crown, the stunning headpiece worn by the Queen during her 1953 coronation.
What is the St Edward’s Crown?
The St Edward's Crown is a stunning piece of royal jewellery that is part of the Crown Jewels.
It was named after Edward the Confessor and it is on public display in the Jewel House at The Tower of London.
The crown has been in the coronation of kings and queens since the 13th century.
The original St Edward's Crown was either sold or melted down along with other royal regalia during the English Civil War in 1649.
The crown was remade for Charles II in 1661 and, in its present version has been used in the coronations of Charles II (1661), James II (1685), William III (1689), George V (1911), George VI (1937) and Elizabeth II (1953).
Interestingly Queen Victoria decided to use a smaller crown, as she was concerned about the 2.23 kg weight of the St Edward's Crown.
The precious and semi-precious stones in the St Edward's Crown
- 345 rose-cut aquamarines
- 37 white topazes
- 27 tourmalines
- 12 rubies
- 7 amethysts
- 6 sapphires
- 2 jargoons
- 1 garnet
- 1 spinel
- 1 carbuncle
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What has the Queen said about wearing the St Edward’s Crown at her coronation in 1953?
Earlier this year the Queen was reunited with the crown that turned her from a princess to a queen.
But she’s never worn the piece again and has only set eyes on it once, when she saw it behind a glass case during a visit to open the Jewel House at the Tower of London in 1994.
The Queen was filmed with the crown again as part of a collaboration between the BBC and the Royal Collection Trust charity for a documentary.
The hour-long programme, called The Coronation, will reveal the story behind the Crown Jewels and will be broadcast on BBC One at 8pm on January 14.