It is a considered a gem meant for monarchs, but there is one notable exception to the rules around St. Edward’s Crown: Anne Boleyn.
St. Edward’s Crown is the oldest and heaviest crown in use in the British collection. Worn by Edward the Confessor during his reign from 1003 to 1066, it became a holy relic when Edward was canonized by Pope Alexander III.
The original crown was used in the coronation of every monarch until 1626. But it had an extra outing in 1533 when the second queen of Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, was crowned.
Henry VIII provided just two of his six wives with coronations. For Anne Boleyn it was a highly elaborate event. It is thought that Henry VIII wanted to show his subjects that Anne was a legitimate queen. It was decided that Anne would wear St. Edward’s Crown. Visibly pregnant, it is also said she was wearing the crown, traditionally meant for a monarch, on behalf of the presumed male heir she was carrying. As it turned out, the baby was a girl, the future Queen Elizabeth I, who would wear St. Edward’s Crown at her coronation in 1559.
After the civil war in 1649, royal regalia and jewels were destroyed, melted or sold, including St. Edward’s Crown. The monarchy was restored in 1660 and a new set of Crown Jewels was commissioned by King Charles II, based on the originals. The St. Edward’s Crown we see today is one of the items that was made and is inspired by the original.
St. Edward’s Crown is twelve inches tall, weighs five pounds and contains 444 precious and semi-precious gemstones. All of the stones are permanently fixed into the 22-carat gold frame. Inside is a velvet cap with an ermine trim.
It is this crown that monarchs practice wearing to get used to the weight. King George VI gardened in it and Queen Elizabeth II would visit her children during their bath time wearing the crown.
During her 70 years on the throne, the only time Queen Elizabeth wore this crown was at her coronation. For the 60th anniversary of her coronation she appeared in a documentary handling and examining the crown. She quickly asked: “Is it still as heavy?” Moving it around some more she answered her own question “Yes, it is.” Adding, “It weighs a ton. It’s very solid, isn’t it? And it is impossible to tell which is front and back. It’s identical, I think.”
Queen Elizabeth II must have appreciated Saint Edward’s Crown because she used it in her official cypher. It was also the centerpiece of her Platinum Jubilee emblem.
King Charles III will be the seventh monarch crowned with Saint Edward’s Crown since the Restoration. Normally on display at the Tower of London, the crown has been removed in preparation for the coronation. It will be cleaned, polished and resized, in preparation for the Archbishop of Canterbury to place it on the king’s head and officially crown him King Charles III.
