Buckingham Palace has announced that Queen Camilla will wear Queen Mary’s crown, which was created in 1911, for the 6 May coronation. This is the first time in nearly 300 years that a consort will use a previously-created crown for their coronation.
Queen Camilla will wear Queen Mary’s crown at Westminster Abbey in May, but the crown will look slightly different than at its first appearance at King George V and Queen Mary’s coronation in 1911.
Four of the eight arches are being removed, which will give the crown a different profile. Three of the stones are being exchanged for the Cullinan III, IV, and V; this is being done as a tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II, as she personally owned the stones and wore them frequently.
The last consort to wear a previously-created crown for their coronation was Queen Caroline of Ansbach. The wife of King George II, Caroline, wore the crown created for Queen Mary of Modena at King James II’s coronation in 1685.
The State Crown of Mary of Modena was originally set with hired diamonds rather than owned; it is now on display at the Tower of London with crystals in their place.
Mary first wore the crown in 1685 when she and her husband were crowned at Westminster Abbey. Queen Mary II wore the crown for her coronation with her husband and co-ruler, King William III, in 1689. The last Stuart monarch, Queen Anne, also wore the crown at her coronation in 1702.
King George I’s wife was not at his coronation; Sophia Dorothea of Celle had been imprisoned in Saxony for almost all of her adult life after having an adulterous affair.
Queen Caroline of Ansbach, King George II’s wife, was the last consort to use the State Crown of Mary of Modena at her coronation.
