From The King’s Crown To Princess Kate’s Necklace, All The Jewels At The Coronation, Explained
Now, from the King’s crown to Princess Kate’s necklace, all the jewels at the coronation, explained. The jewelry worn by King Charles III, Queen Consort Camilla, and the Princess of Wales, among others, for the king's coronation at Westminster Abbey in London on Saturday was literally the stuff of royal legend.
The Crown Jewels - Exquisite Gems Worn At King Charles III's Coronation
First and foremost, the crowns. King Charles donned the St. Edward's Crown, which was produced in 1661 and is set with rubies, amethysts, sapphires, garnet, topazes, and tourmalines.
Following the coronation ceremony, Charles donned the Imperial State Crown, fashioned by Garrard in 1937, as he prepared to address the audience on the balcony of Buckingham Palace (exactly as his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, did at her coronation in 1953). (In 1843, the business was designated the first official Crown Jeweler.)
COPYRIGHT_BER: Published on https://www.bernardine.com/the-kings-crown-to-princess-kates-necklace-all-the-jewels-at-the-coronation-explained/ by Barbara Mitchell on 2023-05-12T14:25:01.219Z
The state crown, which weighs about 2 pounds (not including its metaphorical weight), is set with 2,868 diamonds, 269 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, and four rubies—including the Black Prince's Ruby, Stuart Sapphire, and Cullinan II diamond—and is part of the Crown Jewels, one of the world's most spectacular collections.
Camilla, meantime, donned Queen Mary's Crown, a magnificent coronet designed by Garrard for Queen Mary's coronation in 1911. The crown, which is set with 2,200 mostly brilliant-cut diamonds, has an openwork band at the front with a detachable rock crystal duplicate of the Cullinan IV, a massive cushion-shaped diamond.
Saturday's coronation ceremony was the first time in modern history that an existing crown was used to crown a consort. Camilla's statement item was not her only one. She also wore a diamond necklace designed by Garrard in 1858 for Queen Victoria.
From the King’s Crown to Princess Kate’s Necklace, All the Jewels at the Coronation, Explained
The Coronation Necklace is made up of diamonds from several sources, including a 22.48-ct. pear-shaped diamond pendant is known as the Lahore Diamond, a relic of Britain's 19th-century colonial history. On her coronation day, Queen Elizabeth donned the necklace and a matching pair of earrings.
With her coronation jewels, Catherine, Princess of Wales, paid tribute to the royal women who came before her, including a pair of diamond and South Sea pearl earrings once owned by her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana, and a three-strand diamond necklace once owned by Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September.
(King George VI commissioned the statement piece, known as the George VI Festoon Necklace, for his eldest daughter in 1950.)
Catherine wore a flowery crystal and silver headdress by Jess Collett x Alexander McQueen, which matched her custom Alexander McQueen gown.
About The Authors
Barbara Mitchell - Barbara is recognized by the industry leaders for her passion and objective to make beautiful jewellery accessible, affordable and forever wearable. She designs custom made jewelery made of gold and diamonds for more than 20 years. Her website, bernardine.com has been mentioned in many books such as "The 12 Gemstones of Revelation", "Teens Have Style!", "10-Minute Crystal Healing" and websites such as wikipedia.org, etsy.com, buzzfeed.com, yahoo.net.
