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  St. Edward's Crown was one of the English Crown Jewels and remains one of the senior British Crown Jewels, being the official coronation crown used in the coronation of first English, then British, and finally Commonwealth realms monarchs. As such, two-dimensional representation of the crown are used in coats of arms, badges, and various other insignia throughout the Commonwealth realms to indicate the authority of the reigning sovereign.
[edit] Physical versionThe modern St. Edward's Crown still contains much of the original created in 1661 for the coronation of King Charles II, as a replacement for the crown destroyed by Oliver Cromwell's order during the English Civil War, as well as pearls owned by Queen Elizabeth I. Constructed of solid gold, the crown's design includes a base, with four cross pattées alternating with four fleurs-de-lis, within which is a velvet cap with ermine border, and two arches above and surmounted by a cross, all set with 444 precious stones. Formerly the latter were hired for each coronation and then detached, leaving only the frame. However, in 1911 the jewels were set permanently. It is theorised that the present incarnation of the crown is a copy of that of King Edward the Confessor – which may itself have incorporated material from a crown of Alfred the Great[1] – rather than the original thought lost in 1216 by King John.[2] However, Arthur Penrhyn Stanley maintains that the original crown and regalia survived until 1642, and were kept in the Treasury of Westminster until the time of King Henry VIII.[3] The original crown of St. Edward, worn by him at Christmas in 1065, was reputedly used in the coronation on Christmas Day, 1066, of King William I, in token of his inheritance by right, rather than conquest. From then, it was subsequently used to crown monarchs until the first coronation of King Henry III in 1216, for which a chaplet was selected.[4] and when it was used in 1533 to crown Anne Boleyn.[5] Queen Victoria and King Edward VII chose not to be crowned with St. Edward's Crown because of its weight of 4 lb. 12 oz. (2155 g), choosing instead to be crowned with the lighter Imperial State Crown. [edit] Symbolic versionThough the physical St. Edward's Crown is property of the Queen in Right of the United Kingdom, its two-dimensional representation has come to be utilised throughout all the Commonwealth realms as an indication of each country's respective royal authority, thus appearing on coats of arms, badges for military and police units, and logos for government departments and private organizations with royal associations. In this use, it replaced the Tudor Crown by the command in 1953 of Queen Elizabeth II.[6][7] Such use of the crown is only by the personal permission of the sovereign.[8] [edit] See also[edit] References
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