The Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, originally the Crown Jewels of England, are a collection of royal ceremonial objects kept in the Jewel House at the Tower of London, which include the coronation regalia and vestments worn by British monarchs. The coronation regalia are the only working set in Europe and the collection is the most historically complete of any royal regalia in the world. Objects used at the coronation ceremony variously denote the monarch's roles as head of state of the United Kingdom, Supreme Governor of the Church of England, and head of the British Armed Forces. The regalia feature heraldic devices and national emblems of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and other Commonwealth countries. Use of regalia by monarchs in England can be traced back to when the country was converted to Christianity in the Early Middle Ages. A permanent set of coronation regalia, once belonging to Edward the Confessor, was established after he was made a saint in the 12th century. The sacred holy relics were kept at Westminster Abbey, venue of coronations since 1066, while monarchs wore another set of regalia at religious feasts and State Openings of Parliament. Collectively, these objects came to be known as the Jewels of the Crown. Most of the collection dates from around 1660 when Charles II ascended the throne. The medieval and Tudor regalia had either been sold or melted down after the monarchy was abolished in 1649 during the English Civil War. Only four original items predate the Restoration: a late 12th-century anointing spoon (the oldest object) and three early 17th-century swords. The regalia continued to be used by British monarchs after the kingdoms of England and Scotland united in 1707. The regalia contain around 23,578 gemstones, among them Cullinan I (530 carats (106 g)), the largest clear cut diamond in the world, set in the Sovereign's Sceptre with Cross. It was cut from the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found, the eponymous Cullinan, discovered in South Africa in 1905 and presented to Edward VII. In the Imperial State Crown are Cullinan II (317 carats (63 g)), the Stuart Sapphire, St Edward's Sapphire, and the Black Prince's Ruby – a large red spinel. The Koh-i-Noor diamond (105 carats (21 g)) was acquired by Queen Victoria from the Sikh Empire and has featured on three consort crowns. A small number of disused objects at the Tower have been emptied of their stones and some are set with glass or crystal replicas. At a coronation, the monarch is anointed using holy oil poured from an ampulla into the spoon, invested with robes and ornaments, and crowned with St Edward's Crown. Afterwards, it is exchanged for the lighter Imperial State Crown, which is also usually worn at State Openings of Parliament. Wives of kings, known as queens consort, are invested with a plainer set of regalia. Also regarded as crown jewels are state swords, trumpets, ceremonial maces, church plate, historical regalia, banqueting plate, and royal christening fonts. They are part of the Royal Collection and belong to the institution of monarchy, passing from one sovereign to the next. At the Tower of London they are seen by around 2.8 million visitors per year.
History
Iron Age and Romans
The earliest known use of a crown in Britain was discovered by archaeologists in 1988 in Deal, Kent, and dates to between 200 and 150 BC. A sword, brooch, ceremonial shield, and decorated bronze crown with a single arch, which sat directly on the head of its wearer, were found inside the tomb of the Deal Warrior. During the Iron Age, crowns were symbols of religious and military authority. Priests continued to wear crowns following the Roman conquest of Britain in 43 AD. Excavations in the 1950s near a temple site in Hockwold cum Wilton, Norfolk, unearthed a bronze crown with two arches and depictions of male faces, as well as two bronze diadems, each with an adjustable headband and repoussé silver embellishments, dating from the Roman period. One diadem features a plaque in the centre depicting a man holding a sphere in his left hand and an object similar to a shepherd's crook in his right – analogues of the orb and sceptre, which evolved later as royal ornaments.
=== Anglo-Saxons === By the early 5th century, the Romans had withdrawn from Britain, and the Angles and the Saxons settled. A heptarchy of new kingdoms began to emerge. One method used by regional kings to solidify their authority was the use of ceremony and insignia. The tomb of an unknown king – evidence suggests Rædwald of East Anglia (r. circa 599 – 624) – at Sutton Hoo illustrates the regalia of a pre-Christian Anglo-Saxon monarch. Inside the early 7th-century tomb, discovered in 1939, was found the ornate Sutton Hoo helmet, consisting of an iron cap, a neck guard, and a face mask decorated with copper alloy images of animals and warriors set with garnets. He was also buried with a decorated sword; a ceremonial shield; and a heavy whetstone sceptre, on top of which is an iron ring surmounted by the figure of a stag. In 597, Pope Gregory I sent a mission led by the Benedictine monk Augustine to start the process of converting Pagan England to Christianity. After landing in the Kingdom of Kent, Augustine became the first Archbishop of Canterbury, and within two centuries the ritual of anointing new monarchs with holy oil and crowning them (initially with helmets) in a Christian ceremony had spread throughout the various neighbouring kingdoms. There was still no permanent set of coronation regalia; a new set was made for each monarch, with which they were buried upon death. In 9th-century Europe, gold crowns in the Byzantine tradition were replacing bronze, and gold soon became the standard metal for English royal crowns.
King Æthelstan (r. 924–939) united the Anglo-Saxon realms to form the Kingdom of England. In the earliest known depiction of an English king wearing a crown he is shown presenting a copy of Bede's Life of St Cuthbert to the saint himself. Until his reign, kings were portrayed on coins wearing helmets and circlets, or wreath-like diadems in the style of Roman emperor Constantine the Great. Whether they actually wore such an item is not known. Edgar the Peaceful (r. 959–975) was the first English king to be crowned with an actual crown, and a sceptre was also introduced for his coronation. After crowns, sceptres were the most potent symbols of royal authority in medieval England. Edward the Confessor (r. 1042–1066) is depicted wearing a crown and holding a sceptre in the first scene of the Bayeux Tapestry. Edward is thought to be the first English king to wear a crown with arches. Known as a 'closed' or imperial crown, the arches symbolised the king as an emperor of his own domain, subservient to no one but God, unlike some continental European rulers, who owed fealty to more powerful kings or the Holy Roman emperor. Few descriptions of the original crown survive, although one 17th-century historian noted it was "ancient Work with Flowers, adorn'd with Stones of somewhat a plain setting", and an inventory described it as "gold wire-work set with slight stones and two little bells", weighing 2.25 kilograms (79.5 oz).
=== Normans === William the Conqueror emerged as the first Norman king of England following his victory over the English at the Battle of Hastings. Wearing a crown became an important part of William I's efforts to assert authority over his new territory and subjects. At his death in 1087, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reported: "[William] kept great state … He wore his crown three times a year as often as he was in England … He was so stern and relentless … we must not forget the good order he kept in the land". The crown-wearings took place at feasts held on Christmas Day in Gloucester, Easter Day in Winchester, and Whitsun in Westminster, where the Archbishop or another high-ranking member of the clergy placed the crown on William's head before the royal council.
Plantagenets
In 1161, during the early years of the House of Plantagenet, the Anglo-Saxon king Edward the Confessor was made a saint, and objects connected with his reign became holy relics. The monks at his burial place, Westminster Abbey, claimed that Edward had asked them to look after his regalia in perpetuity and they were to be used at the coronation of all future kings. A note to this effect is contained in an inventory of precious relics drawn up by a monk at the abbey in 1450, recording a tunicle, dalmatic, pallium, and other vestments; a gold sceptre, two rods, a gold crown, comb, and spoon; a crown and two rods for the queen's coronation; and a chalice of onyx stone and a paten made of gold for the Holy Communion. Although the Abbey's claim is likely to have been an exercise in self-promotion, and some of the regalia had probably been taken from Edward's grave when he was reinterred there, it became accepted as fact, thereby establishing the first known set of hereditary coronation regalia in Europe. In the following centuries, some of these objects would fall out of use and the regalia would expand to include many others used or worn by monarchs and queens consort at coronations. In 1216, King John of England supposedly lost some of his jewels and plate after his baggage train was swamped by an incoming tide during the First Barons War. Whether any coronation regalia were among his lost treasures is undetermined. An object referred to as "St Edward's Crown" is first recorded as having been used for the coronation of John's eldest son Henry III (r. 1216–1272) and appears to be the same crown worn by Edward. Being crowned and invested with regalia owned by a previous monarch who was also a saint reinforced the king's legitimacy. The crown would be used in many subsequent coronations until its destruction in the 1600s. Also in the Royal Collection was an item called a state crown, which together with other crowns, rings, and swords, constituted the monarch's state regalia that were kept separate from the coronation regalia, mainly at royal palaces.
The handing over of crowns symbolised the transfer of power between rulers. Following the defeat in 1282 of the Welsh prince Llewelyn ap Gruffydd by Edward I (r. 1272–1307), the Welsh regalia, including the crown of the legendary King Arthur, were surrendered to England. According to the Chronicle of Aberconwy Abbey, "and so the glory of Wales and the Welsh was handed over to the kings of England". After the invasion of Scotland in 1296, the Stone of Scone was sent to the Tower of London "in recognition of a kingdom surrendered and conquered". It was fitted into a wooden chair, which came to be used for the investiture of English kings and known as the Coronation Chair. The Scottish regalia were also taken to London and offered at the shrine of Edward the Confessor; Scotland eventually regained its independence. In the treasury of Edward II (r. 1307–1327) there were no fewer than 10 crowns. When Richard II (r. 1377–1399) was forced to abdicate, he symbolically handed St Edward's Crown over to his successor with the words "I present and give to you this crown … and all the rights dependent on it". Monarchs often pledged items of state regalia as collateral for loans. Edward III (r. 1327–1377) pawned his magna corona to Baldwin of Luxembourg in 1339 for more than £16,650, equivalent to £22,572,528 in 2025. Three crowns and other jewels were held by the Bishop of London and the Earl of Arundel in the 1370s as security for £10,000 (equivalent to £5,844,000 in 2025). One crown was exchanged with the Corporation of London in 1386 for a loan of £4,000 (equivalent to £3,889,000 in 2025. Mayors, knights, peers, bankers, and other wealthy subjects sometimes released objects on a temporary basis for the royal family to use at state occasions. Monarchs also distributed plate and jewels to troops in lieu of money. In the 14th century, all of the state regalia were moved to the White Tower at the Tower of London owing to a series of successful and attempted thefts in Westminster Abbey. The holy relics of the coronation regalia stayed behind intact at the Abbey. Having fallen out of use in England in the 13th century, two arches topped with a monde and cross reappeared on the state crown during the reign of Henry V (r. 1413–1422), though arches did not feature on the Great Seal again until 1471.
=== Tudors and early Stuarts === The traditions established in the medieval period continued later. By the mid 15th century, a crown was formally worn on six religious feasts every year: Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Whitsun, All Saints' Day, and one or both feasts of St Edward. A crown was displayed and worn at the annual State Opening of Parliament. Also around this time, three swords – symbols of kingship since ancient times – were being used in the coronation ceremony to represent the king's powers in the administration of justice: the Sword of Spiritual Justice, the Sword of Temporal Justice, and the blunt Sword of Mercy.
An emerging item of regalia was the orb, described in Tudor inventories as a gold ball with a cross, which underlined the monarch's sovereignty. Orbs had been pictorial emblems of royal authority in England since the early Middle Ages, but a real orb was probably not used at any English coronation until Henry VIII (r. 1509–1547). State regalia increasingly passed from one monarch to the next. The best example of this was the Tudor Crown, probably created at the beginning of the Tudor dynasty. It first appears in a royal inventory during Henry VIII's reign and was one of three used at the coronation of each of his next three successors, the other two being St Edward's Crown and a "rich crown" made specially for the new monarch. After the English Reformation, when England broke away from the authority of the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of England denounced the veneration of medieval relics and downplayed the history of St Edward's regalia. The concept of hereditary state regalia was enshrined in English law in 1606 when James I (r. 1603–1625), the first Stuart king to rule England, decreed a list of "Roiall and Princely ornaments and Jewells to be indyvidually [sic] and inseparably for ever hereafter annexed to the Kingdome of this Realme". After James died, his son, Charles I (r. 1625–1649) ascended the throne. Desperate for money, one of his first acts was to load 41 masterpieces from the Jewel House onto a ship bound for Amsterdam – the hub of Europe's jewel trade. This hoard of unique treasures, including the Mirror of Great Britain brooch, a 14th-century pendant called the Three Brothers, a 4.7-kilogram (10 lb) gold salt cellar known as the Morris Dance, and much fine Elizabethan plate, was expected to swell the king's coffers by £300,000, but only £70,000 was realised. The Dutch proved reluctant to lend money on the jewels, considering that the English Parliament might declare the transactions invalid, as James had annexed the jewels to the crown and they were not Charles's personal property. Charles's many conflicts with Parliament, stemming from his belief in the divine right of kings and the many religious conflicts that pervaded his reign, triggered the English Civil War in 1642. Parliament deemed the regalia "Jewels of the Crown": their ownership was vested in the monarch by virtue of his public role as king and not owned by him personally. To avoid any legal risk to his subjects, Charles asked his wife, Henrietta Maria, to smuggle the inalienable property of the Crown abroad and sell it on the Dutch jewellery market. Upon learning of the scheme, the House of Lords and House of Commons both declared anyone involved in trafficking the Crown Jewels to be enemies of the state. Henrietta succeeded in disposing of a small quantity of jewels, albeit at a heavy discount, and shipped munitions back to England for the royalist cause. Two years later, Parliament seized 187 kilograms (412 lb) of rare silver-gilt pieces from the Jewel House and used the proceeds to bankroll its own side of the war.
Interregnum
After nine years of war, Charles was defeated and executed, and less than a week later, the Rump Parliament voted to abolish the monarchy. The newly created English Commonwealth found itself short of money. To raise funds, the Act for the Sale of the Goods and Personal Estate of the Late King, Queen and Prince was brought into law in 1649, and trustees were appointed to value the Jewels – then regarded by Oliver Cromwell as "symbolic of the detestable rule of kings" and "monuments of superstition and idolatry" – and sell them to the highest bidder. The most valuable object was Henry VIII's Crown, valued at £1,100 (equivalent to £166,900 in 2025. Their gemstones and pearls removed, most of the coronation and state regalia were melted down and struck into coins by the Mint. Two nuptial crowns survived: the Crown of Margaret of York and the Crown of Princess Blanche had been taken out of England centuries before the Civil War when Margaret and Blanche married kings in continental Europe. Both crowns and the 9th-century Alfred Jewel give a sense of the character of royal jewellery in England in the Middle Ages. Another rare survivor is the 600-year-old Crystal Sceptre, a gift from Henry V to the Lord Mayor of London, who still bears it at coronations. Many pieces of English plate that monarchs had presented to visiting dignitaries before the interregnum can be seen in museums throughout Europe. Cromwell declined Parliament's invitations to be made king and became Lord Protector. It was marked by a ceremony in Westminster Hall in 1657 where he donned purple robes, sat on the Coronation Chair, and was invested with many traditional symbols of sovereignty, except a crown. A crown—probably made of gilded base metal—was placed beside Cromwell at his lying in state in 1660.
=== Restoration to present === The monarchy was restored after Cromwell's death. For the English coronation of Charles II (r. 1660–1685), who returned from exile abroad, new Jewels were made based on records of the lost items. They were supplied by the banker and royal goldsmith, Sir Robert Vyner, at a cost of £12,184 7s 2d – as much as three warships. It was decided to fashion the replicas like the medieval regalia and to use the original names. These 22-carat gold objects, made in 1660 and 1661, form the nucleus of the Crown Jewels: St Edward's Crown, two sceptres, an orb, an ampulla, a pair of spurs, a pair of armills or bracelets, and a staff. A medieval silver-gilt anointing spoon and three early Stuart swords had survived and were returned to the Crown, and the Dutch ambassador arranged the return of extant jewels pawned in Holland. The king also spent £11,800 acquiring 2,270 kilograms (5,000 lb) of altar and banqueting plate, and received conciliatory gifts from English cities that were Parliamentarian strongholds during the civil war.
In 1669, the Jewels went on public display for the first time in the Jewel House at the Tower of London. The Deputy Keeper of the Jewel House took the regalia out of a cupboard and showed it to visitors for a small fee. This informal arrangement was ended two years later when Thomas Blood, an Irish-born army officer loyal to Parliament, attacked the 77-year-old deputy and stole a crown, a sceptre, and an orb. Blood and his three accomplices were apprehended at the castle perimeter. The crown had been flattened with a mallet in an attempt to conceal it, and there was a dent in the orb. Blood was pardoned by the king, who also gave him land and a pension; it has been suggested that Blood was treated leniently because he was a government spy. Ever since, the Jewels have been protected by armed guards. Since the Restoration, there have been many additions and alterations to the regalia. A new set was commissioned in 1685 for Mary of Modena, the first queen consort to be crowned since the Restoration (Charles II was unmarried when he took the throne). Another, more elaborate set had to be made for Mary II (r. 1689–1694), who was crowned as joint sovereign with her husband William III (r. 1689–1702). After England and Scotland were united as one kingdom by the Acts of Union 1707, the Scottish regalia were locked away in a chest, and the English regalia continued to be used by British monarchs. Gemstones were hired for coronations – the fee typically being 4% of their value – and replaced with glass and crystals for display in the Jewel House, a practice that continued until the early 20th century. As enemy planes targeted London during the Second World War, the Crown Jewels were secretly moved to Windsor Castle. The most valuable gemstones were taken out of their settings by James Mann, Master of the Armouries, and Sir Owen Morshead, the Royal Librarian. They were wrapped in cotton wool, placed in a tall glass preserving-jar, which was then sealed in a biscuit tin, and hidden in the castle's basement. Also placed in the jar was a note from the King, stating that he had personally directed that the gemstones be removed from their settings. As the Crown Jewels were bulky and thus difficult to transport without a vehicle, the idea was that if the Nazis invaded Britain, the historic precious stones could easily be carried on someone's person without drawing suspicion and, if necessary, buried or sunk. After the war, the Jewels were kept in a vault at the Bank of England for two years while bomb damage to the Jewel House was being repaired. In May 2023, St Edward's Crown was placed on the head of Charles III (r. 2022–present) in the only ceremony of its kind in Europe. Other European monarchies have abandoned coronations in favour of secular ceremonies. The Crown Jewels consist of approximately 140 objects, which are permanently set with around 23,578 precious and semi-precious stones, and are seen by around 2.8 million visitors per year.
== Crowns == Crowns are the main symbols of royal authority. All crowns in the Tower are decorated with alternating crosses pattée and fleurs-de-lis, a pattern which first appears on the great seal of Richard III, and their arches are surmounted with a monde and cross pattée. Most of the crowns also have a red or purple velvet cap and an ermine border.
St Edward's Crown
The centrepiece of the coronation regalia is named after Edward the Confessor and is placed on the monarch's head at the moment of crowning. Made of gold and completed in 1661, St Edward's Crown is embellished with 444 stones, including amethysts, garnets, peridots, rubies, sapphires, topazes, tourmalines and zircons. This coronation crown closely resembles the medieval one, with a heavy gold base and clusters of semi-precious stones, but the disproportionately large arches are a Baroque affectation. It was long assumed to be the original as their weight is almost identical and an invoice produced in 1661 was for the addition of gold to an existing crown. In 2008, new research found that it had actually been made in 1660 and was enhanced the following year when Parliament increased the budget for Charles II's twice-delayed coronation. The crown is 30 centimetres (11.8 in) tall and at a weight of 2.23 kg (4.9 lb) has been noted to be extremely heavy. After 1689, monarchs chose to be crowned with a lighter, bespoke coronation crown (e.g., that of George IV) or their state crown, while St Edward's Crown rested on the high altar. At Queen Victoria's coronation in 1838 it was entirely absent from the ceremony. The tradition of using St Edward's Crown was revived in 1911 by George V and has continued ever since. In 1953 Elizabeth II opted for a stylised image of this crown to be used on coats of arms, badges, logos and various other insignia in the Commonwealth realms to symbolise her royal authority, replacing the image of a Tudor-style crown adopted in 1901 by Edward VII.
Imperial State Crown
A much lighter crown is worn by the monarch when leaving Westminster Abbey, and at the annual State Opening of Parliament. The current Imperial State Crown was made in 1937 for George VI and is a copy of the one made in 1838 for Queen Victoria, which had fallen into a poor state of repair, and had been made using gems from its own predecessor, the State Crown of George I. In 1953, the crown was resized to fit Elizabeth II, and the arches were lowered by 2.5 cm (1 in). The gold, silver and platinum crown is decorated with 2,868 diamonds, 273 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds and 5 rubies. Among the largest stones are the 317-carat (63 g) Cullinan II diamond, also known as the Second Star of Africa, added to the crown in 1909 (the larger Cullinan I is set in the Sovereign's Sceptre). The 170-carat (34 g) Black Prince's Ruby, set in the front cross, is not actually a ruby but a large cabochon red spinel. According to legend it was given to Edward the Black Prince by the Spanish king Peter of Castile in 1367 and Henry V wore it at the Battle of Agincourt. How the stone found its way back into the Royal Collection after the Interregnum is unclear, but a substantial "ruby" was acquired for the Crown Jewels in 1661 at a cost of £400 (equivalent to £65,000 in 2025), and this may well have been the spinel. On the back of the crown is the 104-carat (20.8 g) cabochon Stuart Sapphire, and in the top cross is St Edward's Sapphire, reputedly taken from the ring of the Confessor when his body was re-interred at the Abbey in 1163. Below the monde hang four pearls, three of which are often said to have belonged to Elizabeth I, but the association is almost certainly erroneous.
=== Consort crowns === After the Restoration, the wife of a king, known as a queen consort, traditionally wore the State Crown of Mary of Modena, who first wore it at her coronation in 1685. Originally set with 561 hired diamonds and 129 pearls, it was re-set with crystals and cultured pearls for display in the Jewel House along with a matching diadem that consorts wore in procession to the Abbey. The diadem once held 177 diamonds, 1 ruby, 1 sapphire, and 1 emerald. By the 19th century, that crown was judged to be too theatrical and in a poor state of repair, so in 1831 the Crown of Queen Adelaide was made for Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen using gemstones from her private jewellery.
Thus began a tradition of each queen consort having a custom-made crown. In 1902 the Crown of Queen Alexandra, a European-style crown – flatter and with eight half-arches instead of the typical four – was made for Alexandra of Denmark to wear at her coronation. Set with over 3,000 diamonds, it was the first consort crown to include the Koh-i-Noor diamond presented to Queen Victoria in 1850 following the British conquest of the Punjab. Originally 191 carats (38 g) and set in an armlet, it was cut down to an oval brilliant weighing 105 carats (21 g), which Victoria mounted in a brooch and circlet. The Crown of Queen Mary was the second to contain the Koh-i-Noor; also unusual for a British crown owing to its eight half-arches, it was made in 1911 for Mary of Teck. Mary purchased the Art Deco-inspired crown with her own money hoping it would become an heirloom used by future queens consort. Altogether, it was adorned with 2,200 diamonds, and contained the 94.4-carat (19 g) Cullinan III and 63.4-carat (13 g) Cullinan IV diamonds. Its arches were made detachable in 1914 allowing it to be worn as an open crown or circlet. After George V's death, Mary continued wearing the crown (without its arches) as a queen mother, so the Crown of Queen Elizabeth was created for Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, later known as the Queen Mother, to wear at her coronation in 1937. It is the only British crown made entirely out of platinum, and was modelled on Queen Mary's Crown, but has four half-arches instead of eight. The crown is decorated with about 2,800 diamonds, with the Koh-i-Noor in the middle of the front cross. It also contains a replica of the 22.5-carat (5 g) Lahore Diamond given to Queen Victoria by the East India Company in 1851, and a 17.3-carat (3 g) diamond given to her by Abdülmecid I, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, in 1856. The crown was laid on top of the Queen Mother's coffin in 2002 during her lying in state and funeral. The crowns of Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary feature crystal replicas of the Koh-i-Noor, which has been the subject of repeated controversy, with governments of both India and Pakistan claiming to be the diamond's rightful owners and demanding its return ever since gaining independence from the UK. Queen Camilla was crowned using Queen Mary's crown at her coronation with Charles III on 6 May 2023. Alterations included re-setting the crown with the original Cullinan diamonds and reducing the number of half-arches from eight to four. The Cullinan V brooch replaced the Koh-i-Noor and a new purple velvet cap was also fitted into the crown. It was officially renamed Queen Camilla's Crown in January 2025.
Prince of Wales coronets
A relatively modest gold coronet was made in 1728 for Frederick, Prince of Wales, the eldest son of George II. It takes the form laid down in a royal warrant issued by Charles II in 1677, which states "the Son & Heir apparent of the Crown for the time being shall use & bear his coronett composed of crosses & flowers de Lizs with one Arch & in the midst a Ball & Cross". The single arch denotes inferiority to the monarch while showing that the prince outranks other royal children, whose coronets have no arches. Frederick never wore his coronet; instead, it was placed on a cushion in front of him when he first took his seat in the House of Lords. It was subsequently used by George III, George IV, and Edward VII when they were Princes of Wales. Due to its age, a new silver-gilt coronet was made for the future George V to wear at Edward VII's coronation in 1902. In contrast to the earlier coronet, which has a depressed arch, the arch on this one is raised. At George's coronation in 1911 the coronet was worn by his eldest son, Edward, who was invested as Prince of Wales at Caernarfon Castle a month later. The revival of this public ceremony, last performed in the early 17th century, was intended to boost the Royal family's profile in Wales. Princely regalia known as the Honours of Wales were designed for the occasion by Goscombe John, comprising a Welsh gold circlet with pearls, amethysts and engraved daffodils; a rod; a ring; a sword; and a robe with doublet and sash. After he became king in 1936, Edward VIII abdicated the same year and emigrated to France, where the 1902 coronet remained in his possession until his death in 1972. In its absence, a new coronet had to be created in 1969 for the investiture of the future Charles III, which is made from gold and platinum and is set with diamonds and emeralds. Both it and the rod were added to the Jewel House in 2020, joining the 1728 and 1902 coronets. Breaking with tradition, Prince William did not wear a coronet at his father's coronation in 2023 due to the general headcount-reducing ban on coronets, since each would have required a pageboy to carry it.
Non-coronation crowns
In the Jewel House there are two crowns that were never intended to be worn at a coronation. When George V attended the Delhi Durbar in 1911 to be proclaimed (but not crowned) as Emperor of India, he wore the Imperial Crown of India. As the British constitution forbids coronation regalia to leave the United Kingdom, it was not possible for him to wear St Edward's Crown or the Imperial State Crown, so a new crown had to be made specially for the event. It contains 6,170 diamonds, 9 emeralds, 4 rubies and 4 sapphires. The crown has not been used since, and is now considered a part of the Crown Jewels. Queen Victoria's Small Diamond Crown is 10 cm (4 in) tall and was made in 1870 using 1,187 diamonds for Victoria to wear on top of her widow's cap following the death of her husband, Prince Albert. She often wore it at State Openings of Parliament in place of the much heavier Imperial State Crown. After Victoria's death in 1901, the crown passed to her daughter-in-law, Queen Alexandra, and it was subsequently worn by Queen Mary.
== Processional objects == A coronation begins with the procession into Westminster Abbey.
Swords
The swords of state reflect a monarch's role as Head of the British Armed Forces and Defender of the Faith. Three are carried before the monarch into the Abbey: the blunt Sword of Mercy (also known as Curtana), the Sword of Spiritual Justice, and the Sword of Temporal Justice. All are believed to have been supplied at the time of James I between 1610 and 1620, probably by a member of the Worshipful Company of Cutlers, using blades created in the 1580s by Italian bladesmiths Giandonato and Andrea Ferrara. They were deposited with St Edward's regalia at the Abbey by Charles II. Before that point, new swords had been made for each coronation since the 15th century. Sold in the civil war, they were returned at the Restoration, and their use was first recorded at the coronation of James II in 1685. The two-handed Sword of State, made in 1678, symbolises the monarch's authority and is also carried before the monarch at State Openings of Parliament. Its wooden sheath, made in 1689, is bound in crimson velvet decorated with silver-gilt emblems of England, Scotland and Ireland, fleurs-de-lis, and portcullises. The lion of England and unicorn of Scotland form the cross-piece to the sword's handle. The sword weighs 3.6 kg (8 lb) and is 1.2 m (4 ft) long. During a coronation it must be held for much of the service pointing upwards without touching the body by the Lord President of the Privy Council. Before the investiture, the unwieldy Sword of State is exchanged for the lighter Sword of Offering, which is described as "the one true coronation sword". Commissioned by George IV for his extravagant 1821 coronation, its gilded leather sheath is encrusted with 1,251 diamonds, 16 rubies, 2 sapphires and 2 turquoises. The sword has a partly blued and gilt steel blade, and its handle is set with 2,141 diamonds, 12 emeralds and 4 rubies. The stones are arranged to form roses, thistles, shamrocks, oak leaves and acorns. Two diamond lion heads, one at each end of the cross-piece, have ruby eyes. George paid more than £5,000 (equivalent to £475,000 in 2025) for the sword out of his own pocket in a radical change from the austere £2 swords used by his 18th-century predecessors. It remained in the Royal family's personal ownership until 1903 when it was deposited with the Crown Jewels and has been used at every coronation since 1911. A monarch is girded and blessed using the sword, which is returned to the Keeper of the Jewel House by the Abbey for a token sum of £5, and is borne unsheathed for the rest of the ceremony. The 17th-century Irish Sword of State was held by the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (a viceroy) prior to Ireland's independence from the UK in 1922 and has been displayed in the Jewel House since 1959. The handle takes the form of a lion and a unicorn and is decorated with a Celtic harp. Each new viceroy was invested with the sword at Dublin Castle where it usually sat across the arms of a throne, representing the king or queen in their absence. It was borne in procession in front of monarchs during their official visits to Dublin. In June 1921 the sword was present at the official opening of the Parliament of Northern Ireland by George V. The sword was displayed at Dublin Castle in 2018 as part of the 'Making Majesty' exhibition – the first time it had been to Ireland in 95 years.
=== St Edward's Staff === St Edward's Staff is a 1.4-metre-long (4.6 ft) ceremonial gold walking stick made for Charles II in 1661. It has a plain monde and cross at the top and a steel pike at the bottom. This object is almost certainly a copy of the long rod mentioned in the list of royal plate and jewels destroyed in 1649, although the pre-Interregnum version was gold and silver and topped by a dove. The staff's intended role in the coronation has been forgotten since medieval times, and so it is carried into the Abbey by a peer as a holy relic and laid on the altar, where it remains throughout the ceremony. Contemporary records suggest that Charles II walked down the aisle with it in procession from the entrance of the Abbey.
Trumpets
The Crown Jewels include 16 silver trumpets dating from between 1780 and 1848. Nine are draped with red silk damask banners embroidered with coats of arms in gold, originally made for Queen Victoria's coronation in 1838. They have not been used since the Corps of State Trumpeters was disbanded as a cost-cutting measure in the 19th century. The trumpeters' main job was to sound a fanfare at key points in the coronation, and they also played at the banquet afterwards in Westminster Hall. Today, the Band of the Household Cavalry and the Central Band of the Royal Air Force play their own trumpets at state occasions.
=== Maces === Originally lethal weapons of medieval knights, maces evolved into ceremonial objects carried by sergeants-at-arms to represent the monarch's authority. In parliament, the House of Commons can only operate lawfully when the royal mace – dating from Charles II's reign – is present at the table. Two other maces dating from the reigns of Charles II and William III are used by the House of Lords, one of which is placed on the Woolsack before the house meets and is absent when a monarch is there in person delivering the King's or Queen's Speech. In the late 17th century there were 16 maces, but only 13 survive, 10 of which are kept at the Tower of London. Two maces from the Tower are carried in the royal procession at State Openings of Parliament and coronations. Each silver-gilt mace, made between 1660 and 1695, is around 1.5 m (5 ft) long and weighs an average of 10 kg (22 lb).
== Anointing objects == When a monarch is anointed, the Dean of Westminster first pours holy anointing oil from an ampulla into a spoon.
Ampulla
The Ampulla, 20.5 cm (8 in) tall and weighing 660 g (1 lb 7+1⁄4 oz), is a hollow gold vessel made in 1661 and shaped like an eagle with outspread wings. Its head unscrews, enabling the vessel to be filled with oil, which exits via a hole in the beak. The original ampulla was a small stone phial, sometimes worn around the neck as a pendant by kings, and otherwise kept inside an eagle-shaped golden reliquary. According to 14th-century legend, the Virgin Mary appeared to Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until 1170, and presented him with a gold eagle and some oil for anointing English kings. This ampulla was first recorded as being used at Henry IV's coronation in 1399 and was deposited for safekeeping with St Edward's regalia at the Abbey by Richard III in 1483. Known as the Holy Oil of St Thomas, the same batch was used to anoint all subsequent kings and queens (except Mary I) until it eventually ran out in 1625. It is unclear why, after the Restoration, the vessel itself came to be reinterpreted as an eagle standing on a domed base. In terms of religious importance, the anointing objects are second only to St Edward's Crown, and in 2013 the ampulla stood beside the crown on the altar of Westminster Abbey at a service marking the 60th anniversary of Elizabeth II's coronation.
=== Coronation Spoon === The 27-centimetre-long (10+1⁄2 in) Coronation Spoon, which dates from the late 12th century, is silver-gilt and set with four pearls added in the 17th century. A ridge divides the bowl in half, creating grooves into which the Archbishop of Canterbury dips two fingers and anoints the monarch as Supreme Governor of the Church of England. Originally, it may have been used for mixing water and wine in a chalice. The spoon is first known to have been used to anoint a monarch at the English coronation of James I in 1603. It is the oldest surviving piece of the Crown Jewels (and the only surviving English royal goldsmith's work from the 1100s), first recorded in the Royal Collection in 1349 as "a spoon of ancient form", and was probably made for Henry II or Richard I. In 1649 the spoon was sold for 16 shillings to Clement Kynnersley, Yeoman of the Removing Wardrobe, who returned it to Charles II upon the restoration of the monarchy.
== Robes and ornaments == The anointing is followed by investing with coronations robes and ornaments.