If you’ve spotted a massive crown missing from the Crown Jewels exhibit at the Tower of London, don’t worry - there hasn’t been a heist. The Royal Family’s Twitter account announced today that St Edward’s Crown has been removed temporarily, as it’s currently being resized to fit Prince Charles’ head in time for his coronation.
St Edward’s Crown is one of the centerpieces of the royal collection and historically significant, as it’s the crown typically used at the moment of a regent’s coronation. (Queen Elizabeth II wore the crown in 1953 at her own coronation.) Dating back to 1661 and created by jeweller Robert Vyner, it features 440 gems including sapphires, rubies, amethysts and more across its arched design.
The King will be crowned with St Edward’s Crown during the Coronation Service at @Wabbey on 6 May 2023.Made for King Charles II in 1661, the Crown has been removed from the Tower of London to allow for resizing work to begin ahead of the Coronation.🔗 https://t.co/OAVH4JP6y5 pic.twitter.com/UrkGfshxaODecember 3, 2022
The Royal Family’s official website confirmed that Prince Charles will wear the crown for his own coronation next May and added it had been removed from the Tower of London for “modification work.” The ceremony is set to be held on May 6 at Westminster Abbey and a statement added Prince Charles would additionally wear the Imperial State Crown, which houses the controversial Koh-i-Noor diamond.
Queen Elizabeth previously revealed that there’s one drawback to wearing St Edward’s Crown: it weighs five pounds. She was reunited with the crown for the first time since her coronation in the BBC show The Coronation, where she was seen inspecting it. She attempted to lift it at one point, asking, “Is it still as heavy? Yes it is.”
Most people are more familiar with seeing the Imperial State Crown, a smaller crown which was typically worn by Queen Elizabeth during the state opening of parliament. Adorned with pearls, diamonds and gigantic historical gems, she revealed on The Coronation it had previously been taller during her father King George VI’s reign but had been downsized as it was “unwieldy.”
As with St Edward’s Crown, the Imperial State Crown is also very heavy. She said, “You can’t look down to read the speech [at the state opening of parliament], you have to take the speech up. Because if you did, your neck would break.”
“There are some disadvantages to crowns, but otherwise, they’re quite important things,” she continued.
