The British Imperial Crown, placed on the coffin of Elizabeth II during the procession that took her from Buckingham Palace to Westminster on Wednesday, is one of the most famous pieces of jewelery covered in precious stones in the world. and a symbol of royal power.
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Mounted in a gold frame and adorned within with a purple velvet cap, the imperial crown is decorated with 2,868 diamonds and numerous precious stones, including 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds and 269 pearls.
Symbol of the monarchy and the divine power of the sovereign, it is carried by the monarch on his way out of Westminster Abbey just after his coronation. However, it is the crown of Saint Edward, twice as heavy, up to 2 kg, that the Archbishop of Canterbury places on the sovereign’s head during the coronation ceremony inside the abbey.
Made in 1937 by the crown jeweler Garrad & Co for King George VI, it is modeled after the one worn by Queen Victoria, created in 1838, with an ermine hair base.
Among its numerous gems stands out, at the front, a gigantic 317-carat diamond, known as Cullinan II or “second star of Africa”. It is linked to the “Stuart sapphire” on the back by a border bounded by a row of pearls and adorned with eight emeralds and eight sapphires surrounded by diamonds.
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Two bows made of diamonds and more pearls, whose front base houses the “black prince’s ruby” – actually a spinel – surround the cap. Atop the crown, four pear-shaped pearls set in pink diamond settings form what are known as “Queen Elizabeth earrings.”
Above them rise a sphere covered in diamonds and a square cross bearing in its center the “sapphire of Saint Edward” which, it is claimed, would have belonged to Edward the Conqueror, who came to the throne of England in 1042.
Between the arches are four fleurs-de-lys, each decorated with a ruby.
Guarded in the Tower of London along with the other jewels of the British monarchy, the imperial crown, 31.5 cm high, used to be worn by Elizabeth II each year when she delivered the “throne speech” at the opening ceremony of the parliamentary session.
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The term “imperial state crown” dates back to the 15th century, when English monarchs chose an arched crown conception to demonstrate that England was not subject to any other power on the planet, according to the Royal Collection Trust, a body that oversees the collections of the British royal family.
AFP
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