Her Excellency the Crown of the British Empire - an admirable relic, eye-catching, is shrouded in legends, stories and tales. They tried to seize and conquer it. She talks a lot about her, but the current generation knows very little. The crown of the British Empire is not just the jewelry of the Queen of Great Britain, symbolizing power, it is first of all the great history of the majestic state, it is the heritage of the people and the priceless regalia of the huge kingdom.
View of the crown of power
The Crown of the British Empire is a jewelry creation, made similar to the crown of St. Edward. This is a crown trimmed with priceless stones, on which crosses with heraldic lilies alternate. Half cross, decorated with pearls, rises above the crosses. The semi-bow is closed by the ball on which the cross is located. Jewelry creations weigh 910 grams. The basis is a velvet, purple-colored hat with a white edge, also decorated with stones. The miracle of jewelry contains:
- Two thousand eight hundred sixty eight diamonds.
- Two hundred seventy three pearls.
- seventeen sapphires.
- Eleven Emeralds.
- Five rubies.
The gems in the crown of the British Empire have their own history. Special attention deserves: the sapphire of St. Edward, the ruby of the black prince, the diamond Cullinan - II (also called the small star of Africa), the sapphire of the Stuarts.
Sapphire of St. Edward
The stone is located on top of the crown. The oldest sapphire set in a cross. Legend has it that stone was the value of Edward the Confessor, whose rule dates back to the beginning of the 11th century. Sapphire is shrouded in legend. The sapphire ring was donated to a beggar. Many years later, he marvelously returned to the ruler, along with a prediction of his imminent death. The predictions came true. But miracles did not end there. Several centuries later, the tomb of St. Edward was opened. And what was the surprise of the English when they saw that the body of St. Edward had not suffered any changes at all and remained the same. It is worth mentioning that he was buried with a ring. After opening the grave, people began to believe that sapphire is endowed with healing properties and supposedly heals all diseases. Today, the wonder stone adorns the very top of the crown of the British Empire.
Ruby of the Black Prince
The treasure belonged to Edward of Wales, in sorrow for the dead bride, he wore exclusively black backgammon. Hence the name of the jewel. He adorned the crown of monarchs for centuries. According to ancient legends, it brings good luck and protects from the dangers of the empire's monarchs.
Diamond Cullinan –II
The smallest star in Africa is a particle of the largest diamond in the world (three thousand one hundred and six carats), which was found at the beginning of the 20th century. But over time, not large cracks appeared on it. Diamond decided to split into many small particles. The split resulted in a pair of large diamonds, seven medium-sized diamonds and ninety-six small ones. One of the two large to this day is located on the British crown, and the second on the scepter.
Sapphire Stuart
Sapphire for a long time belonged to the noble family of the Stuarts. It was the inheritance of many monarchs, passed from mother to children, until in the end it became an ornament of Queen Victoria’s symbol of power. At first he adorned the jewelry in front, but then was moved back. It weighs 104 carats.
Crown of the British Empire: the story of creation
The history of the aforementioned crown has an interesting origin. It underwent many transformations, it was destroyed and restored again, collected in parts, made exact copies of previous samples. This is not just a monarch jewelry. The imperial crown of the British Empire is the property of the united kingdom, a symbol of power and position in society.
In the 17th century, England abandoned the monarchy. The British decided to completely get rid of all the attributes of the kingdom. They committed an act of vandalism, breaking the royal crown. Gemstones and pearls were seized and sold, gold was smelted. But this is far from all the trials that the crown of British power survived.
The history of the crown of St. Edward is generally shrouded in mystery. Quite controversial are all the legends regarding the relic. One of the stories says that the crown drowned with all the gold in 1216. But if you study the materials in detail, it becomes clear that she simply disappeared. There are no exact facts indicating that the crown has drowned. It may well be that it was hidden by John Landless. The next few centuries, the crown was remade by everyone who could. Gems changed over and over again. Her weight was constantly changing. She was constantly weighted and immediately facilitated. What remained unchanged in the crown of St. Edward was the design. It was a crown decorated with four crosses, alternating with lilies, over which towered a half-arc converging into a ball with a cross. The size of the product has also been repeatedly changed. In the mid-1600s, the crown will undergo tremendous changes again. Oliver Cromwell will give the name to the crown: “a symbol of disgusting royal self-government” and order to get rid of it. In 1660, Charles II completely restored the symbol of the greatness of his dynasty. But the transfiguration of the royal crown will not stop there.
Wilhelms and Georges are thoroughly refined over the head symbol of kings and queens. The crowns of power during their reign will take on rather bizarre forms. And only in the early 1800s, Queen Victoria will stop this mess. She will establish a unified state relic. But fate decides otherwise - in 1845, during the parliamentary session, the court duke Argyll will drop the crown. And again the crown of St. Edward will become a symbol of the monarchy.
Changes awaited the crown of power back in 1937 and 1953, but they were completely insignificant. Until our time, the crown of the British Empire has remained unchanged.
Nowadays, the Queen of Great Britain does not wear the crown daily. It is worn only in two cases:
- Exclusively before the monarch goes to the coronation. It is strange that the symbol of the kingdom does not participate in the coronation.
- The monarch puts on a sign of power before the opening of the session of Parliament.
The crowns of power of other states
The crown is a symbol of the power of the monarch. The greatest Russian empire was no exception, the emperor’s power was also symbolized by the crown. To be more precise, the Empress. In 1762, the Great Imperial Crown of the Russian Empire was executed, which was crowned Catherine II. It was made of gold and silver. The crown of the empire was all strewn with diamonds. The only condition was the weight of the crown; it should not exceed two kilograms. The jewelry marvel was ready two months after the order. It was the most famous crown of the empire, it symbolized the upper power. It has the shape of the headdress of the Sultans (the golden rim, which is the base of the two hemispheres). The hemisphere is made of silver inlaid with diamonds. Hemispheres, divided by a crown, on which is located a cross with five diamonds. 4936 diamonds, as well as 72 pearls, were placed in the crown. The crown height is 27.5 cm. The ruby decorating the crown was purchased in 1672. A very famous gem adorning more than one crown of emperors.
Any revolution brings ruin to the state. October is no exception. The country was impoverished, the crown of the empire became collateral. And only in 1950 the value of the greatest Russian empire returned to the state.
The crowns of the British and Russian empires are made with many precious stones, they symbolize the greatest power of the monarchs, who bow only before the Almighty. The power of a monarch is power from God.
The similarities of the crowns of power
If you are asked: "Compare the imperial crowns of the British Empire and the Russian Empire," then you will surely trace some similarities. It is the purpose of the crown. Any crown, as already noted earlier, is a symbol of the power of the monarch, the power of the empire.
Both crowns (British and Russian) are made using a huge number of diamonds, sapphires, pearls, they can safely be called an invaluable asset of the great powers. These are not just expensive jewelry - they are royal regalia.
The cross on crowns symbolizes the divine principle. The monarch is not just a person, he is a lord worshiping only God.
The difference between the crowns of power
The imperial crowns of the British Empire and the Russian Empire have the following differences:
- The crown of Russia, in contrast to the crown of the British Empire, symbolizes the reunion of East and West after the victory over the Ottoman Empire. The vertical rim with a cross is a symbol of the Ural mountains. The pearls are laid out in a V-shape and say about the great victories of the empire (victoria).
- The crown of the British Empire is made using precious stones, which in themselves have a great history and great importance for the state
- The Russian crown is currently the historical heritage of the Russian Federation, but the British is the state regalia.
- The history of the British crown is rooted in the distant past. She is shrouded in stories and legends. While the jewelry miracle of the Russian Empire was born only in 1762.
- The crown of the British Empire underwent many transformations, in contrast to the crown of Russia.
Instead of an afterword
Of course, the crowns of empires have many differences, probably, it makes no sense to make a comparison of the crown of the British Empire and the Russian Empire. It's not just jewelry of different sizes and weights, crowns - these are primarily symbols of completely different states. One carries the greatest story, the second has great meaning. But in one and in the second case, this is an invaluable asset of the people whom they are proud, cherished and extolled for many centuries.