British Crown Jewels

[Grandduchess24]

Plus. Is it true that when visiting the tower of London , pictures can't be taken? Visitors can see but not keep a memory of the jewels?drats

 

[MARG]

I assume that like most "Historic Places", Museums, Art Galleries, etc. they sell photo postcards, books, pictorial calendars and even DVD's. This helps with the upkeep and maintenance of the properties; buildings, art, jewellery, etc. Besides which, flash photography can damage very old paintings, cloth, and suchlike.

 

[Daisiesforever]

This is true. In places like the Cistine Chapel, flash photography is also forbidden. The bright light has a "fading effect on the colour of the "old" paint. The fact that photography is forbidden in the Tower is also very much owing to a security aspect. I love visiting the Tower. Just wish that a lot more of the jewellry from the Windsor vault was on dsiplay for everyone to enjoy.

 

[blauerengel]

I´ve seen the crown jewels but didn´t make pictures myself,sometimes it´s better to buy post cards/booklets in a museum or church,because they usually pick good professional pictures,you support the museum and it doesn´t damage the historic pictures/other valuables...My father often ignores this rule and uses camera with flash where it´s not allowed-we always discuss this because I think it´s not only disrespectful but it can also damage old pictures!And it´s much better to look at certain exceptional pieces with great care instead of running through the rooms taking pictures like Japanese tourist sometimes do....If you have time/talent you can make drawings of certain artworks which is not only a good practice but will also make you remember the piece better so that you won´t have to buy a postcard to keep it in your mind ;-)

 

[Elly C]

Just wish that a lot more of the jewellry from the Windsor vault was on dsiplay for everyone to enjoy.

This post got me wondering. Does the collection on display ever change?

 

[NGalitzine]

Well the term "Crown Jewels" refers to very specific pieces, ie the Coronation Regalia and other older historic pieces. These are at the Tower of London.
There is also the Crown Collection which are jewels that have been passed down by previous monarchs and consorts for the use of current monarchs and consorts. Some of these pieces are very occassionally put on display in the Queens Gallery at Buckingham Palace. Then there is the private jewel collection of the Queen which is unlikely to be put on display other than when being worn by the Queen or her close relatives. It is from the private collection that The Queen loans/gives tiaras and other pieces to new daughters in law or granddaughters in law.

 

[Elly C]

Thank you for this The Crown Collection intrigues me = so I take it these would be pieces officially presented/ made for the monarch. Are the Crown Jewels strictly defined as items that have been used as part of a coronation ceremony?

 

[NGalitzine]

Well the "Crown Jewels" are the regalia of the kingdom and as a general rule only shows up at coronations but does include a few historic crowns no longer used at all. This would include the Imperial State Crown which you see the Queen wear each year at the State Opening of Parliament.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Crown_Jewels

 

[blauerengel]

Crown Jewels video

The British crown jewels are so precious that they travel in secret and can only be handled by one man, the crown jeweler. He gives a guided tour of the crown, which Queen Elizabeth II dons for the incredibly lush and symbolic ceremony that opens Parliament each year.

Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work | The Crown Jewels | PBS - YouTube
.

 

[Warren]

One's gold salt cellar... the Queen's treasures revealed in sparkling new book | Mail Online

"There are no jewels quite like the Crown Jewels. And now, almost six decades after their last great public outing, a new book portrays them as never before and tells the fascinating story of their creation. "

​

• Some great pictures in the above Mail Online link.
.

 

[IloveCP]

The Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor: Royal Splendor 101: Crown Jewels

The Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor: Royal Splendor 101: On Jewel Ownership

The Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor: Royal Splendor 101: Jewels for Queen Elizabeth's Crowning
.

 

[Thena]

Plus. Is it true that when visiting the tower of London , pictures can't be taken? Visitors can see but not keep a memory of the jewels?drats

I can vouch for the no pictures rule. On my last trip to the Tower of London with my dad, he decided that the "No pictures" signs only applied to still photography. So as we were approaching the displays with St. Edward's Crown and the Imperial State Crown, he pulled out his camcorder. Within seconds, a guard came out of nowhere and had his hand over the lens. We were then escorted out of the Jewel House.

I was able to pick up a very nice pictorial guide to the Crown Jewels at the Windsor Castle gift shop, at least.

On another subject, looking at the picture of the coronation ring reminds me of a story I heard on that trip. I was told that Queen Victoria had a smaller coronation ring made for her own coronation. The ring was sized for her pinkie, but the archbishop insisted on placing the ring on her ring finger. She was left in pain and had a really tough time removing the ring after the coronation. I can't seem to find any reference to that story anywhere. Has anyone else heard it?

 

[EIIR]

This is correct, Queen Victoria confirms the story in her own diary:

"The Archbishop had (most awkwardly) put the ring on the wrong finger, and the consequence was that I had the greatest difficulty to take it off again, which I at last did with great pain..."

Victoria's own account of her coronation is pretty touching and cab be read here:
The Coronation of Queen Victoria - The British Monarchy
.

 

[purple_Lulu]

I can vouch for the no pictures rule. On my last trip to the Tower of London with my dad, he decided that the "No pictures" signs only applied to still photography. So as we were approaching the displays with St. Edward's Crown and the Imperial State Crown, he pulled out his camcorder. Within seconds, a guard came out of nowhere and had his hand over the lens. We were then escorted out of the Jewel House.

When I visited the Tower in 1988 (well before the days of digital photography) we queued to visit the Jewel House, and hanging in prominent display near the entrance was a little net bag containing rolls of film confiscated from cameras of tourists wanting a pictorial memory of the Crown Jewels. It certainly made one wonder how many other holiday memories had been forfeited!

 

[Grandduchess24]

In this pic (source: hola) is Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II wearing the miniatures of her parents? I am sure one is King George VI, but I'm not sure if the other is herself or the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother?
And one more question: What is the name and history of the tiara?

The Tiara HM Queen Elizabeth II is wearing in the picture is the
"The Russian Kokoshnik Tiara
The Russian Kokoshnik Tiara was presented to Princess Alexandra, Princess of Wales, in 1888 by Lady Salisbury on behalf of 365 peeresses of the United Kingdom. Alexandra had requested that the tiara be in the fashionable design of a Russian girl's headdress, a kokoshnik. She knew the design well from a similar tiara belonging to her sister Marie Feodorovna, the Empress of Russia. The tiara was made by Garrard Jewellers and supervised by Lady Salisbury. It is made up of 61 platinum bars and encrusted with 488 diamonds, the largest of which being 3.25 carats (0.65 g) each. Princess Alexandra wrote to her aunt, the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz "The presents are quite magnificent. The ladies of society gave a lovely diamond spiked tiara"."
-wikipedia article

 

[Warren]

You've quoted a post from 2006.
In case there is any confusion due to the subject of this thread, the Kokoshnik Tiara does not form part of the British Crown Jewels.

 

[Artemisia]

It's part of Her Majesty's personal jewellery collection, isn't it? Just out of curiosity, could the Queen leave it to someone other than Charles, or the convention is to pass the bulk of personal jewel collection to the next monarch as well?

 

[LauraS3514]

It's part of Her Majesty's personal jewellery collection, sin't it? Just out of curiosity, could the Queen leave it to someone other than Charles, or the convention is to pass the bulk of personal jewel collection to the next monarch as well?

Due to tax laws, the bulk of HM's personal property will pass to her successor. Sovereign-to-sovereign transfers are tax-free, but any other beneficiaries pay inheritance taxes at the normal rate - ouch.

 

[Grandduchess24]

when we're talking about crown jewels we're talking about the ones kept at the tower of london or HM jewelry collection inherited or bought through the generations?

 

[EIIR]

The display at the Tower of London of the Crown Jewels has been updated and enhanced for the Diamond Jubilee and London Olympics. You can see some lovely pictures of some of the items on display here:

Dazzling collection of Crown Jewels go on display to mark Diamond Jubilee | Mail Online

The link also includes information of a special gold and diamond coin weighing 1 kilo and worth £125k which has been made to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee. I think the portrait of the Queen on the coin looks more like Beatrix tbh. Also, the Queen's depicted wearing a tiara that I don't recognise. I suppose it could just be artistic licence. Anyone any ideas?

 

[Warren]

The tiara depiction on the 1 kilo gold "coin" is artistic licence.

Items on exhibition include...

1. The Imperial Crown of India (made for and worn by King George V at the Delhi Durbar of 1911)
2. Queen Victoria's small diamond crown (1870)
3. The Sovereign's Sceptre
4. The Queen Consort's Ring (1831)
5. The Exeter Salt (1630)
6. The Gold Kilo Coin [not on display in the Tower]

Images cropped from larger photographs

 

[KittyAtlanta]

Any info on the Queen Consort's ring? Did the QM wear it on her Coronation Day? Will Camilla wear that on Coronation Day? It is magnificent.

 

[Artemisia]

Any info on the Queen Consort's ring? Did the QM wear it on her Coronation Day? Will Camilla wear that on Coronation Day? It is magnificent.

Yes, the Queen Mother did wear the Queen Consort's ring.
The ring was originally made for Queen Adelaide for the coronation of William IV in 1831.
It weighs 50.15 carats, the large ruby measures 12.5x9.0x5.9 mm and is surrounded by 14 diamonds. Small rubies are set in the shank.

Queen Adelaide decided to revive the tradition of using ruby as the central stone in the coronation rings. The tradition existed since the times of Henry III but ended during the reign of George IV, who decided that the central stone of his ring must be a large sapphire. William IV followed the fashion, using rubies only in the form of a cross overlaying the sapphires (symbolising union of crowns).

The Consort Ring has been wore by every Queen Consort since Adelaide - Queen Alexandra, Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother).
Similarly, the Coronation Ring of William IV has been worn by every Sovereign since King William. In the case of Queen Victoria (for whose delicate fingers the ring was just too big), a smaller Coronation Ring was made similar to style to William IV's. It had been measured to fit her little finger but during the ceremony had been literally forced onto her ring finger; poor Victoria's hand had to be bathed in iced water before it could be removed.


The attached pictures are The Consort's Ring, William IV's Coronation Ring, and Queen Victoria's Coronation Ring.
(images were cropped from larger pictures and constitute less than 20% of the original)

 

[cepe]

Thank you to Warren and Artemisia for this info and pictures.

Question about Queen Consort Ring. In Warren's response the ring looks like amethyst but Artemisia says that it is ruby - the same as the Consort's ring. Can you confirm which it is?

 

[Artemisia]

Thank you to Warren and Artemisia for this info and pictures.

Question about Queen Consort Ring. In Warren's response the ring looks like amethyst but Artemisia says that it is ruby - the same as the Consort's ring. Can you confirm which it is?

You are most welcome.
Although it does look like an amethyst in the picture from the DM article, it is probably because of the light; the Queen Consort's ring most definitely features a ruby - and an impressive 50.15 carats one. Rubies have traditionally been used in coronation rings (of Monarchs) as central stones until the reign of George IV; Queen Adelaide simply revived the tradition, albeit for a consort. The Coronation Ring (Monarch's ring initially created for William IV) features a sapphire as the centre stone, with rubies overlaying the sapphire in form of a cross.

 

[EIIR]

Do you think some future monarch would break up Queen Victoria's small crown? I know it's an historic and beautiful piece but, let's face it, the chances of anyone actually wearing it again are remote. There are too many magnificent diamonds going on there to just leave it in a glass case forever. It could be turned into a lovely new tiara which would actually be worn. I'm a firm believer that jewellery should be worn rather than left to just sit there.

 

[Patra]

Loved the information on the Coronation Rings, I never saw these photos before, and enjoyed the pictures and information.

 

[royalistbert]

Do you think some future monarch would break up Queen Victoria's small crown? I know it's an historic and beautiful piece but, let's face it, the chances of anyone actually wearing it again are remote. There are too many magnificent diamonds going on there to just leave it in a glass case forever. It could be turned into a lovely new tiara which would actually be worn. I'm a firm believer that jewellery should be worn rather than left to just sit there.

Maybe future Queen consorts could wear it at state openings instead of a tiara.

 

[sheikah deena]

Thank you to Warren and Artemisia for this info and pictures.

Question about Queen Consort Ring. In Warren's response the ring looks like amethyst but Artemisia says that it is ruby - the same as the Consort's ring. Can you confirm which it is?

No But I’m Sure It’s Ruby Because The Color Of The Ston Seems Ruby , Dear The Amethyst Looks Dark purple Color Or Mauve Color , and about what you meant in warren pics the Ston Color Going To Dark Pink .

 

[KittyAtlanta]

It is ruby. The main stone is somewhere around 50 carats, so it is no lightweight. Remember that rubies are actually red sapphires and can range from very pale pink to bright maroon. Corundum comes in all different colors.