Her Excellency The Crown of the British Empire - a relic that inspires admiration, beckoning the eye - is shrouded in legends, stories and stories. 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 a piece of 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 a huge kingdom.
View of the crown of power
The Crown of the British Empire is a piece of jewelry made similar to the crown of St. Edward. This is a crown trimmed with priceless stones, on which crosses alternate with heraldic lilies. Above the crosses rises a semi-arc decorated with pearls. The half-arc is closed by a ball on which the cross is located. Jewelry creations weigh 910 grams. The basis is a velvet, purple hat with a white edge, also decorated with stones. Miracle Jewelry contains:
- Two thousand eight hundred and sixtyeight diamonds.
- Two hundred and seventy-three pearls.
- seventeen sapphires.
- Eleven emeralds.
- Five rubies.
The jewels in the crown of the British Empire have their own history. Special attention deserves: St. Edward's sapphire, Black Prince's ruby, Cullinan diamond - II (also called the small star of Africa), Stuart sapphire.
St. Edward's Sapphire
The stone is located on top of the crown. An ancient sapphire set in a cross. Legend has it that the stone was the value of Edward the Confessor, whose reign 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 miraculously returned to the ruler along with a prediction of his imminent death. The predictions came true. But the miracles didn't end there. A few centuries later, the tomb of St. Edward was opened. And what was the surprise of the British when they saw that the body of St. Edward did not suffer any changes at all and remained the same. It is worth mentioning that he was buried with a ring. After the opening of the grave, people began to believe that sapphire is endowed with healing properties and supposedly heals all diseases. Today, the miracle stone adorns the very top of the crown of the British Empire.
Black Prince Ruby
The treasure belonged to Edward of Wales, in mourning for the dead bride, he wore exclusively black backgammon. Hence the namejewelry. He adorned the crown of monarchs for more than one century. According to ancient legends, it brings good luck and protects the monarchs of the empire from the dangers.
Cullinan Diamond –II
The Small Star of 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, small cracks appeared on it. They decided to split the diamond into many small particles. As a result of the split, they received a pair of large diamonds, seven medium-sized diamonds and ninety-six small ones. One of the two large ones is still located on the British crown, and the second on the scepter.
Stuart Sapphire
Sapphire belonged to the noble Stuart family for a long time. It was the legacy of many monarchs, passed down from mother to child, until it eventually became the decoration of the symbol of power of Queen Victoria. At first, he decorated the jewelry in front, but then was moved back. It weighs 104 carats.
The Crown of the British Empire: the history of creation
The history of the aforementioned crown has an interesting origin. She suffered many transformations, she was destroyed and restored again, collected in pieces, made exact copies of previous samples. This is not just a piece of jewelry for the monarch. 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 arecommitted an act of vandalism, breaking the royal crown. Precious stones and pearls were seized and sold, gold was melted down. But these are far from all the trials that the crown of British power has experienced.
The history of the crown of St. Edward is generally shrouded in mystery. All legends concerning the relic are rather contradictory. One of the stories says that the crown sank along 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 sank. It may well be that it was hidden by John Landless. For the next several centuries, the crown was remade by everyone who could. Precious stones were changed over and over again. Her weight fluctuated constantly. She was constantly weighed down and immediately lightened. That's what has remained unchanged in the crown of St. Edward, so it's design. It was a crown, decorated with four crosses, alternating with lilies, above which rose a half-arc converging into a ball with a cross. The size of the product has also been changed several times. In the mid-1600s, the crown would once again undergo a colossal transformation. Oliver Cromwell will give the name to the crown: "a symbol of disgusting royal self-government" and will order to get rid of it. In 1660, Charles II will completely restore the symbol of the greatness of his dynasty. But the transformation of the royal crown will not stop there.
Wilhelms and Georgi are getting really smart with the head symbol of kings and queens. The crowns of power under their rule will take on rather bizarre forms. And only in the early 1800s, Queen Victoria will stop this lawlessness. She iswill establish a single state relic. But fate will decide otherwise - in 1845, during the session of Parliament, the courtier Duke of 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 quite insignificant. Until now, the crown of the British Empire has remained unchanged.
The Queen of Great Britain does not wear a crown every day these days. It is only worn on two occasions:
- 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 the sign of power before the opening of the Parliament session.
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 power of the emperor was also symbolized by the crown. To be more precise, the empresses. In 1762, the Great Imperial Crown of the Russian Empire was made, with which Catherine II was crowned. It was made of gold and silver. The crown of the empire was all studded 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 highest power. It has the shape of a headdress of sultans (a golden rim, which is the base of two hemispheres). The hemisphere is made of silver encrusted with diamonds. Hemispheres separated by a crownwhich is a cross with five diamonds. 4936 diamonds were placed in the crown, as well as 72 pearls. The height of the crown is 27.5 cm. The ruby adorning the crown was purchased in 1672. A very famous gem that adorns more than one crown of emperors.
Any revolution brings devastation to the state. October is no exception. The country became 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 monarchs who bow only to the Almighty. The power of the monarch is the power of God.
Similarities of 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 lies in the purpose of the crown. Any crown, as 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 amount of diamonds, sapphires, pearls, they can safely be called the priceless property of the great powers. These are not just expensive jewelry - these are royal regalia.
The cross on the crowns symbolizes the divine principle. A monarch is not just a person, he is a lord who bows only before 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, unlike the crown of the British Empire, symbolizes the reunification 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 speak of 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 significance for the state
- The Russian crown is currently the historical property of the Russian Federation, but the British one is the state regalia.
- The history of the British crown is rooted in the distant past. It 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 has undergone many transformations, unlike the crown of Russia.
Instead of afterword
Of course, the crowns of empires have many differences, probably, there is no point in making a comparison of the crown of the British Empire and the Russian Empire. After all, these are not just jewelry of different sizes and weights, crowns are, first of all, symbols of completely different states. One carries the greatest story, the second - great meaning. But in one and in the second case, this is an invaluable property of the people, which they are proud of, cherish and ex alt already manycenturies.
