The Imperial State Crown
G.J. Younghusband & Cyril Davenport, 1919
reproductionpre1931-platerights: pending
A full-page plate of the crown worn leaving the coronation, banded with arches of diamonds and topped by a great red spinel above a sapphire cross.
Why it matters
More than any single jewel, this crown gathers the assembled relics of a thousand years of kingship into one object carried on a single head.
Notice
The large stone below the cross is a spinel long miscalled a ruby - even crowns can be wrong about their own stones.
Meaning
History is worn, not merely remembered.
Source
George J. Younghusband and Cyril Davenport, The Crown Jewels of England, London: Cassell and Company, 1919 - Plate II view source ↗
Material
gold, diamond, colored-stone
Rights: PENDING. A named source is not the same as registry clearance. Basis on file: PD-pre1931. Shown for this preview only; not offered for sale.
The Regalia