Part of the British Crown Jewels
State Crown of Mary of Modena
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Country
| United Kingdom
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Made
| 1685
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Owner
| Charles III
in right of
the Crown
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Weight
| 700 g (1.5 lb)
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Arches
| 4
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Material
| Gold
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Cap
| Purple velvet with an ermine band
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Other elements
| Silver, pearls, diamonds
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The
State Crown of Mary of Modena
is the
consort crown
made in 1685 for
Mary of Modena
, queen of England, Scotland and Ireland. It was used by future queens consort until the end of the 18th century.
Originally set with hired diamonds, the crown is set with crystals for display in the
Jewel House
at the
Tower of London
.
Mary also had a
diadem
, also in the Jewel House, and a
coronation crown
, now owned by the
Museum of London
.
Description
[
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]
The gold crown originally had 523 small diamonds, 38 large diamonds, and 129 large pearls. These have been replaced with quartz crystals. It is 19 centimetres (7.5 in) tall and weighs 700 grams (1.5 lb).
[1]
The crown is decorated with
crosses pattee
and
fleurs-de-lis
and has four
half-arches
, surmounted with a
monde
and cross pattee.
Origin
[
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]
Traditionally, when a king is married, his wife is crowned as queen at their coronation ceremony.
[2]
In 1649, the monarchy was abolished after a long civil war between
Charles I
and his Parliament, and the
Crown Jewels
were either sold or turned into coins by
the Mint
.
[3]
The coronation of
Mary of Modena
and her husband,
James II and VII
, marked the first time a queen was crowned after the restoration of the monarchy,
Charles II
having been unmarried when he took the throne in 1660.
[4]
Three pieces of headgear were made for the queen: a
diadem
to wear in procession to
Westminster Abbey
, a coronation crown for the crowning, and a
state crown
to wear upon leaving the abbey.
[1]
Made by Richard de Beauvoir, the state crown was covered in diamonds valued at £35,000, and the bill for hiring them was £1,000.
[5]
She paid for the crowns and diadem out of her own pocket, and also commissioned two new sceptres and a coronation ring for the ceremony.
[6]
Mary's diadem was set with 177 diamonds, 78 pearls, 1 sapphire, 1 emerald, and 1 ruby; it now contains artificial gemstones and cultured pearls, and is also on display at the Tower of London.
[4]
It is 8 centimetres (3.1 in) tall and weighs 300 grams (0.66 lb).
[1]
Her empty coronation crown was acquired from a private dealer by the
Museum of London
in 1956. It had been sent to the
Crown Jewellers
,
Rundell & Bridge
, for maintenance work in the 19th century, but was never returned to the royal family.
[1]
Originally, the crown weighed 600 grams (1.3 lb) and was set with 419 diamonds, 46 large pearls, 7 rubies, 7 sapphires, and 2 emeralds.
[7]
Usage
[
edit
]
The crown was subsequently used by queens regnant
Mary II
and
Anne
; and by queens consort
Caroline of Ansbach
[8]
and
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
.
[1]
In 1831, the crown was judged to be too theatrical and in a poor state of repair, and so
another crown
was made for the new queen,
Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen
.
[9]
However, it is possible that Adelaide was crowned using one of Mary of Modena's crowns.
[1]
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Rose, pp. 36?37.
- ^
Dixon-Smith, et al., p. 38.
- ^
Keay, p. 43.
- ^
a
b
Mears, et al., p. 25.
- ^
Olivia Fryman in Bird and Clayton, "Ceremony and Coronation", p. 100.
- ^
Olivia Fryman in Bird and Clayton, "Ceremony and Coronation", p. 63.
- ^
Twining, p. 158.
- ^
Twining, p. 169.
- ^
Keay, p. 137.
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Bird, Rufus; Clayton, Martin, eds. (2017).
Charles II: Art and Power
. Royal Collection Trust.
ISBN
978-1-909741-44-7
.
- Dixon-Smith, Sally; Edwards, Sebastian; Kilby, Sarah; Murphy, Clare; Souden, David; Spooner, Jane; Worsley, Lucy (2010).
The Crown Jewels: Souvenir Guidebook
. Historic Royal Palaces.
ISBN
978-1-873993-13-2
.
- Keay, Anna (2011).
The Crown Jewels
. Thames & Hudson.
ISBN
978-0-500-51575-4
.
- Mears, Kenneth J.; Thurley, Simon; Murphy, Claire (1994).
The Crown Jewels
. Historic Royal Palaces.
ASIN
B000HHY1ZQ
.
- Rose, Tessa (1992).
The Coronation Ceremony and the Crown Jewels
. HM Stationery Office.
ISBN
978-0-117-01361-2
.
- Twining, Edward Francis (1960).
A History of the Crown Jewels of Europe
. B. T. Batsford.
ASIN
B00283LZA6
.
External links
[
edit
]
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Crowns
| Principal crowns
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Consort crowns
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Coronets
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Others
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Coronations robes
and ornaments
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Precious stones
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Anointing objects
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Processional objects
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Plate and fonts
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Related
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†Lost/destroyed
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