King Charles III’s Coronation Ceremony: Know about the royal crown, jewels on display

King Charles III Royal Crown: The enthronement ceremony of King Charles III as the 40th monarch will be a historical moment for Britain. The King's coronation is scheduled to take place on Saturday, May 6 and will follow till evening of Sunday, May 7. 

With the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II at her rural Balmoral home in September, Charles III instantly became King. King Charles III will be crowned at Westminster Abbey in a ceremony full of pomp, pageantry, and solemn religious significance. 

Know about the unique, regal, shining and bejeweled crown on display for King Charles III Coronation Ceremony 

How many crowns will King Charles wear at coronation 

As per the sources, King Charles will wear two crowns- St. Edward's crown and the Imperial State Crown. 

St Edward's Crown when he is officially declared as the King during his Coronation. This will be the first and only time that Charles will wear this particular crown. 

Imperial State Crown will only be worn during the Coronation service. This was the crown which was recently placed on the Queen's coffin for the lying-in-state and her state funeral.

St. Edward's crown

King Charles III’s Coronation Ceremony: What is the crown made up of?

The St Edward's Crown is made of solid 22-carat gold, the 360-year-old crown is more than 30 cm (1 ft) tall and is very heavy, weighing around 2.23 kg. That's the equivalent of two pineapples, a large watermelon or two-liter water bottles.

The crown has been adorned with semi-precious stones. It has a velvet cap with an ermine band. The jewels in the crown were removable and were specially hired for coronations.

The crown has 444 jewels and gems including expensive sapphires, rubies, amethysts and topaz. However, most are light blue or blue green aquamarine. They are inlaid in enamel and gold.

The band of the crown contains four crosses and lily flowers and two gables in the centre.

These bands are covered with small gold pearls that cover the first rows of artificial pearls.

King Charles III’s Coronation Ceremony: History of St Edward's Crown 

St Edward's Crown was made for the coronation of Charles II to replace the medieval crown melted down by parliamentarians in 1649, after the execution of King Charles I. This lost medieval crown was said to have belonged to the 11th-century royal saint, King Edward the Confessor. The crown was commissioned from the Royal Goldsmith, Robert Vyner, in 1661. St Edward's Crown was last used for crowning Elizabeth II in 1953.

King Charles III’s Coronation Ceremony: Significance of St Edward's Crown 

The Crown of St. Edward is special because it represents both the resilience and continuity of the monarchy.                    

Imperial State Crown

King Charles III’s Coronation Ceremony:  What is the crown made up of?

Imperial State Crown is made of gold and set with 2,868 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, 269 pearls, and four rubies. The crown contains some of the most famous jewels in the collection. These include the Black Prince's Ruby, the Stuart Sapphire, and the Cullinan II diamond. 

King Charles III’s Coronation Ceremony:  History of Imperial State Crown

The Imperial State Crown was made for the Coronation of King George VI in 1937, replacing the crown made for Queen Victoria in 1838.

As part of the Crown Jewels, the crown is kept under armed guard in the Jewel House at the Tower of London.

Meanwhile, the gold, silver and jewel-adorned relics are collectively called the crown jewels which are also the main attraction of the King Charles coronation ceremony.