The coronation has officially been set for May 6, 2023 at Westminster Abbey in London. During this ceremony, Charles III will be crowned king and Camilla will be named queen consort. The Royal Family recently announced that Charles will wear the St. Edward’s Crown for his coronation, which was made for Charles II in 1661 and “is thought to date back to the eleventh-century royal saint, Edward the Confessor—the last Anglo-Saxon king of England,” according to The Royal Collection Trust. The design features four crosses-pattée, four fleurs-de-lis, and two arches. The solid gold crown has a velvet cap with an ermine band and is set with a collection of stunning gems—including rubies, amethysts, sapphires, garnet, topazes and tourmalines.
The St. Edward’s crown is not a surprising choice for King Charles III, given that it’s the go-to crown for coronations. What was less predictable, however, was what Queen Consort Camilla would wear for her coronation—and it appears she’s made her selection. According to a post from The Royal Family’s Instagram, Queen Mary’s Crown was recently removed from the Tower of London to be modified for Camilla ahead of the coronation. According to the post, “This is the first time in recent history that an existing crown will be used for the Coronation of a Consort instead of a new commission being made.”
Queen Mary’s Crown was originally designed for the coronation in June 1911. At the time, it contained three large diamonds—the Koh-i-nûr, and Cullinan III and IV, also known as the Lesser Stars of Africa. These incredibly rare diamonds were later replaced with crystal replicas so the jewels could be used in other settings. According to The Royal Collection Trust, “The Koh-i-nûr diamond was moved to the crown of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and Cullinan III and IV were set as a brooch.”
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Today, Queen Mary’s Crown consists of a silver frame that’s lined with gold and boasts 2,200 brilliant- and rose-cut diamonds. “The crown has an openwork band, set at the front with a detachable rock crystal replica of the diamond, Cullinan IV, a large cushion-shaped stone, and a frieze of quatrefoils and rosettes, each with a large brilliant in the center, surrounded by smaller stones, between borders composed of single rows of brilliants,” according to The Royal Collection Trust. Like Charles’s crown, there are also four crosses-pattée and four fleurs-de-lis, a purple velvet cap and ermine band.
As a tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, Camilla will have the Queen Mary crown reset with the Cullinan III, IV and V diamonds, which were part of Queen Elizabeth II’’s personal jewelry collection (she often wore them as brooches). Additionally, “Four of the crown’s eight detachable arches will be removed to create a different impression than when it was worn in 1911,” according to the Royal Family’s Instagram.
