The Important Crown Jewels of Europe

All crown jewels have a hoary past and theirfor the coronation of King George VI.This Crown
story still fascinates a lot of people. Though someis made of gold and includes many jewels:
of the dynasties have fallen by the wayside anddiamonds, pearls, sapphires, and five rubies.
are part of history, yet the royal jewels continueThe George IV Crown was made in 1820 for the
to fascinate. Some of the important crown jewelscoronation of King George IV. It is one of the
are mentioned in succeeding paragraphs.a) Theolder crowns and was worn during the coronation
Imperial Crown of Russia. This is one of the moreprocessions of Queen Victoria and Queen
important crown jewels for the simple reasonElizabeth II.
that that the Romanoff's ruled over the largestIn England the Wives of Kings are called Queens
empire in History. They were removed in a coldconsort and traditionally have worn the Crown of
blooded way by the communists who executedMary of Modena. There are three such crowns. All
the entire family in brutal manner and broughtthree consorts' crowns in turn included the
about the end of the dynasty. The crown jewelsfamous Koh-I-Noor diamond which was taken
are now displayed in the Kremlin armoury infrom Maharaja Ranjeet Singh after the defeat of
Moscow and were worn by the rulers of Russiathe Sikhs and the annexation of the Punjab in
often referred to as Tsars. These jewels were in1845.
use till 1917 when the monarchy was overthrownAll the British crown jewels are displayed for public
with the Bolshevik revolution and Lenin seizedview at the tower of London since 1303. They
power. Nicholas II was the last Tsar. Historicallyare guarded after an attempt to steal them was
this crown was first used by Peter I and lastmade in 1649. Queen Elizabeth II inaugurated a
used in 1896 when Nicholas II was crownedspecial jewel house for their display in 1994.
Emperor of Russia..b) The German Crown Jewels.There are some other items included in the Royal
Germany was ruled by a king often referred tojewels of England. These includei) The Ring.This is
as the Kaiser. He was made to abdicate at thesupposed to symbolize the marriage of the king
end of the First World War by the allies. Howeverto the nation. It was specially crafted for the
earlier on there were no German Crown Jewelscoronation of William IV in 1831.ii) The Ampulla or
since Germany was always a confederation ofAnointing spoon. Archbishop of Canterbury uses
different monarchies. The Germans must thankthis spoon to pour oil. It is a hollow gold vessel
Napoleon Bonaparte who won in 1806 and unitedhaving the shape of an eagle, and the Spoon is
all the German states. He appointed the Duke ofmade of silver and set with pearls. They date
Duchy of Bavaria who crowned himself asfrom the 13th century and escaped the
Maximilian I. The jewels made for him aredestruction of Cromwell.iii) The Armills. These are
exhibited in the Residenz Palace in Munichc) Thegold bracelets and symbolize sincerity and wisdom.
French Crown Jewels. These jewels are now ofQueen Elizabeth II when crowned queen was
only historical importance. The French revolutionpresented a new set of gold armills on behalf of
of 1789 destroyed royalty. Monarchy wasvarious Commonwealth governments.iv. The
restored but ended in 1885 with the third Frenchswords. These are the last part of the Royal
Republic. French jewels consisted of the crowns,jewels. Five Swords are part of the Royal regalia.
orbs, diadems and jewels.The surviving FrenchThey are;-.
Crown Jewels, principally a set of historic crownsThe Jeweled Sword of Offering. This was crafted
are on display for the general public at the Louvrefor the Coronation of King George IV. Floral
in Paris.symbols made of jewels decorate this sword.
The last French coronation took place in 1824This sword is actually presented to the Sovereign
when King Charles X was crowned emperor.d)during the Coronation and thus is the most
The crowns jewels of England. The crown jewelsimportant of the swords.
of England contain a number of crowns. TheThe Sword of State. This is the largest sword in
important ones are.the collection and during the coronation is carried
Imperial Crown of India. This crown was speciallyin front of the Monarch. There are three other
created for King George V when he visited Delhiswords used namely the Sword of Spiritual
in 1911 and was crowned as Emperor of India.Justice, the Sword of Temporal Justice, and the
This crown has not been used after that date.Sword of Mercy. The last named has a blunt
This crown has eight half arches, in the manner ofedge.
Continental European crown jewels, unlike BritishMonarchies may go further into history but the
tradition of the Crown having four half arches.romance of the crown jewels will remain for all
The Imperial State Crown. This was made in 1937time to come.