The accession of Queen Elizabeth II – what happened then and what could happen to the crown

What do you know about the crown of Queen Elizabeth, which she was crowned Queen of Britain on 2 June 1953. Among all the jewels of the British royal family, this piece is the central symbol of the throne, worn only at particularly solemn and ceremonial moments. Everyone is currently wondering whether it will one day go to their son Charles, or at least directly to their grandson William – and whether they can be placed on the coffin of the queen’s husband, a symbol of love on April 9 As has died and has been commended at the funeral of Prince Phillips. “The Crown” is indeed an infinitely attractive piece of jewelry that is of great historical importance, in some ways it also marked a significant change from the moment it was placed on His Majesty’s head in 1953.

The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was a world premiere on TV

History notes that this was the first coronation seen on television (about three hours of silence, rituals and ceremonies). As a symbol of British grandeur, the coronation of young Elizabeth (she was only 27 years old) was done to make the throne of her husband, Prince Philip, formerly Philip Mountbatten, now Duke of Edinburgh, “more popular”. Make and thus bring their subjects closer to the royal family. It was a strategic move that gained a lot of support, but caused some disappointment and even resistance. The second world war was not over for a long time. The social balance was still precarious, and a new consciousness arose in the people, who demanded rights and no longer knew only duties. For this reason, British trade unions held street protests during the sole ceremony against the alleged waste of public money and refused to send their representatives to Westminster. The decision of her husband Philip, who officially always stood two steps behind the queen, but in fact often counseled her, was clear and met with the approval of most of the queen.

The coronation day was a nightmare for the queen

A few years later, Elizabeth II would describe the day as a nightmare: pressure on those around the royal family to take responsibility for her future role, and even the sheer weight of the crown and the day itself. Raub. The dress was made of cream-colored silk with gold and silver embroidery by royal stylist Norman Hartnell, decorated with national symbols of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth and complemented by a cloak with a five-meter-long dermin border I went. In addition, the crown has a specific weight (approximately 1.06 kg).

All the details about the crown of Queen Elizabeth II.

The peculiarity of this piece of jewelery lies in its structure: it is the first headdress of the British royal family to be made in platinum. By tradition, it was forged by Queen of London Court in 1838 for Queen Victoria. In particular, it contains 2868 diamonds, 273 pearls, 17 nymphs, 11 emeralds and 5 rubies, but the two most influential jewels are the Black Prince Ruby and Koh-i-Noor Hira (about 105 carats).

The design is completely modern, because instead of the classic 8 arches, court jeweler Garrard & Co. reduced their number to just 4 at the time. The crown was designed and presented as a single-round education: a light piece of jewelry worn by St. Edward in 1661 after the original was seized and lost to Cromwell’s orders during the English Civil War Was.

This article appears in the original Vogue.it.