Queen Camilla, the wife of King Charles III, has reportedly chosen to have a frugal and controversy-free coronation. As a part of this decision, she has opted not to commission a new crown for the ceremony and has also rejected the idea of using a diamond claimed by India which is said to be cursed.
Therefore, the crown of Queen Mary, who is the great-grandmother of King Charles III, was taken out from the Tower of London to undergo some modifications, as Queen Camilla, aged 75, will be crowned with it on May 6 at Westminster Abbey.
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For the first time in several centuries, the British court has decided not to create a new crown for the queen consort, as was customary. They announced that this decision was made “for the sake of sustainability and efficiency,” reflecting the values that King Charles III seeks to uphold during his reign.
The Crown Jeweler will carefully make some minor modifications and additions to the crown, in line with the longstanding tradition that the jewelry incorporated is unique to the occasion and reflects the personal style of each queen consort.
The crown of Queen Mary will be modified to pay tribute to the late Elizabeth II, and the Crown Jeweler will meticulously add minor changes and incorporate the Cullinan III, IV, and V diamonds, which were personal jewels of the deceased monarch and were often worn by her as brooches.
Four out of the eight removable arches of the original crown will be taken off to create a different look from when Queen Mary wore the crown during her husband King George V’s coronation in 1911.
A crown that will not stoke diplomatic controversies
The crown that will be worn by the queen consort was originally created by the royal jewelers Garrard’s in 1911 for Queen Mary (1867-1953), following the tradition of allowing each new queen consort to have a new crown.
Queen Mary, the wife of King George V and grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II, was known for her strength, her defense of Victorian customs, and her devotion to the monarchy, which she put ahead of her personal desires, according to her biographers.
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Supported by Queen Victoria, Mary became the Duchess of York upon her marriage to George, Prince of Wales, in 1901, and later the Queen Consort in 1910. The following year, she was crowned with her husband at Westminster Abbey, for which she commissioned a new crown.
The design of Queen Mary’s crown was inspired by the crown of her mother-in-law, Queen Alexandra, which was created in 1902. Queen Mary wore the crown, without its upper arches, at the coronation of her son, King George VI, in 1937. No queen consort has used it since, and it is currently kept in the Tower of London.
Camilla will be crowned as the queen consort right after Charles III’s anointment and coronation as king by the Archbishop of Canterbury in a ceremony that is planned to be simpler and less costly than the previous coronations.
However, the selection of Camilla’s crown was not a straightforward decision. Initially, it was believed that she would wear the “Crown of the Queen Mother”, which was worn by Charles III’s grandmother during her own coronation in 1937. However, this crown is adorned with the controversial “Koh-i-noor” diamond, which, according to legend, is cursed.
The Koh-i-noor diamond has been owned by various Oriental princes over the years, many of whom lost their empires and their lives. According to a legend that has been widely circulated since 1306, misfortune would befall any man who owned it.
The 105.6-carat Koh-i-noor diamond was first discovered in the Golconda mines of India during the 14th century, and according to legend, the kings who possessed it met with tragic and premature deaths.
After centuries of passing from dynasty to dynasty in the Mughal, Iranian, Afghan, and Punjabi Maharajas’ kingdoms, and through much fighting and bloodshed, the Koh-i-Noor diamond ended up in British hands following the end of the Second Anglo-Sikh War and the annexation of the Kingdom of Punjab, when the treasures were confiscated by Great Britain.
Queen Camilla’s crown and the mystery of her “cursed” diamond Koh-i-noor
The diamond arrived in London in 1856 as a gift from Sultan Abdulmedjid, the ruler of the Ottoman Empire, to Queen Victoria. It was presented as a gesture of gratitude for the British support during the Crimean War.
After the British East India Company took possession of the diamond in 1849 aboard one of its ships, it wasn’t long before cholera broke out and killed dozens on board.
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Immediately after arriving in Britain, Queen Victoria was attacked by a man wielding a cane as her carriage passed through the palace gates. Less than a month later, in July 1850, Prime Minister Robert Peel died after falling from his horse and being trampled, with both incidents being attributed to the diamond’s arrival at the time.
However, it is widely believed that the curse only affects men who are bound to the stone, not women. The diamond was set in Queen Mary’s crown for her coronation in 1911, and then in 1937, in Queen Elizabeth’s crown, and it was never worn by a man again.
Simultaneously, India, Afghanistan, and Pakistan formally claimed the diamond, but their requests, submitted through diplomatic channels, were consistently rejected by the United Kingdom. Fearing that the use of the diamond could spoil the celebration and ignite new disputes, Charles and Camilla decided that Camilla should wear a different crown.
The plans for the coronation of Charles III and Camilla
The King and Queen (who will be the oldest monarchs to be crowned) will arrive from Buckingham Palace without other members of the royal family in what is known as the “King’s Procession,” and later return with a procession called the “Procession of the Coronation.”
The British Crown Jewels’ centerpiece, St Edward’s Crown, which is adorned with rubies, amethysts, sapphires, garnets, topaz, and tourmalines, has already been altered to fit the king’s head.
The crown was made for King Charles II in 1661 to replace a medieval crown believed to date back to Edward the Confessor. The original was melted down by British deputies in 1649 after the execution of Charles I.
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For hundreds of years, the crown was only worn at coronation ceremonies because it was too heavy. It was altered to make it lighter for the coronation of King George V in 1911, but it still weighs 2.23 kilos.
Charles III will only use the Crown of San Eduardo at the time of being crowned. When he leaves Westminster Abbey, he will wear the lighter Imperial State Crown, which is also used for occasions such as the opening of Parliament.