Coronation Crown of George IV

The Coronation Crown of George IV is an elaborate coronation crown made specially for George IV, King of the United Kingdom, in 1821.

Design

At 40 cm (16 in) tall and decorated with 12,314 diamonds, it was said to make him look like a "gorgeous bird of the east". The innovative gold and silver frame, created by Philip Liebart of Rundell, Bridge & Rundell, had been designed to be almost invisible underneath the diamonds. A plan to remove the traditional fleurs-de-lis and introduce the rose, thistle and shamrock, the floral emblems of England, Scotland and Ireland, was abandoned following objections by the College of Heralds. As a general rule, the maintenance caps in British crowns are made of crimson or purple velvet, but this crown differed in having a dark blue cap.

Fate

thumb|left|upright=1.2|The [[John Ireland (Anglican priest)|Dean of Westminster carrying the crown at George IV's coronation, 1821]]

Because of the postponement of George IV's coronation owing to the trial of his wife, Queen Caroline, the final bill for the hiring of the stones came to £24,425. After his coronation, the king was reluctant to part with his new crown, and lobbied the government to buy it outright so he could use it for the annual State Opening of Parliament, but it was too expensive and the crown was dismantled in 1823. It was purchased by the jewellers Asprey in 1987. Jefri Bolkiah, Prince of Brunei, brother of the Sultan of Brunei, bought Asprey in November 1995 and presented the crown to the United Kingdom, along with the State Crown of George I, Crown of Queen Adelaide, and the Coronation Bible of George III. Earlier that year it had been valued at £376,000 for the purposes of an application to export the crown to the United States. The application was withdrawn during a review by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art. and is now on display in the tower's Jewel House.

References

de:Krönungskrone Georgs IV. von Großbritannien

Design

Fate

See also

References