Crown of Charles, Prince of Wales
Encyclopedia
Coronet
A coronet is a small crown consisting of ornaments fixed on a metal ring. Unlike a crown, a coronet never has arches.The word stems from the Old French coronete, a diminutive of coronne , itself from the Latin corona .Traditionally, such headgear is – as indicated by the German equivalent...
and part of the Honours of Wales and Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom
Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom
The collective term Crown Jewels denotes the regalia and vestments worn by the sovereign of the United Kingdom during the coronation ceremony and at other state functions...
. It was made for and first used by Prince Charles at his investiture as Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
in 1969.
Background
When the former King Edward VIII of the United KingdomEdward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
went into exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
as the Duke of Windsor
Duke of Windsor
The title Duke of Windsor was created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1937 for Prince Edward, the former King Edward VIII, following his abdication in December 1936. The dukedom takes its name from the town where Windsor Castle, a residence of English monarchs since the Norman Conquest, is...
in 1936, he took with him the Coronet of George, Prince of Wales, a highly controversial – and illegal – act. This coronet
Coronet
A coronet is a small crown consisting of ornaments fixed on a metal ring. Unlike a crown, a coronet never has arches.The word stems from the Old French coronete, a diminutive of coronne , itself from the Latin corona .Traditionally, such headgear is – as indicated by the German equivalent...
had, since 1902, been used by successive Princes of Wales at their investitures, including his own investiture of 1911.
The 1911 coronet, as part of the British Crown Jewels was protected under the law of the United Kingdom
Law of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has three legal systems. English law, which applies in England and Wales, and Northern Ireland law, which applies in Northern Ireland, are based on common-law principles. Scots law, which applies in Scotland, is a pluralistic system based on civil-law principles, with common law...
, which forbids removal of the British Crown Jewels from the United Kingdom under any circumstances. Even seemingly legitimate uses of the Crown Jewels outside of the United Kingdom were precluded because of this law. For example, a new crown – Imperial Crown of India
Imperial Crown of India
The Imperial Crown of India was the crown of the Sovereign as Emperor of India during the time of the British Raj. The crown is housed with, but is not part of, the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.-History:...
– had to be manufactured for King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
to wear as Emperor of India
Emperor of India
Emperor/Empress of India was used as a title by the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah II, and revived by the colonial British monarchs during the British Raj in India....
at the Delhi Durbar
Delhi Durbar
The Delhi Durbar , meaning "Court of Delhi", was a mass assembly at Coronation Park, Delhi, India, to mark the coronation of a King and Queen of the United Kingdom. Also known as the Imperial Durbar, it was held three times, in 1877, 1903, and 1911, at the height of the British Empire. The 1911...
because the Imperial State Crown
Imperial State Crown
The Imperial State Crown is one of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.- Design :The Crown is of a design similar to St Edward's Crown: it includes a base of four crosses pattée alternating with four fleurs-de-lis, above which are four half-arches surmounted by a cross. Inside is a velvet cap...
, which he might normally have worn, could not be removed from the UK.
However it was judged impractical to charge the ex-king with in effect stealing part of the crown jewels. The crown was only returned to the United Kingdom following his death in 1972 and is now part of the Honours of the Principality of Wales
Honours of the Principality of Wales
The Honours of the Principality of Wales are the Crown Jewels used at the investiture of Princes of Wales. They include a coronet, a ring, a rod, a sword, a girdle, and a mantle....
.
Creation of the new coronet
The traditional coronet being unavailable, and with the older Coronet of Frederick, Prince of Wales being viewed unusable due to age, the only option was the creation of a new Prince of Wales coronet to be used for the investiture of the current Heir ApparentHeir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
to the throne as Prince of Wales. (Charles had actually been created Prince of Wales in 1958 when he was 9 years old, but the formal investiture ceremony was not held until a few months short of his 21st birthday.)
Design
The new princely coronet followed regulation laid down by King Charles IICharles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
in having just two half arches, rather than the traditional four half-arches of British crowns. In the centre of the single arch a globe is attached, over which a cross stands
Globus cruciger
The globus cruciger is an orb topped with a cross , a Christian symbol of authority used throughout the Middle Ages and even today on coins, iconography and royal regalia...
. Within the frame, which is made of gold, is a velvet cap lined with ermine fur.
The frame itself, though based on traditional design, has a futurist look that was popular in 1960s design. It was produced by a committee under Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon
Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon
Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, GCVO, RDI is an English photographer and film maker. He was married to Princess Margaret, younger daughter of King George VI and younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II....
, then husband of Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon was the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II and the younger daughter of King George VI....
. Snowdon later revealed that some non-traditional methods were used in the design, with the size of the golden globe on the arches based on the size of a golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
ball.
The Prince of Wales's investiture occurred at Caernarfon Castle
Caernarfon Castle
Caernarfon Castle is a medieval building in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. There was a motte-and-bailey castle in the town of Caernarfon from the late 11th century until 1283 when King Edward I of England began replacing it with the current stone structure...
in Wales on July 1, 1969.
Usage
The coronets or crowns of Princes of Wales are rarely used. It is unknown if the Coronet of Frederick, Prince of Wales was ever actually worn by Frederick, Prince of WalesFrederick, Prince of Wales
Frederick, Prince of Wales was a member of the House of Hanover and therefore of the Hanoverian and later British Royal Family, the eldest son of George II and father of George III, as well as the great-grandfather of Queen Victoria...
and the Coronet of George, Prince of Wales was only worn rarely by George, Prince of Wales
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
, later King George V, and Edward, Prince of Wales
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
, later King Edward VIII and then the Duke of Windsor. The current Prince of Wales has not worn his coronet since his investiture, though he could at any stage opt to do so.
The coronet was given on loan to the National Museum and Gallery of Wales by Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
in 1974.
Princess of Wales
While Queens consort wear a crown alongside the King, the wife of the Prince of Wales does not do so. So neither the late Diana, Princess of WalesDiana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
, first wife of the current Prince of Wales, nor his current wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, possessed crowns.
A princess who is the Heiress Presumptive
Heir Presumptive
An heir presumptive or heiress presumptive is the person provisionally scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question...
to the British throne when there is no Heir Apparent, is not created Princess of Wales and so does not wear any of the Honours of the Principality of Wales. King George VI did though allow the heiress presumptive, Princess Elizabeth, to wear a coronet at his coronation in 1937. There has never been an Heiress Apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
to the British throne, so the question of her investiture as Princess of Wales has never arisen.
Possible future usage
Since 1831, successive Queens consortQueen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
of the United Kingdom have each had a new consort crown
Consort crown
A consort crown is a crown worn by the consort of a monarch for her coronation or on state occasions.Unlike with reigning monarchs, who may inherit one or more crowns for use, consorts sometimes had special crowns made uniquely for them and which were worn by no other later consort.All British...
created for them. In contrast, only three Prince of Wales coronets exist. The 1911 coronet was worn by two Princes of Wales, and would probably have been used in 1969 had the Duke of Windsor
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
(the previous holder of the title) not removed the crown from the United Kingdom and kept it among his private possessions.
The Coronet of George, Prince of Wales (given that its relative youth and rare usage means that it is still suitable to be worn) could be used in a possible future investiture. However, the current Coronet of Charles, Prince of Wales could also be used. Alternatively, it could be decided to create a new coronet for him.
Footnote
- The Queen decided, in deference to public opinion regarding the late Diana, Princess of Wales, that Camilla would not be entitled Princess of Wales and would only be referred to as Duchess of Cornwall.
- The only possible exception occurred in 1525 when King Henry VIIIHenry VIII of EnglandHenry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
gave his only surviving child to that point, Mary TudorMary I of EnglandMary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
, certain Royal Prerogatives due to a Prince of WalesPrince of WalesPrince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
, including a Royal Court, and called her Princess of Wales. There is no record of either the existence of a Prince of Wales' coronet at that time, nor of a formal patent granting the title.