State Crown of George I

The State Crown of George I was the state crown manufactured for King George I of Great Britain.

When George I became King of Great Britain and King of Ireland in 1714 it was decided to replace the previous state crown (ie, the crown worn to open parliament) first created for King Charles II in the 1660s by a new crown, as the old one was judged "weak" and in a poor state of repair. Much of the ornamentation was transferred to the new crown. As with precedent, however, it was set not with precious gems but with decorated stones and glass.

The crown itself consisted of four half-arches on a golden band, with the aquamarine monde and cross that had been added to King Charles's state crown in 1685. On top of it stood the cross.

In 1727 the glass and stones were removed and replaced with hired diamonds, valued at £109,200.

In its fully decorated version, the crown was used for the coronation of King George II, though with one difference. The arches, which, had curved downwards at the centre of the crown, were pulled upwards, leading to a flat top on the crown surmounted by the aquamarine monde and cross.

The crown was used subsequently for the coronations of Kings George III, George IV and William IV. In 1820, because it was seen as being a "very poor affair", further work was carried out on the crown, including the replacement of the aquamarine monde, which on inspection was revealed to be merely blue-green glass. In its new restored state it was used for William IV's coronation in 1831.

It was to be its last wearing by a monarch. In 1838 Queen Victoria replaced George I's state crown by a new "Imperial Crown", re-using many of its precious stones. The empty and abandoned frame, along with the frames of the coronation crowns of George IV and Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen (the wife of William IV) were apparently sold to the Crown Jewellers.

They were given as a gift back to Elizabeth II in 1995.

References

* "The Crown Jewels" - booklet published by the Tower of London.

External links

* [http://www.hrp.org.uk/webcode/content.asp?ID=205 See image of State Crown of George I on the Tower of London website]