St Edward's Crown - The Making of the English Coronation Crown

[@dukeofhaas]

Your research is impeccable. Indeed, we learn something new and exciting from each of your videos because of your tireless hunt for obscure illustrations and other imagery.

[@allanbarton]

Thank you.

[@annettewillis2797]

Brilliant addition to this series Allan! Clearly explained, great detail. Thank you!

[@susangridley8354]

Loving this series so much. Thank you!

[@allanbarton]

Glad you enjoying it.

[@patrickdoak7813]

Many thanks for these videos! I always appreciate learning something new and these fit the bill perfectly!

[@heatherdeavalon]

St Edward's Crown is a piece of art. Are there people that can do this quality of work still around? Nicely done

[@carrie4696]

That was great. I’m so happy to find your channel!

[@allanbarton]

I am very pleased you enjoy it - thank you!

[@bieuxyongson]

These two videos have been very informative. I love your explanations of how these crowns came into use. Thank you so much.

[@allanbarton]

You're very welcome, thanks for watching!

[@deniseatkins9407]

Very interesting and great research into all of this

[@allanbarton]

It is a fascinating object - I'm looking forward to seeing it on the king's head Denise.

[@karenparinisi3182]

Another great video Allan. However, do yourself a favor and link other videos you reference in the description box. It is a win win. Your viewer can easily find referenced video and you are likely to get more views. Thanks for making these fantastic videos.

[@nadiabrook7871]

I hope there are no mishaps with the crown during King Charles's coronation!! EXCELLENT video, as always, Allan!!👑💖💚👍

[@MrBulky992]

If there are, it could be a tragedy! The medieval tiled pavement of the coronation theatre has been restored in recent years and, most likely, will be exposed to view rather than being covered in carpet as it had been in previous coronations so the crown might suffer a serious blow if dropped on such a hard surface.

[@nadiabrook7871]

@@MrBulky992 That would be awful!!

[@nadiabrook7871]

@@michaelmontagu3979 Was the crown damaged at all?!

[@MrBulky992]

@@michaelmontagu3979 That may have been the last time it was dropped but there was a near miss at Edward VII's, I think it was, when the enfeebled Archbishop Temple nearly let go of the Imperial State Crown. The last actual mishap was at George V's funeral when the motion of the gun carriage carrying his coffin dislodged the monde and attached cross on the top of the Imperial State Crown: they rolled off and fell on the carriageway and were picked up and pocketed for safe keeping by one of the troops lining the route. That was the last time that crown was ever used, a new one being made for George VI and the jewels being transferred from one to the other!

[@nadiabrook7871]

@@michaelmontagu3979 I can well imagine!! Let's hope no one has butter fingers next May!!

[@jilltagmorris]

Thank you again! Wonderful

[@christinewells-leddon9287]

Superb as always!

[@cyndiroberts5922]

Allan your videos are entertaining and I love your stories. Take care all from Fresno CA!

[@allanbarton]

Thank you Cyndi, I am glad you enjoy them.

[@stepps511]

Much gratitude for your dedication and passion for the subject, Allan.

[@TerryC69]

Hi Allan! Today I received the issues of THE ANTIQUARY MAGAZINE that I ordered. Having experienced and enjoyed the content here on the channel, I expected the magazine to be a superior product, and I was not disappointed. Absolutely brilliant!. I have subscribed to the magazine as well.

[@allanbarton]

Thank you Terry, I am so pleased you have enjoyed them. I am really grateful for your kind feedback and your support.

[@kevinkral4568]

Late last night, I discovered this channel; it was an instant subscription, and now . . . It's 0300 here in The Corn Zone and I've watched the lot. Regards, Kev ps. Thanks, AB, and keep 'em comin'! -K.

[@allanbarton]

Very happy you've enjoyed my videos! Thanks for watching.

[@cactusrandomfred1]

Great video. Can we be sure that George V was crowned with the St Edward's Crown? All the depictions I've seen on his coronation show him wearing the imperial state crown even when he's wearing the supertunica and imperial mantle i.e. the part of the ceremony when St Edward's crown would be worn.

[@allanbarton]

Yes, I questioned that too when I was doing my picture research. Yes he was crowned with St Edward's crown, the official portrait painters who painted the coronation paintings were not working from life nor even from photos of the event and I think they simply assumed that the king was crowned with the imperial crown, in which he is photographed in all the official photographs. It is bizarre.

[@georgev9170]

I recently found a really obscure photograph from the 1911 coronation where George V is kneeling on a faldstool, being blessed by the archbishop of Canterbuy. The crown he's wearing kind of resembles the imperial state crown, though I can't tell for sure since the picture quality is so bad and grainy. This part of the ceremony comes right after the crowning (and the presentation of the bible). Assuming that it's really the Imperial State Crown he's wearing on that photo, chances are high he's also been crowned with that crown (or maybe they swapped crowns immediately after the crowning).

[@DukeofDarkCorners]

There is at least one depiction of George V crowned with King Edward's crown: on a Wills Cigarette Card, visible on the NPG website. Though it was issued in 1935, which reduces its value as evidence.

[@cactusrandomfred1]

@@DukeofDarkCorners I think I have that set of cig cards! I should have known. Thank you

[@mbvoelker8448]

When this has all been accomplished, it would be very nice to have it edited into a single episode without all the repeats and references to other videos. I know you've got a playlist ongoing, but I like to put on a long documentary and get involved in a craft or kitchen project without having to stop every 12-20 minutes to put on a new video.

[@paulbriere4872]

Allan - Another wonderful video! A question on the regalia: are not the Ampulla and Spoon survivors from the old regalia, having survived the destruction during the Republic? I believe I read that once, but am unsure now. Thank you!

[@allanbarton]

Thanks Paul. The spoon is the sole survivir, the ampulla dates from 1661. The spoon is extraordinary, long thought to be Anglo-Saxon in reality it dates from the late 12th or early 13th century.

[@wholeNwon]

Well done!

[@allanbarton]

Thank you 😊

[@palpeet]

Hi Allen, you're videos are awesome and very informative! I was just wondering why the heraldic depiction of St Edward's Crown shows a red Cap of Maintenance while the real crown has a purple one?

[@biffedya]

St Edward's used to wear the crown only for sitting on the throne but in his later years he had to make such a mad dash for the throne they decided to lock the crown away and skip the ceremonial aspect of sitting on the throne

[@villeelomaa7836]

Thanks a lot for this video. I was looking at the paintings of the coronations of George V and Gerorge VI. There seem to be a lot of people wearing a sort of crown. Who are they? Who others are allowed to wear a crown than the king and the queen?

[@franklesser5655]

In footage of QEII funeral ceremonies the body of the orb looked shiny. The orb in your video has a more dull, matte appearance. Might it have been polished?

[@allanbarton]

The photos are deceptive and are due, I think to the covers on the lights used in the photography reflecting off the shiny upper surface of the orb. It is highly polished all over.

[@franklesser5655]

@@allanbarton Thanks.

[@atrinka1]

What is it at the base of each jewel: red and white enamel? Thanks for these informative and beautiful videos!

[@johnmontgomery3471]

Thank you for these informative videos. I am curious about the thumbnail of Queen Elizabeth wearing St. Edward's Crown. Is it a composite? Though showing only the neck up, it appears she was not wearing the cloth of gold supertunica and robe royal. If she were wearing those robes, they should have been visible in the photograph, even in one cropped so high. Having lost track of how many times I have watched the video of the coronation, I know she did not wear St. Edward's Crown without her coronation vestments. So, what is the source of the photograph?

[@lindymcbroom953]

Well done sir Will you cover the upcoming Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla!

[@allanbarton]

Indeed I will - contemplating how I might do this live.

[@chrishall62]

Interesting. I hadn't realised that the current St Edward's Crown has not, in fact, been used to crown that many monarchs until 1911 and subsequent coronations, nor that the jewels in the crown were hired for each coronation until that date.

[@allanbarton]

Our sovereign's wanted the splendour but money was always an issue.

[@winstonsinica3796]

Thank you for the great video. Does the new crown contain any part of the original St Edward's Crown, or is it entirely new?

[@S.T.G.]

I wonder what can be the purpose of that bird and that of the spoon at its legs.🤔

[@allanbarton]

It's the ampulla and spoon used for the annointing of the sovereign. Another video!

[@Marshal_Dunnik]

The Vyner baronetcy became extinct in 1683, but if the family still exists, they could file suit against the Crown to claim their debt. They'd be owned something like £3.14m.

[@EdMcF1]

'Charles II was not a minimalist' how apt.

[@EdMcF1]

Can't expect the heraldry lot to keep up with innovations a mere 111 years old, that's far too soon. They are still checking for griffons.

[@a.t.c.3862]

For the Coronation of King Charles III - will the arches of the Imperial State Crown be raised to the height they had under George VI?

[@allanbarton]

Yes, I think it will be raised to the original height and the band will be altered to make it larger.

[@a.t.c.3862]

@@allanbarton Thank you 🙏. You have a brilliant channel - I love all your posts - but I'm really looking forward to the ones concerning the upcoming Coronation - they're a mine of information. In view of all the chatter about a briefer more modern ceremony - would you consider doing an episode on the advisability or not of this?

[@elgar57]

Excellent, thank you.

[@DVD927]

He was my 27th grand-uncle. Where’s my crown? 😄

[@danielswainston5654]

Great video mate but just one thing... St Edwards crown isn't identical on both sides there is a clue

[@allanbarton]

The stones are different on front and back, but it still caused confusion.

[@WinstonSmithGPT]

There is always a busybody. 😂

[@justinwilliams7290]

So...the stones were hired but I have never heard of a single stone being sold afterward with that provenance... has that ever happened? I mean why the F not...? Seems odd.

[@EdMcF1]

Shall we petition Parliament to pay that bill? Or will they 'pass' it instead?

[@autumnb7135]

No! I’m rebelling! I’m going to watch this one first & then watch the others.

[@allanbarton]

😆

[@243jimb]

You mention "from 1660....English monarchs....English crown" but since 1603 (the Union of the Crowns) then this would be incorrect.

[@allanbarton]

Technically yes, but the words were chosen carefully as this is a bit of a muddy area really. This is very much the English coronation crown in an English coronation rite. James I, Charles I and Charles II all had separate Scottish coronations. After that the decision was made simply to dispense with a Scottish coronation altogether.

[@dukeofhaas]

With all due respect, apparently you have jumped to an erroneous conclusion based upon insufficient knowledge of history. The English royal regalia was destroyed - some was sold - during the Civil War, and therefore new regalia was made upon the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. And BTW: I'm an American Anglophile.

[@allanbarton]

@@dukeofhaas indeed so, the Scottish regalia surviving intact, despite Cromwell's desperation to destroy it.

[@klaasvanmanen8214]

In this video, you claim to have explained in the first part of this two part video *_why_* there are two crowns in the British regalia. I watched that first part from start to finish, and you only told your viewers that *_there are_* two crowns. The question as to the why remains unanswered, in my view.

[@allanbarton]

I have three videos on this subject, have you watched part 1, or rather my shorter essential guide to the crown? In part 1 I go into painful detail as to why there is a coronation and a state crown, how St Edward's crown was a relic and the state crown was the king's own possession. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iH6QlX2ZhpuGjc0

[@allanbarton]

There is also this, which explores the same subject but from the angle of the state crown. kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJzdeZt4oJakr5I

[@andrewgates8158]

Pay your bill royal family.

[@allanbarton]

I don't imagine that will ever happen.

[@EC2019]

I find it astonishing how tacky it is. It's designed in such poor taste that it looks cheap - very much like a child's toy with the stones looking like gaudy plastic Christmas baubles. The State crown is so much nicer, but I would love to see George IV's crown set in stones as it was originally. The design of that one is so elegant and almost feminine, it sets it apart entirely.

[@Bus_Driver_Jay]

I’m going to betray a great deal of ignorance here… Charles the second wore a wig?!

[@allanbarton]

He did. It all started with Louis XIII of France going bald - he then started sporting a wig and all the French royal court followed, it quickly became the fashion - Charles II picked up the habit when he was in exile in France and it spread from him to the English court. Until the late 18th century it then became normal for all men to shave off their hair and wear wigs. Some clergy carried on doing it until the 1830s and judges have never stopped.

[@Bus_Driver_Jay]

@@allanbarton I have no words. Though I suppose if lice became prevalent then it would certainly lead to a useful move on a hygiene front!

[@allanbarton]

@@Bus_Driver_Jay the wigs were not immune to lice. It is horrible. I can't imagine having something like that stuck on my head all day. It would make my want to scream.

[@IrishEye]

I doubt the British Monarchy will last out this Century and it will be a pity to see so much ceremony and extravagance leave us.

[@allanbarton]

A great pity if so - I don't know, it has endured quite a few crises over the years and against the odds survived. I'm not sure there is a lot of appetite for a Republic.

[@IrishEye]

@@allanbarton To be honest I wasn't thinking about a republic just that I heard today the Prince of Wales wasn't having an investiture ceremony in Wales and the coronation of the King next year will be a pared down ceremony. By the end of the century we'll find out about a new monarch in a 2 minute Tik-Tok video. Personally I like a bit of Pomp and Circumstance every 30 years or so.

[@LordDim1]

@@IrishEye The monarchy will survive, as will the pomp, though it will evolve. Coronations have changed in how scaled back or ostentatious they are throughout history, now is no different. A scaled back coronation is in order for an already elderly monarch, and especially in these trying economic times. The ceremony will still be magnificent. I don’t think one needs to worry about these sorts of things. Ceremony, pomp and pageantry have always existed and will always exist. It’s some sort of inherent fascination we have as humans

[@MarkGeraghty]

I don't see that it does much harm, and a lot of people like it, it's a bit like the ultimate soap opera.

[@leahnichol6665]

The role of a monarch is to bring Joy to the People. The people like Pageantry, so the Monarchy and Pageantry will remain, I believe.

[@joevasquez3434]

Many of your so called facts were incorrect.

[@allanbarton]

Ah jolly good, which ones?