Crown must for coronation of Charles III. be reworked

It is made of gold, silver, rubies and sapphires and weighs more than two kilograms. The last time the Edwardian crown was used was in 1953, at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Now the showpiece of the British crown jewels has been taken from the Tower of London.

The royal crown must before the upcoming coronation of Charles III. still to be reworked, as Buckingham Palace announced on Sunday night. According to dpa information, the circumference of the crown for 74-year-old Charles must be increased.

The crown has a long history. It was made in 1661 to replace the original crown of the last Anglo-Saxon king, Edward the Confessor (d. 1066), which had been melted down shortly before during the English Civil War. It is traditionally used to crown British monarchs.

However, the 74-year-old will only wear it briefly, at the moment of the coronation, and Charles will wear a smaller crown when he leaves the church. As part of the ceremony on May 6, 2023 at Westminster Abbey, the king will also wear the Imperial State Crown, the palace said. This crown was placed on the coffin of the Queen at her funeral.

It was initially unclear whether King's wife Camilla, who is also to be crowned at the ceremony, will wear the crown last worn by Queen Mum. The world-famous diamond Kohinoor from India is worked into the crown of Queen Elizabeth's mother.

According to British media reports, representatives of the Indian governing party BJP had already expressed criticism of the possible use of the crown. The British newspaper The Telegraph recently reported that this could bring back memories of the colonial era.

At the request of the German Press Agency at the weekend, the palace announced that a decision on this was still pending.