1.
Imperial crown
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An Imperial Crown is a crown used for the coronation of emperors. Crowns in Europe during the medieval period varied in design, An open crown is one which consists basically of a golden circlet elaborately worked and decorated with stones or enamels. The medieval French crown was of this type, the closed crown, which had bands of metal crossing usually from one side to the other and from back to front so that they met in the middle, at the top of the head. A special case of a crown was that of the Holy Roman Empire. Strictly speaking, therefore, the type of crown whose characteristics can properly be regarded as imperial was one with a single crest running from front to back. In practice, in countries unfamiliar with closed crowns at all, during the medieval era the crowns worn by English kings had been described as both closed and open designs. This was in contrast with kings of France who always wore an open crown, the use of a closed crown may have been adopted by the English as a way of distinguishing the English crown from the French crown, but it also had other meanings to some. For example, Henry V wore helmet-crown of the type at the Battle of Agincourt which the French knight St. Remy commented was like the imperial crown. The Silk Imperial Crown of Russia was used as a coronation gift of the Russian Empire for the coronation of Nicholas II. Nicholas II was the first and only monarch to be presented with such a coronation gift. It was not intended as ceremonial regalia, but as private Imperial property - a memento to his coronation event. During the reign of Mary I the First Act of Supremacy was annulled, consort crown Coronation crown Royal crown State crown Grierson, Philip, The origins of the English sovereign and the sybolism of the closed crown, British Numismatic Society
2.
George I of Great Britain
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George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698. George was born in Hanover and inherited the titles and lands of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg from his father, a succession of European wars expanded his German domains during his lifetime, and in 1708 he was ratified as prince-elector of Hanover. At the age of 54, after the death of his second cousin Queen Anne of Great Britain, in reaction, Jacobites attempted to depose George and replace him with Annes Catholic half-brother, James Francis Edward Stuart, but their attempts failed. During Georges reign, the powers of the monarchy diminished and Britain began a transition to the system of cabinet government led by a prime minister. Towards the end of his reign, actual power was held by Sir Robert Walpole. George died of a stroke on a trip to his native Hanover, George was born on 28 May 1660 in Hanover in the Holy Roman Empire. He was the eldest son of Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Sophia was the granddaughter of King James I of England through her mother, Elizabeth of Bohemia. For the first year of his life, George was the heir to the German territories of his father. In 1661 Georges brother, Frederick Augustus, was born and the two boys were brought up together, after Sophias tour she bore Ernest Augustus another four sons and a daughter. In her letters, Sophia describes George as a responsible, conscientious child who set an example to his brothers and sisters. In 1679 another uncle died unexpectedly without sons and Ernest Augustus became reigning Duke of Calenberg-Göttingen, Georges surviving uncle, George William of Celle, had married his mistress in order to legitimise his only daughter, Sophia Dorothea of Celle, but looked unlikely to have any further children. Under Salic law, where inheritance of territory was restricted to the male line, in 1682, the family agreed to adopt the principle of primogeniture, meaning George would inherit all the territory and not have to share it with his brothers. The same year, George married his first cousin, Sophia Dorothea of Celle, the marriage of state was arranged primarily as it ensured a healthy annual income and assisted the eventual unification of Hanover and Celle. His mother was at first against the marriage because she looked down on Sophia Dorotheas mother and she was eventually won over by the advantages inherent in the marriage. In 1683, George and his brother, Frederick Augustus, served in the Great Turkish War at the Battle of Vienna, and Sophia Dorothea bore George a son, George Augustus. The following year, Frederick Augustus was informed of the adoption of primogeniture and it led to a breach between father and son, and between the brothers, that lasted until Frederick Augustuss death in battle in 1690. With the imminent formation of a single Hanoverian state, and the Hanoverians continuing contributions to the Empires wars, Georges prospects were now better than ever as the sole heir to his fathers electorate and his uncles duchy. Sophia Dorothea had a child, a daughter named after her, in 1687
3.
Monde
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A monde, meaning world in French, is an orb located near the top of a crown. It represents, as the name suggests, the world that the king rules and it is the point at which a crowns half arches meet. It is usually topped off either with a national or religious symbol, for example a cross in Christian countries
4.
James II of England
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James II and VII was King of England and Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685 until he was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. He was the last Roman Catholic monarch of England, Scotland and Ireland, the second surviving son of Charles I, he ascended the throne upon the death of his brother, Charles II. Members of Britains Protestant political elite increasingly suspected him of being pro-French and pro-Catholic and he was replaced by his eldest, Protestant daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange. James made one attempt to recover his crowns from William. After the defeat of the Jacobite forces by the Williamites at the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690 and he lived out the rest of his life as a pretender at a court sponsored by his cousin and ally, King Louis XIV. James, the surviving son of King Charles I and his wife. Later that same year, he was baptised by William Laud and he was educated by private tutors, along with his brother, the future King Charles II, and the two sons of the Duke of Buckingham, George and Francis Villiers. At the age of three, James was appointed Lord High Admiral, the position was honorary, but would become a substantive office after the Restoration. He was designated Duke of York at birth, invested with the Order of the Garter in 1642, as the Kings disputes with the English Parliament grew into the English Civil War, James stayed in Oxford, a Royalist stronghold. When the city surrendered after the siege of Oxford in 1646, in 1648, he escaped from the Palace, aided by Joseph Bampfield, and from there he went to The Hague in disguise. When Charles I was executed by the rebels in 1649, monarchists proclaimed Jamess older brother as Charles II of England, Charles II was recognised as king by the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of Ireland, and was crowned King of Scotland at Scone in 1651. Although he was proclaimed King in Jersey, Charles was unable to secure the crown of England and consequently fled to France, like his brother, James sought refuge in France, serving in the French army under Turenne against the Fronde, and later against their Spanish allies. In the French army James had his first true experience of battle where, according to one observer, he ventures himself, in the meantime, Charles was attempting to reclaim his throne, but France, although hosting the exiles, had allied itself with Oliver Cromwell. In 1656, Charles turned instead to Spain – an enemy of France – for support, in consequence, James was expelled from France and forced to leave Turennes army. James quarrelled with his brother over the choice of Spain over France. In 1659, the French and Spanish made peace, James, doubtful of his brothers chances of regaining the throne, considered taking a Spanish offer to be an admiral in their navy. Ultimately, he declined the position, by the year the situation in England had changed. After Richard Cromwells resignation as Lord Protector in 1659 and the subsequent collapse of the Commonwealth in 1660, although James was the heir presumptive, it seemed unlikely that he would inherit the Crown, as Charles was still a young man capable of fathering children
5.
Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom
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Objects used to invest and crown the monarch variously denote his or her roles as Head of State, Supreme Governor of the Church of England, and Commander-in-Chief of the British Armed Forces. Wives of kings are crowned as queen consort with a set of regalia. Since 1831, a new crown has been made specially for each queen consort, the use of regalia by monarchs in Britain can be traced back to its early history. Most of the present collection as a whole dates from around 350 years ago when King Charles II ascended the throne. The medieval coronation regalia and Tudor state regalia had been sold or melted down by Oliver Cromwell. In addition to their use at coronations, a number of items are used at the annual State Opening of Parliament, royal christenings, weddings, and a few other state and religious occasions. When not in use, the Jewels are on display, mainly in the Jewel House. Although they are part of the Royal Collection and owned by the king or queen for the duration of his or her reign, following the Roman conquest of Britain in 43 AD, crowns and other symbols of authority continued to be used by the governors of Britain. By the 5th century, the Romans had withdrawn from Britain, and the Angles, a series of new kingdoms began to emerge. One of the used by regional kings to solidify their authority over their territories was the use of ceremony. The tomb of an unknown king – evidence suggests it may be Rædwald of East Anglia – at Sutton Hoo provides an insight into the regalia of a pre-Christian Anglo-Saxon king. He was also buried with a heavy stone sceptre, on top of which is an iron ring surmounted by the figure of a stag, a sword. In 597, a Benedictine monk had been sent by Pope Gregory I to start converting Pagan England to Christianity, the monk Augustine became the first Archbishop of Canterbury. Within two centuries, the ritual of anointing monarchs with holy oil and crowning them in a Christian ceremony had been established, and regalia took on a religious identity. There was still no permanent set of regalia, each monarch generally had a new set made. Edward the Confessor is depicted on a throne and wearing a crown in the first scene of the Bayeux Tapestry, in 1066, Edward died without an heir, and William the Conqueror emerged as king of England following his victory over the English at the Battle of Hastings. Wearing a crown became an important part of William Is efforts to cement his authority over his new territory, in 1161, Edward the Confessor was made a saint, and objects connected with his reign became holy relics. A crown referred to as St Edwards Crown is first recorded as having used for the coronation of Henry III in 1220
6.
Tower of London
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The Tower of London, officially Her Majestys Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle located on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the edge of the square mile of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill. It was founded towards the end of 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest of England. The White Tower, which gives the castle its name, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078 and was a resented symbol of oppression. The castle was used as a prison from 1100 until 1952, a grand palace early in its history, it served as a royal residence. As a whole, the Tower is a complex of buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat. There were several phases of expansion, mainly under Kings Richard the Lionheart, Henry III, the general layout established by the late 13th century remains despite later activity on the site. The Tower of London has played a prominent role in English history and it was besieged several times, and controlling it has been important to controlling the country. The Tower has served variously as an armoury, a treasury, a menagerie, the home of the Royal Mint, a record office. From the early 14th century until the reign of Charles II, in the absence of the monarch, the Constable of the Tower is in charge of the castle. This was a powerful and trusted position in the medieval period, in the late 15th century, the castle was the prison of the Princes in the Tower. Under the Tudors, the Tower became used less as a royal residence and this use has led to the phrase sent to the Tower. Executions were more commonly held on the notorious Tower Hill to the north of the castle, in the latter half of the 19th century, institutions such as the Royal Mint moved out of the castle to other locations, leaving many buildings empty. Anthony Salvin and John Taylor took the opportunity to restore the Tower to what was felt to be its medieval appearance, in the First and Second World Wars, the Tower was again used as a prison and witnessed the executions of 12 men for espionage. After the Second World War, damage caused during the Blitz was repaired, today, the Tower of London is one of the countrys most popular tourist attractions. Under the ceremonial charge of the Constable of the Tower, it is cared for by the charity Historic Royal Palaces and is protected as a World Heritage Site. The Tower was orientated with its strongest and most impressive defences overlooking Saxon London and it would have visually dominated the surrounding area and stood out to traffic on the River Thames. The castle is made up of three wards, or enclosures, the innermost ward contains the White Tower and is the earliest phase of the castle
7.
Charles II of England
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Charles II was king of England, Scotland and Ireland. He was king of Scotland from 1649 until his deposition in 1651, Charles IIs father, Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War. Cromwell defeated Charles II at the Battle of Worcester on 3 September 1651, Cromwell became virtual dictator of England, Scotland and Ireland, and Charles spent the next nine years in exile in France, the Dutch Republic and the Spanish Netherlands. A political crisis followed the death of Cromwell in 1658 resulted in the restoration of the monarchy. On 29 May 1660, his 30th birthday, he was received in London to public acclaim, after 1660, all legal documents were dated as if he had succeeded his father as king in 1649. Charless English parliament enacted laws known as the Clarendon Code, designed to shore up the position of the re-established Church of England, Charles acquiesced to the Clarendon Code even though he favoured a policy of religious tolerance. The major foreign policy issue of his reign was the Second Anglo-Dutch War. In 1670, he entered into the treaty of Dover. Louis agreed to aid him in the Third Anglo-Dutch War and pay him a pension, Charles attempted to introduce religious freedom for Catholics and Protestant dissenters with his 1672 Royal Declaration of Indulgence, but the English Parliament forced him to withdraw it. In 1679, Titus Oatess revelations of a supposed Popish Plot sparked the Exclusion Crisis when it was revealed that Charless brother, the crisis saw the birth of the pro-exclusion Whig and anti-exclusion Tory parties. Charles sided with the Tories, and, following the discovery of the Rye House Plot to murder Charles and James in 1683, Charles dissolved the English Parliament in 1681, and ruled alone until his death on 6 February 1685. He was received into the Roman Catholic Church on his deathbed, Charless wife, Catherine of Braganza, bore no live children, but Charles acknowledged at least twelve illegitimate children by various mistresses. He was succeeded by his brother James, Charles II was born in St Jamess Palace on 29 May 1630. His parents were Charles I and Henrietta Maria, Charles was their second son and child. Their first son was born about a year before Charles but died within a day, England, Scotland and Ireland were respectively predominantly Anglican, Presbyterian and Roman Catholic. At birth, Charles automatically became Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay, at or around his eighth birthday, he was designated Prince of Wales, though he was never formally invested. During the 1640s, when Charles was still young, his father fought Parliamentary, by spring 1646, his father was losing the war, and Charles left England due to fears for his safety. Charles I surrendered into captivity in May 1646, at The Hague, Charles had a brief affair with Lucy Walter, who later falsely claimed that they had secretly married
8.
William III of England
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It is a coincidence that his regnal number was the same for both Orange and England. As King of Scotland, he is known as William II and he is informally known by sections of the population in Northern Ireland and Scotland as King Billy. William inherited the principality of Orange from his father, William II and his mother Mary, Princess Royal, was the daughter of King Charles I of England. In 1677, he married his fifteen-year-old first cousin, Mary, a Protestant, William participated in several wars against the powerful Catholic king of France, Louis XIV, in coalition with Protestant and Catholic powers in Europe. Many Protestants heralded him as a champion of their faith, in 1685, his Catholic father-in-law, James, Duke of York, became king of England, Ireland and Scotland. Jamess reign was unpopular with the Protestant majority in Britain, William, supported by a group of influential British political and religious leaders, invaded England in what became known as the Glorious Revolution. On 5 November 1688, he landed at the southern English port of Brixham, James was deposed and William and Mary became joint sovereigns in his place. They reigned together until her death on 28 December 1694, after which William ruled as sole monarch, Williams reputation as a staunch Protestant enabled him to take the British crowns when many were fearful of a revival of Catholicism under James. Williams victory at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 is still commemorated by the Orange Order and his reign in Britain marked the beginning of the transition from the personal rule of the Stuarts to the more Parliament-centred rule of the House of Hanover. William III was born in The Hague in the Dutch Republic on 4 November 1650, baptised William Henry, he was the only child of stadtholder William II, Prince of Orange, and Mary, Princess Royal. Mary was the eldest daughter of King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland, eight days before William was born, his father died of smallpox, thus William was the Sovereign Prince of Orange from the moment of his birth. Immediately, a conflict ensued between his mother the Princess Royal and William IIs mother, Amalia of Solms-Braunfels, over the name to be given to the infant. Mary wanted to name him Charles after her brother, but her mother-in-law insisted on giving him the name William or Willem to bolster his prospects of becoming stadtholder. William II had appointed his wife as his sons guardian in his will, however, Williams mother showed little personal interest in her son, sometimes being absent for years, and had always deliberately kept herself apart from Dutch society. Williams education was first laid in the hands of several Dutch governesses, some of English descent, including Walburg Howard, from April 1656, the prince received daily instruction in the Reformed religion from the Calvinist preacher Cornelis Trigland, a follower of the Contra-Remonstrant theologian Gisbertus Voetius. The ideal education for William was described in Discours sur la nourriture de S. H. Monseigneur le Prince dOrange, in these lessons, the prince was taught that he was predestined to become an instrument of Divine Providence, fulfilling the historical destiny of the House of Orange. From early 1659, William spent seven years at the University of Leiden for a formal education, under the guidance of ethics professor Hendrik Bornius. While residing in the Prinsenhof at Delft, William had a personal retinue including Hans Willem Bentinck, and a new governor, Frederick Nassau de Zuylenstein
9.
Anne, Queen of Great Britain
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Anne became Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Acts of Union, two of her realms, the kingdoms of England and Scotland, united as a sovereign state known as Great Britain. She continued to reign as Queen of Great Britain and Ireland until her death, Anne was born in the reign of her uncle Charles II, who had no legitimate children. Her father, James, was first in line to the throne and his suspected Roman Catholicism was unpopular in England, and on Charless instructions Anne was raised as an Anglican. Three years after he succeeded Charles, James was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, Annes Dutch Protestant brother-in-law and cousin William III became joint monarch with his wife, Annes elder sister Mary II. Although the sisters had been close, disagreements over Annes finances, status and choice of acquaintances arose shortly after Marys accession, William and Mary had no children. After Marys death in 1694, William continued as sole monarch until he was succeeded by Anne upon his death in 1702, as queen, Anne favoured moderate Tory politicians, who were more likely to share her Anglican religious views than their opponents, the Whigs. The Whigs grew more powerful during the course of the War of the Spanish Succession and her close friendship with Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, turned sour as the result of political differences. Anne was plagued by ill health throughout her life, from her thirties onwards, she grew increasingly lame and obese. Despite seventeen pregnancies by her husband, Prince George of Denmark, she died without any surviving children and was the last monarch of the House of Stuart. Anne was born at 11,39 p. m. on 6 February 1665 at St Jamess Palace, London, the child and second daughter of James, Duke of York. At her Anglican baptism in the Chapel Royal at St Jamess, her sister, Mary, was one of her godparents, along with the Duchess of Monmouth. The Duke and Duchess of York had eight children, but Anne, as a child, Anne suffered from an eye condition, which manifested as excessive watering known as defluxion. For medical treatment, she was sent to France, where she lived with her grandmother, Queen Henrietta Maria. Following her grandmothers death in 1669, Anne lived with an aunt, Henrietta Anne, on the sudden death of her aunt in 1670, Anne returned to England. Her mother died the following year, as was traditional in the royal family, Anne and her sister were brought up separated from their father in their own establishment at Richmond, London. On the instructions of Charles II, they were raised as Protestants, placed in the care of Colonel Edward and Lady Frances Villiers, their education was focused on the teachings of the Anglican church. Henry Compton, Bishop of London, was appointed as Annes preceptor, around 1671, Anne first made the acquaintance of Sarah Jennings, who later became her close friend and one of her most influential advisors
10.
Emerald
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Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl colored green by trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium. Beryl has a hardness of 7. 5–8 on the Mohs scale, most emeralds are highly included, so their toughness is classified as generally poor. The word emerald is derived, from Vulgar Latin, esmaralda/esmaraldus, a variant of Latin smaragdus, emeralds, like all colored gemstones, are graded using four basic parameters–the four Cs of Connoisseurship, Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat weight. Before the 20th century, jewelers used the water, as in a gem of the finest water. Normally, in the grading of colored gemstones, color is by far the most important criterion, however, in the grading of emeralds, clarity is considered a close second. A fine emerald must possess not only a pure verdant green hue as described below, in the 1960s, the American jewelry industry changed the definition of emerald to include the green vanadium-bearing beryl as emerald. As a result, vanadium emeralds purchased as emeralds in the United States are not recognized as such in the UK, in America, the distinction between traditional emeralds and the new vanadium kind is often reflected in the use of terms such as Colombian Emerald. In gemology, color is divided into three components, hue, saturation, and tone, emeralds occur in hues ranging from yellow-green to blue-green, with the primary hue necessarily being green. Yellow and blue are the normal secondary hues found in emeralds, only gems that are medium to dark in tone are considered emerald, light-toned gems are known instead by the species name green beryl. The finest emerald are approximately 75% tone on a scale where 0% tone would be colorless, in addition, a fine emerald should be well saturated and have a hue that is bright. Gray is the normal saturation modifier or mask found in emerald, Emerald tends to have numerous inclusions and surface breaking fissures. Unlike diamond, where the standard, i. e. 10× magnification, is used to grade clarity. Thus, if an emerald has no visible inclusions to the eye it is considered flawless, stones that lack surface breaking fissures are extremely rare and therefore almost all emeralds are treated to enhance the apparent clarity. The inclusions and fissures within an emerald are sometime described as jardin, imperfections are unique for each emerald and can be used to identify a particular stone. Eye-clean stones of a vivid primary green hue, with no more than 15% of any hue or combination of a medium-dark tone. The relative non-uniformity motivates the cutting of emeralds in cabochon form, faceted emeralds are most commonly given an oval cut, or the signature emerald cut, a rectangular cut with facets around the top edge. Most emeralds are oiled as part of the process, in order to fill in surface-reaching cracks so that clarity and stability are improved. Cedar oil, having a refractive index, is often used in this widely adopted practice
11.
Sapphire
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Sapphire is a gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, an aluminium oxide. It is typically blue in color, but natural fancy sapphires also occur in yellow, purple, orange, the only color which sapphire cannot be is red - as red colored corundum is called ruby, another corundum variety. This variety in color is due to amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, copper. Commonly, natural sapphires are cut and polished into gemstones and worn in jewelry and they also may be created synthetically in laboratories for industrial or decorative purposes in large crystal boules. Sapphire is the birthstone for September and the gem of the 45th anniversary, a sapphire jubilee occurs after 65 years. Sapphire is one of the two gem-varieties of corundum, the other being ruby, although blue is the best-known sapphire color, they occur in other colors, including gray and black, and they can be colorless. A a pinkish orange variety of sapphire is called padparadscha, significant sapphire deposits are found in Eastern Australia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, China, Madagascar, East Africa, and in North America in a few locations, mostly in Montana. Sapphire and rubies are often found in the geological setting. Every sapphire mine produces a range of quality - and origin is not a guarantee of quality. For sapphire, Kashmir receives the highest premium although Burma, Sri Lanka, the cost of natural sapphires varies depending on their color, clarity, size, cut, and overall quality. For gems of exceptional quality, an independent determination from a respected laboratory such as the GIA, gemstone color can be described in terms of hue, saturation, and tone. Hue is commonly understood as the color of the gemstone, saturation refers to the vividness or brightness of the hue, and tone is the lightness to darkness of the hue. Blue sapphire exists in various mixtures of its primary and secondary hues, various tonal levels, blue sapphires are evaluated based upon the purity of their primary hue. Purple, violet, and green are the most common secondary hues found in blue sapphires, violet and purple can contribute to the overall beauty of the color, while green is considered to be distinctly negative. Blue sapphires with up to 15% violet or purple are generally said to be of fine quality, gray is the normal saturation modifier or mask found in blue sapphires. Gray reduces the saturation or brightness of the hue, and therefore has a negative effect. The 423-carat Logan sapphire in the National Museum of Natural History, in Washington, sapphires in colors other than blue are called fancy or parti colored sapphires. Fancy sapphires are found in yellow, orange, green sapphires, brown, purple
12.
Watercolour painting
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Watercolor or watercolour, also aquarelle, a diminutive of the Latin for water, is a painting method in which the paints are made of pigments suspended in a water-based solution. Watercolor refers to both the medium and the resulting artwork, the traditional and most common support—material to which the paint is applied—for watercolor paintings is paper. Other supports include papyrus, bark papers, plastics, vellum, leather, fabric, wood, Watercolor paper is often made entirely or partially with cotton, which gives a good texture and minimizes distortion when wet. Watercolors are usually translucent, and appear luminous because the pigments are laid down in a form with few fillers obscuring the pigment colors. Watercolors can also be made opaque by adding Chinese white, in East Asia, watercolor painting with inks is referred to as brush painting or scroll painting. In Chinese, Korean and Japanese painting it has been the dominant medium, india, Ethiopia and other countries have long watercolor painting traditions as well. Fingerpainting with watercolor paints originated in mainland China, however, its continuous history as an art medium begins with the Renaissance. The German Northern Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer, who painted several fine botanical, wildlife, an important school of watercolor painting in Germany was led by Hans Bol as part of the Dürer Renaissance. Despite this early start, watercolors were used by Baroque easel painters only for sketches, copies or cartoons. Notable early practitioners of watercolor painting were Van Dyck, Claude Lorrain, Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, however, botanical illustration and wildlife illustration perhaps form the oldest and most important traditions in watercolor painting. Botanical illustrations became popular during the Renaissance, both as hand-tinted woodblock illustrations in books or broadsheets and as tinted ink drawings on vellum or paper. Wildlife illustration reached its peak in the 19th century with such as John James Audubon. Several factors contributed to the spread of watercolor painting during the 18th century, Watercolor artists were commonly brought with the geological or archaeological expeditions, funded by the Society of Dilettanti, to document discoveries in the Mediterranean, Asia, and the New World. This example popularized watercolors as a form of personal tourist journal, the confluence of these cultural, engineering, scientific, tourist, and amateur interests culminated in the celebration and promotion of watercolor as a distinctly English national art. William Blake published several books of hand-tinted engraved poetry, provided illustrations to Dantes Inferno, from the late 18th century through the 19th century, the market for printed books and domestic art contributed substantially to the growth of the medium. Satirical broadsides by Thomas Rowlandson, many published by Rudolph Ackermann, were extremely popular. Among the important and highly talented contemporaries of Turner and Girtin, were John Varley, John Sell Cotman, Anthony Copley Fielding, Samuel Palmer, William Havell, the Swiss painter Louis Ducros was also widely known for his large format, romantic paintings in watercolor. These societies provided annual exhibitions and buyer referrals for many artists, in particular, the graceful, lapidary, and atmospheric watercolors by Richard Parkes Bonington created an international fad for watercolor painting, especially in England and France in the 1820s
13.
Bernard Lens III
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Bernard Lens III was an English artist known primarily for his portrait miniatures. Lens, the son of mezzotint engraver Bernard Lens II, was born in London in 1682 and in 1698 became an apprentice to an artist known as Sturt, quite likely his fathers partner John Sturt. Sturt was a member of the Company of Goldsmiths, but the membership was merely a license to work within the City of London, in 1704 Lens joined the newly established Rose and Crown Club, an art society frequented by William Hogarth and George Vertue. Lens established himself as a portrait miniaturist, and in 1707 became the first British artist to replace vellum, the difficult skill of painting watercolours on ivory was invented in Venice by Rosalba Carriera around 1700 and quickly spread over Europe. The style of Lens was close to that of Carriera, although Lens conservatively employed pencil sketches, dudley Heath and Marjorie Wieseman noted the contrast between the translucent, lightweight appearance of skin tones with solid, oil–like draperies and backgrounds. In line with the fashion of his period Lens, according to Heath, seems to be partial to a very light blue in the costumes. Bernard Lens III and his wife Katherine had at least three sons, among them Bernard Lens IV, all— though according to Horace Walpoles Catalogue of Engravers only two of the three— became prolific draftsmen but did not leave a significant legacy, attribution of their artwork is problematic. One of these sons, miniaturist Peter Paul Lens, has painted the portrait of his father that is conserved in the Victoria, another son, Andrew Benjamin Lens, born around 1713, also was a miniaturist. His main competitor was Christian Friedrich Zincke, who worked in enamel, dudley Heath, on the contrary, called Lens hard and unappealing, inferior to Laurence Crosse. Horace Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford, a catalogue of engravers, who have been born, or resided in England. Perfect likeness, European and American portrait miniatures from the Cincinnati Art Museum
14.
George II of Great Britain
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George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death. George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain, he was born, after the deaths of Sophia and Anne, Queen of Great Britain, in 1714, his father George I, Elector of Hanover, inherited the British throne. In the first years of his fathers reign as king, George was associated with opposition politicians, as king from 1727, George exercised little control over British domestic policy, which was largely controlled by the Parliament of Great Britain. As elector, he spent twelve summers in Hanover, where he had direct control over government policy. He had a relationship with his eldest son, Frederick. During the War of the Austrian Succession, George participated at the Battle of Dettingen in 1743, Frederick died unexpectedly in 1751, nine years before his father, and so George II was ultimately succeeded by his grandson, George III. For two centuries after George IIs death, history tended to him with disdain, concentrating on his mistresses, short temper. Since then, most scholars have reassessed his legacy and conclude that he held and exercised influence in foreign policy and military appointments. George was born in the city of Hanover in Germany, and was the son of George Louis, Hereditary Prince of Brunswick-Lüneburg, both of Georges parents committed adultery, and in 1694 their marriage was dissolved on the pretext that Sophia had abandoned her husband. She was confined to Ahlden House and denied access to her two children, George and his sister Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, who never saw their mother again. George spoke only French, the language of diplomacy and the court, until the age of four, after which he was taught German by one of his tutors, Johann Hilmar Holstein. In addition to French and German, he was schooled in English and Italian. Georges second cousin once removed, Queen Anne, ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland in 1702, consequently, after his grandmother and father, George was third in line to succeed Anne in two of her three realms. England and Scotland united in 1707 to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, Georges father did not want his son to enter into a loveless arranged marriage as he had, and wanted him to have the opportunity of meeting his bride before any formal arrangements were made. Negotiations from 1702 for the hand of Princess Hedvig Sophia of Sweden, Dowager Duchess and regent of Holstein-Gottorp, the English envoy to Hanover, Edmund Poley, reported that George was so taken by the good character he had of her that he would not think of anybody else. A marriage contract was concluded by the end of July, on 22 August /2 September 1705O. S. /N. S. Caroline arrived in Hanover for her wedding, which was held the evening in the chapel at Herrenhausen. George was keen to participate in the war against France in Flanders, in early 1707, Georges hopes were fulfilled when Caroline gave birth to a son, Frederick
15.
Black Prince's Ruby
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The Black Princes Ruby is a large, irregular cabochon red spinel weighing 170 carats set in the cross pattée above the Cullinan II at the front of the Imperial State Crown. The spinel is one of the oldest parts of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom and it has been in the possession of Englands rulers since it was given in 1367 to its namesake, Edward of Woodstock. In 1820, the gemstone was valued at £10,000, all red gemstones used to be referred to as rubies or balas rubies. It wasnt until 1783 that spinels were differentiated from rubies, the two gemstones can be distinguished on the basis of their chemical properties, a red spinel is a compound of magnesia, iron and chromium, while a ruby is a type of aluminium oxide. The rarity of this spinel, however, is that it is the biggest uncut spinel in the world, given that it has only been polished slightly and it is possible the gem originates from the historic ruby mines in present-day Tajikistan. The Black Princes Ruby enters the stage of history in middle of the 14th century as the possession of Abū Saīd, Abū Saīd in particular was confronted by the belligerency of nascent Castile under the rule of Peter of Castile, also known to history as Don Pedro the Cruel. According to historical accounts, Abū Saīd wished to surrender to Don Pedro, what is clear is that Don Pedro welcomed his coming to Seville. It is recorded that he greatly desired Abū Saīds wealth, when Abū Saīd met with Don Pedro, the King had Abū Saīds servants killed and may have personally stabbed Saīd to death himself. Upon searching Saīds corpse, the spinel was found and added to Don Pedros possessions, in 1366, Don Pedros illegitimate brother, Henry of Trastámara, led a revolt against Don Pedro. Lacking the power to put down the revolt unaided, Don Pedro made an alliance with the Black Prince, the revolt was successfully put down and the Black Prince demanded the ruby in exchange for the services he had rendered. While historians speculate that this was contrary to Don Pedros desires and it can be assumed that the Black Prince took the Ruby back to England, although it is absent from historical records until 1415. During his campaign in France, Henry V of England wore a helmet that included the Black Princes Ruby. In the Battle of Agincourt on October 25,1415, the French Duke of Alençon struck Henry on the head with a battleaxe, the battle was won by Henrys forces and the Black Princes Ruby was saved. Richard III is supposed to have worn the gemstone in his helmet at the Battle of Bosworth, Henry VIIIs inventory of 1521 mentions a great balas ruby set in the Tudor Crown, thought to be the Black Princes Ruby. It remained there until the time of Oliver Cromwell in the 17th century. What happened to the Black Princes Ruby, then valued at £4, during the Commonwealth of England is not clear, but it came back into the possession of Charles II when the monarchy was restored in 1660. At the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1838, she was crowned with a new Imperial State Crown made for her by Rundell and Bridge, with 3,093 gems and this was remade in 1937 into the current, lighter, crown. A small plaque on the reverse of the gemstone commemorates the crowns history
16.
Spinel
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Spinel is the magnesium aluminium member of the larger spinel group of minerals. It has the formula MgAl2O4 in the crystal system. Its name comes from Latin spina, balas ruby is an old name for a rose-tinted variety of spinel. Spinel crystallizes in the system, common crystal forms are octahedra. It has an imperfect cleavage and a conchoidal fracture. Its hardness is 8, its gravity is 3. 5–4.1. It may be colorless, but is usually shades of red, blue, green, yellow, brown, black. There is a natural white spinel, now lost, that surfaced briefly in what is now Sri Lanka. The Samarian Spinel is the largest known spinel in the world, the transparent red spinels were called spinel-rubies or balas rubies. In the past, before the arrival of modern science, spinels, after the 18th century the word ruby was only used for the red gem variety of the mineral corundum and the word spinel came to be used. Balas is derived from Balascia, the ancient name for Badakhshan, mines in the Gorno Badakhshan region of Tajikistan was for centuries the main source for red and pink spinels. Spinel has long been found in the gravel of Sri Lanka and in limestones of the Badakshan Province in modern-day Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Recently gem quality spinels also found in the marbles of Luc Yen, Mahenge and Matombo, Tsavo and in the gravels of Tunduru and this is why spinel and ruby are often found together. Spinel, 2O4, is common in peridotite in the uppermost Earths mantle, Spinel, Al2O4, is a common mineral in the Ca-Al-rich inclusions in some chondritic meteorites. Synthetic spinel, accidentally produced in the middle of the 18th century, has described more recently in scientific publications in 2000 and 2004. By 2015, transparent spinel was being made in sheets and other shapes through sintering, synthetic spinel which looks like glass but has notably higher strength against pressure, can also have applications in military and commercial use. Spinel group Ceylonite The Samarian Spinel, the largest known spinel in the world, part of the Iranian Crown Jewels Black Princes Ruby Deer, Howie, an Introduction to the Rock-Forming Minerals, Longman, pp. 424–433, ISBN 0-582-44210-9. Gemstones of the World 3rd edition, Sterling, pp. 116–117, Spinel structure at the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay Spinel structure at the Institut for materials science of the University of Kiel Value of Spinel
17.
Henry VIII of England
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Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. Henry was the second Tudor monarch, succeeding his father, Henry VII, Henry is best known for his six marriages and, in particular, his efforts to have his first marriage, to Catherine of Aragon, annulled. Despite his resulting excommunication, Henry remained a believer in core Catholic theological teachings, domestically, Henry is known for his radical changes to the English Constitution, ushering in the theory of the divine right of kings to England. Besides asserting the supremacy over the Church of England, he greatly expanded royal power during his reign. Charges of treason and heresy were commonly used to quash dissent, and he achieved many of his political aims through the work of his chief ministers, some of whom were banished or executed when they fell out of his favour. Thomas Wolsey, Thomas More, Thomas Cromwell, Richard Rich and his contemporaries considered Henry in his prime to be an attractive, educated, and accomplished king, and he has been described as one of the most charismatic rulers to sit on the English throne. He was an author and composer, as he aged, Henry became severely obese and his health suffered, contributing to his death in 1547. He is frequently characterised in his life as a lustful, egotistical, harsh. He was succeeded by his son Edward VI, born 28 June 1491 at the Palace of Placentia in Greenwich, London, Henry Tudor was the third child and second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. Of the young Henrys six siblings, only three – Arthur, Prince of Wales, Margaret, and Mary – survived infancy and he was baptised by Richard Fox, the Bishop of Exeter, at a church of the Observant Franciscans close to the palace. In 1493, at the age of two, Henry was appointed Constable of Dover Castle and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. He was subsequently appointed Earl Marshal of England and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland at age three, and was inducted into the Order of the Bath soon after. The day after the ceremony he was created Duke of York, in May 1495, he was appointed to the Order of the Garter. Henry was given an education from leading tutors, becoming fluent in Latin and French. Not much is known about his early life – save for his appointments – because he was not expected to become king, as Duke of York, Henry used the arms of his father as king, differenced by a label of three points ermine. In 1502, Arthur died at the age of 15 of sweating sickness, Arthurs death thrust all his duties upon his younger brother, the 10-year-old Henry. After a little debate, Henry became the new Duke of Cornwall in October 1502, Henry VII gave the boy few tasks. Young Henry was strictly supervised and did not appear in public, as a result, the young Henry would later ascend the throne untrained in the exacting art of kingship
18.
Beryl
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Beryl is a mineral composed of beryllium aluminium cyclosilicate with the chemical formula Be3Al26. Well-known varieties of beryl include emerald and aquamarine, naturally occurring, hexagonal crystals of beryl can be up to several meters in size, but terminated crystals are relatively rare. Pure beryl is colorless, but it is tinted by impurities, possible colors are green, blue, yellow, red. The name beryl is derived from Greek βήρυλλος beryllos which referred to a precious blue-green color-of-sea-water stone, akin to Prakrit verulia, the term was later adopted for the mineral beryl more exclusively. When the first eyeglasses were constructed in 13th century Italy, the lenses were made of beryl as glass could not be clear enough. Consequently glasses were named Brillen in German, beryl of various colors is found most commonly in granitic pegmatites, but also occurs in mica schists in the Ural Mountains, and limestone in Colombia. Beryl is often associated with tin and tungsten ore bodies, beryl is found in Europe in Norway, Austria, Germany, Sweden, Ireland and Russia, as well as Brazil, Colombia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Pakistan, South Africa, the United States, and Zambia. US beryl locations are in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Maine, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Dakota and Utah. As of 1999, the worlds largest known naturally occurring crystal of any mineral is a crystal of beryl from Malakialina, Madagascar,18 m long and 3.5 m in diameter, aquamarine is a blue or cyan variety of beryl. It occurs at most localities which yield ordinary beryl, the gem-gravel placer deposits of Sri Lanka contain aquamarine. Clear yellow beryl, such as occurring in Brazil, is sometimes called aquamarine chrysolite. The deep blue version of aquamarine is called maxixe, maxixe is commonly found in the country of Madagascar. Its color fades to white when exposed to sunlight or is subjected to heat treatment, the pale blue color of aquamarine is attributed to Fe2+. Fe3+ ions produce golden-yellow color, and when both Fe2+ and Fe3+ are present, the color is a darker blue as in maxixe, decoloration of maxixe by light or heat thus may be due to the charge transfer between Fe3+ and Fe2+. Dark-blue maxixe color can be produced in green, pink or yellow beryl by irradiating it with high-energy particles, in the United States, aquamarines can be found at the summit of Mt. Antero in the Sawatch Range in central Colorado. In Wyoming, aquamarine has been discovered in the Big Horn Mountains, another location within the United States is the Sawtooth Range near Stanley, Idaho, although the minerals are within a wilderness area which prevents collecting. In Brazil, there are mines in the states of Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, and Bahia, the mines of Colombia, Zambia, Madagascar, Malawi, Tanzania and Kenya also produce aquamarine. The largest aquamarine of gemstone quality ever mined was found in Marambaia, Minas Gerais, Brazil and it weighed over 110 kg, and its dimensions were 48.5 cm long and 42 cm in diameter
19.
Rhinestone
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A rhinestone, paste or diamante is a diamond simulant originally made from rock crystal but since the 19th century from crystal glass or polymers such as acrylic. Hence, rhinestones are called strass in many European languages, rhinestones can be used as imitations of diamonds, and some manufacturers even manage to partially reproduce the glistening effect real diamonds have in the sun. Typically, crystal rhinestones have been used on costumes, apparel, Crystal rhinestones are produced mainly in Austria by Swarovski and in the Czech Republic by Preciosa and a few other glassworks in northern Bohemia. In the US, these are sometimes called Austrian Crystal, the rhinestone-studded Nudie suit was invented by Nudie Cohn in the 1940s, an Americanization of the matadors suit of lights. Rhinestone material is used as an alternative to sequin. Liberal use of rhinestones was associated with country singers, as well as with singer Elvis Presley. In 1974 David Allan Coe released the album The Mysterious Rhinestone Cowboy, in 1975 Glen Campbell had a top hit with the song Rhinestone Cowboy, and became known as the Rhinestone Cowboy. That song served as the basis for the 1984 movie Rhinestone, starring Sylvester Stallone, gorillaz has also released a single by the name of Rhinestone Eyes. Rhinestones are sized by using the term ss, or stone size, SS is more commonly used for apparel means, while PP is used for jewelry. Hot fix rhinestones, also called heat transfer rhinestones, are used for apparel. The flat bottom of the stone has a backing and when heated melts onto the surface of the clothing
20.
George III of the United Kingdom
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He was concurrently Duke and prince-elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire until his promotion to King of Hanover on 12 October 1814. He was the third British monarch of the House of Hanover, early in his reign, Great Britain defeated France in the Seven Years War, becoming the dominant European power in North America and India. However, many of Britains American colonies were soon lost in the American War of Independence, further wars against revolutionary and Napoleonic France from 1793 concluded in the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. In the later part of his life, George III had recurrent, although it has since been suggested that he had the blood disease porphyria, the cause of his illness remains unknown. After a final relapse in 1810, a regency was established, on George IIIs death, the Prince Regent succeeded his father as George IV. Historical analysis of George IIIs life has gone through a kaleidoscope of changing views that have depended heavily on the prejudices of his biographers and the sources available to them. Until it was reassessed in the half of the 20th century, his reputation in the United States was one of a tyrant. George was born in London at Norfolk House and he was the grandson of King George II, and the eldest son of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and Augusta of Saxe-Gotha. As Prince George was born two months prematurely and he was unlikely to survive, he was baptised the same day by Thomas Secker. One month later, he was baptised at Norfolk House. His godparents were the King of Sweden, his uncle the Duke of Saxe-Gotha, George grew into a healthy but reserved and shy child. The family moved to Leicester Square, where George and his younger brother Prince Edward, Duke of York, Family letters show that he could read and write in both English and German, as well as comment on political events of the time, by the age of eight. He was the first British monarch to study science systematically and his religious education was wholly Anglican. At age 10 George took part in a production of Joseph Addisons play Cato and said in the new prologue, What. It may with truth be said, A boy in England born, historian Romney Sedgwick argued that these lines appear to be the source of the only historical phrase with which he is associated. Georges grandfather, King George II, disliked the Prince of Wales, however, in 1751 the Prince of Wales died unexpectedly from a lung injury, and George became heir apparent to the throne. He inherited one of his fathers titles and became the Duke of Edinburgh, now more interested in his grandson, three weeks later the King created George Prince of Wales. Georges mother, now the Dowager Princess of Wales, preferred to keep George at home where she could imbue him with her moral values
21.
Rhombus
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In Euclidean geometry, a rhombus is a simple quadrilateral whose four sides all have the same length. Another name is equilateral quadrilateral, since equilateral means that all of its sides are equal in length, every rhombus is a parallelogram and a kite. A rhombus with right angles is a square, the word rhombus comes from Greek ῥόμβος, meaning something that spins, which derives from the verb ῥέμβω, meaning to turn round and round. The word was used both by Euclid and Archimedes, who used the term solid rhombus for two right circular cones sharing a common base, the surface we refer to as rhombus today is a cross section of this solid rhombus through the apex of each of the two cones. This is a case of the superellipse, with exponent 1. Every rhombus has two diagonals connecting pairs of vertices, and two pairs of parallel sides. Using congruent triangles, one can prove that the rhombus is symmetric across each of these diagonals and it follows that any rhombus has the following properties, Opposite angles of a rhombus have equal measure. The two diagonals of a rhombus are perpendicular, that is, a rhombus is an orthodiagonal quadrilateral, the first property implies that every rhombus is a parallelogram. Thus denoting the common side as a and the diagonals as p and q, not every parallelogram is a rhombus, though any parallelogram with perpendicular diagonals is a rhombus. In general, any quadrilateral with perpendicular diagonals, one of which is a line of symmetry, is a kite, every rhombus is a kite, and any quadrilateral that is both a kite and parallelogram is a rhombus. A rhombus is a tangential quadrilateral and that is, it has an inscribed circle that is tangent to all four sides. As for all parallelograms, the area K of a rhombus is the product of its base, the base is simply any side length a, K = a ⋅ h. The inradius, denoted by r, can be expressed in terms of the p and q as. The dual polygon of a rhombus is a rectangle, A rhombus has all sides equal, a rhombus has opposite angles equal, while a rectangle has opposite sides equal. A rhombus has a circle, while a rectangle has a circumcircle. A rhombus has an axis of symmetry through each pair of opposite vertex angles, the diagonals of a rhombus intersect at equal angles, while the diagonals of a rectangle are equal in length. The figure formed by joining the midpoints of the sides of a rhombus is a rectangle, a rhombohedron is a three-dimensional figure like a cube, except that its six faces are rhombi instead of squares. The rhombic dodecahedron is a polyhedron with 12 congruent rhombi as its faces
22.
George IV of the United Kingdom
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George IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover following the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten years later. From 1811 until his accession, he served as Prince Regent during his fathers mental illness. George IV led an extravagant lifestyle that contributed to the fashions of the Regency era and he was a patron of new forms of leisure, style and taste. He commissioned John Nash to build the Royal Pavilion in Brighton and remodel Buckingham Palace and he even forbade Caroline to attend his coronation and asked the government to introduce the unpopular Pains and Penalties Bill in a desperate, unsuccessful attempt to divorce her. For most of Georges regency and reign, Lord Liverpool controlled the government as Prime Minister and his ministers found his behaviour selfish, unreliable and irresponsible. At all times he was much under the influence of favourites, taxpayers were angry at his wasteful spending at a time when Britons were fighting in the Napoleonic Wars. He did not provide leadership in time of crisis, nor act as a role model for his people. Liverpools government presided over Britains ultimate victory, negotiated the peace settlement, after Liverpools retirement, George was forced to accept Catholic emancipation despite opposing it. His only child, Princess Charlotte, died before him in 1817 and so he was succeeded by his younger brother, George was born at St Jamess Palace, London, on 12 August 1762, the first child of King George III of the United Kingdom and Queen Charlotte. As the eldest son of a British sovereign, he automatically became Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay at birth, he was created Prince of Wales, on 18 September of the same year, he was baptised by Thomas Secker, Archbishop of Canterbury. His godparents were the Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the Duke of Cumberland, George was a talented student, and quickly learned to speak French, German and Italian, in addition to his native English. He was a witty conversationalist, drunk or sober, and showed good, the Prince of Wales turned 21 in 1783, and obtained a grant of £60,000 from Parliament and an annual income of £50,000 from his father. It was far too little for his needs – the stables alone cost £31,000 a year and he then established his residence in Carlton House, where he lived a profligate life. Animosity developed between the prince and his father, who desired more frugal behaviour on the part of the heir apparent, the King, a political conservative, was also alienated by the princes adherence to Charles James Fox and other radically inclined politicians. Soon after he reached the age of 21, the prince became infatuated with Maria Fitzherbert and she was a commoner, six years his elder, twice widowed, and a Roman Catholic. Despite her complete unsuitability, the prince was determined to marry her, nevertheless, the couple went through a marriage ceremony on 15 December 1785 at her house in Park Street, Mayfair. Legally the union was void, as the Kings consent was not granted, however, Fitzherbert believed that she was the princes canonical and true wife, holding the law of the Church to be superior to the law of the State. For political reasons, the union remained secret and Fitzherbert promised not to reveal it, the prince was plunged into debt by his exorbitant lifestyle
23.
Coronation Crown of George IV
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The Coronation Crown of George IV is an elaborate coronation crown made specially for King George IV in 1821. At 40 cm tall and decorated with 12,314 diamonds, the innovative gold and silver frame, created by Philip Liebart of Rundell, Bridge & Rundell, had been designed to be almost invisible underneath the diamonds. As a general rule, the caps in British crowns are made of crimson or purple velvet. Because of the postponement of George IVs coronation due to the trial of his wife, Queen Caroline, the crown was dismantled in 1823 and has not been worn by any other monarch since then. The frame, next to diamonds worth £2 million on loan from De Beers, is on display in the Martin Tower at the Tower of London, George IV State Diadem St Edwards Crown
24.
William IV of the United Kingdom
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William IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death. The third son of George III and younger brother and successor to George IV, he was the last king, William served in the Royal Navy in his youth and was, both during his reign and afterwards, nicknamed the Sailor King. He served in North America and the Caribbean, in 1789, he was created Duke of Clarence and St Andrews. Since his two brothers died without leaving legitimate issue, he inherited the throne when he was 64 years old. Although William did not engage in politics as much as his brother or his father, through his brother, the Viceroy of Hanover, he granted his German kingdom a short-lived liberal constitution. William was succeeded in the United Kingdom by his niece, Victoria, William was born in the early hours of the morning on 21 August 1765 at Buckingham House, the third child and son of King George III and Queen Charlotte. He had two brothers, George and Frederick, and was not expected to inherit the Crown. He was baptised in the Great Council Chamber of St Jamess Palace on 20 September 1765 and his godparents were his paternal uncles, the Duke of Gloucester and Prince Henry, and his paternal aunt, Princess Augusta, then hereditary duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. He spent most of his life in Richmond and at Kew Palace. At the age of thirteen, he joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman and his experiences in the navy seem to have been little different from those of other midshipmen, though in contrast to other sailors he was accompanied on board ships by a tutor. He did his share of the cooking and got arrested with his shipmates after a brawl in Gibraltar. He served in New York during the American War of Independence, I am fully persuaded, that it is unnecessary to caution you against offering insult or indignity to the persons of the Prince or Admiral. The plot did not come to fruition, the British heard of it and assigned guards to William and he became a lieutenant in 1785 and captain of HMS Pegasus the following year. The two were friends, and dined together almost nightly. At Nelsons wedding, William insisted on giving the bride away and he was given command of the frigate HMS Andromeda in 1788, and was promoted to rear-admiral in command of HMS Valiant the following year. William sought to be made a duke like his brothers, and to receive a similar parliamentary grant. To put pressure on him, William threatened to stand for the House of Commons for the constituency of Totnes in Devon, Williams political record was inconsistent and, like many politicians of the time, cannot be certainly ascribed to a single party. William ceased his active service in the Royal Navy in 1790, the following year he spoke in favour of the war, expecting a command after his change of heart, none came
25.
Queen Victoria
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Victoria was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she adopted the title of Empress of India. Victoria was the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, both the Duke of Kent and King George III died in 1820, and Victoria was raised under close supervision by her German-born mother Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. She inherited the throne aged 18, after her fathers three brothers had all died, leaving no surviving legitimate children. The United Kingdom was already a constitutional monarchy, in which the sovereign held relatively little direct political power. Privately, Victoria attempted to influence government policy and ministerial appointments, publicly, Victoria married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1840. Their nine children married into royal and noble families across the continent, tying them together, after Alberts death in 1861, Victoria plunged into deep mourning and avoided public appearances. As a result of her seclusion, republicanism temporarily gained strength and her Golden and Diamond Jubilees were times of public celebration. Her reign of 63 years and seven months is known as the Victorian era and it was a period of industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom, and was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire. She was the last British monarch of the House of Hanover and her son and successor, Edward VII, belonged to the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the line of his father. Victorias father was Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, until 1817, Edwards niece, Princess Charlotte of Wales, was the only legitimate grandchild of George III. Her death in 1817 precipitated a crisis that brought pressure on the Duke of Kent. In 1818 he married Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, a widowed German princess with two children—Carl and Feodora —by her first marriage to the Prince of Leiningen and her brother Leopold was Princess Charlottes widower. The Duke and Duchess of Kents only child, Victoria, was born at 4.15 a. m. on 24 May 1819 at Kensington Palace in London. Victoria was christened privately by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Charles Manners-Sutton, on 24 June 1819 in the Cupola Room at Kensington Palace and she was baptised Alexandrina, after one of her godparents, Emperor Alexander I of Russia, and Victoria, after her mother. Additional names proposed by her parents—Georgina, Charlotte, and Augusta—were dropped on the instructions of the Dukes eldest brother, George, the Duke of Clarence and the Duke of Kent married on the same day in 1818, but both of Clarences daughters died as infants. Victorias father died in January 1820, when Victoria was less than a year old, a week later her grandfather died and was succeeded by his eldest son, George IV. The Duke of York died in 1827, when George IV died in 1830, he was succeeded by his next surviving brother, William IV, and Victoria became heir presumptive
26.
Imperial State Crown
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The Imperial State Crown is one of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom and symbolises the sovereignty of the monarch. It has existed in various forms since the 15th century, the current version was made in 1937 and is worn by the monarch after a coronation ceremony and during his or her speech at the annual State Opening of Parliament. It contains 2,901 precious stones, including Cullinan II – the second-largest clear cut diamond in the world. St Edwards Crown, used to crown English monarchs, was considered to be a relic, kept in the saints shrine at Westminster Abbey. The Tudor Crown had more pearls and jewels than its predecessor, and the centre petals of each of the fleurs-de-lis had images of Christ. The crown weighed 3.3 kg and was set with 168 pearls,58 rubies,28 diamonds,19 sapphires and 2 emeralds. Following the abolition of the monarchy and the execution of Charles I in 1649, upon the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, a new state crown was made for Charles II by Sir Robert Vyner. About 10 versions of the crown have existed since the restoration, the one made for Queen Victoria in 1838 is the basis for todays crown. At the State Opening of Parliament in 1845, the Duke of Argyll was carrying the crown before Queen Victoria when it fell off the cushion, Victoria wrote in her diary, it was all crushed and squashed like a pudding that had sat down. The gems in the crown were remounted for the coronation of George VI in 1937 by Garrard & Co, the crown was adjusted for Queen Elizabeth IIs coronation in 1953, with the head size reduced and the arches lowered by 25 mm to give it a more feminine appearance. The Imperial State Crown is 31.5 cm tall and weighs 1.06 kg and its purple velvet cap is trimmed with ermine. The frame is made of gold, silver and platinum, and decorated with 2,868 diamonds,273 pearls,17 sapphires,11 emeralds, and 5 rubies. In 1909, the 104-carat Stuart Sapphire, set in the front of the crown, was moved to the back, three of the pearls belonged to Elizabeth I. The crown is worn by the monarch on leaving Westminster Abbey at the end of his or her coronation ceremony and it is also worn at the annual State Opening of Parliament. When not in use, it is on display with the rest of the Crown Jewels in the Jewel House at the Tower of London. Kenneth J. Mears, Simon Thurley, Claire Murphy, the Imperial State Crown at the Royal Collection. The Crown Jewels at the Royal Family website
27.
Museum of London
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The Museum of London documents the history of London from prehistoric to modern times. It is a few minutes north of St Pauls Cathedral, overlooking the remains of the Roman city wall and on the edge of the oldest part of London. It is primarily concerned with the history of London and its inhabitants throughout time. The museum is controlled and funded by the City of London Corporation. The museum is the largest urban history collection in the world and it hosts more than one million visitors each year. In March 2015, the announced plans to move from its Barbican site to nearby Smithfield Market. The move, contingent upon raising an estimated £70 million, is planned to be complete by 2021, the amalgamation of the collections previously held by the City Corporation at the Guildhall Museum and of the London Museum, which was located in Kensington Palace, was agreed in 1964. The Museum of London Act, allowing for the merger, was passed in the following year, fragments of the Roman London Wall can be seen just outside the museum. The museum had a £20 million redevelopment which was completed in May 2010 and this is its biggest investment since opening in 1976. The re-design, by London-based architects Wilkinson Eyre, tells the story of London, the transformation includes four new galleries. The Galleries of Modern London increased the exhibition space by 25 percent. The Expanding City gallery covers the period 1660s to 1850, the new galleries place a renewed emphasis on contemporary London and contemporary collecting. World City is the gallery which tells Londons story from 1950 to the present day. Fashion looms large here – from formal suits of the 1950s, through to the Mary Quant dress of the swinging 1960s, hippy chic in the 1970s, fashion comes right up to date with a pashmina from Alexander McQueens 2008 collection. The Sackler Hall contains an elliptical LED curtain where the work of up-and-coming young filmmakers is screened in a bi-annual Museum of London Film Commission, a temporary exhibition space, Inspiring London, features a changing programme of displays on the theme of creativity and inspiration. In 2003, the Museum of London Docklands was opened in a 19th-century grade I listed warehouse near Canary Wharf on the Isle of Dogs, in November 2007, it opened the capitals first permanent gallery examining Londons involvement in the transatlantic slave trade, London, Sugar & Slavery. Once part of the Museum of London, Museum of London Archaeology became an independent charity in November 2011, regulated by the Charity Commission for England, MOLA now has its own Board of Trustees but the Museum of London and MOLA continue to work together. MOLA employs around 190 archaeologists working on most of the archaeological sites in London
28.
Asprey
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Aspreys flagship retail store is located on New Bond Street in London, United Kingdom. Asprey has supplied crowns, coronets and sceptres for royal families around the world, from 1996 to 1998, Asprey held a partnership with Ferraris Formula 1 team. Asprey was established in England in Mitcham, Surrey in 1781, founded as a silk printing business by William Asprey, it soon became a luxury emporium. In 1841, William Aspreys elder son Charles went into partnership with a stationer located on Londons Bond Street, in 1847 the family broke with this partner and moved into 167 New Bond Street, the premises Asprey occupies today. An early speciality was dressing cases, Asprey crafted traditional cases and designs, mostly in leather, suitable for the new style of travel ushered in by railways. The main competitors at the time were H. J. Cave & Sons. Asprey was recognised for its expertise when it won a medal for its dressing cases at the International Exhibition of 1862 but lost out to its rivals. The company consolidated its position through acquisitions, in 1859 Asprey absorbed Edwards, an award winning maker of dressing cases and holder of a Royal Warrant. The company also purchased the Alfred Club at 22 Albemarle Street, over the decades jewelled interpretations of flowers have evolved to include the Crown Daisy, Rose, Calla Lily and Lily Pad collections. The master diamond cutter Gabi Tolkowsky created the Asprey cut, the cushion cut gave Tolkowsky options for incorporating the Asprey A inscription around the edges of the stone. The result was the 61-facet Asprey cut, maximising light refraction to brilliant effect, carat weights of Asprey-cut diamonds range from 0.50 to 3. Asprey-cut diamonds are inscribed on one side of the cushion with the GIA certificate number and it is also the only diamond that has the letter A on the crown, the Asprey cut has a flower in the centre to create softness. The shape of the Asprey cut means that the process can be done only by hand. The womens collection of clutches and handbags, such as featured in the 1781 collection, come from crocodile, python. The mens collection includes wallets, cardholders and travel watch cases crafted from lido, other items include the briefcases and backgammon boards. Asprey offers classic and whimsical contemporary silver pieces – such as the saltcellar fashioned to look like a cement mixer or the wheel barrow salt holder with accompanying shovel spoon, Asprey also produce childrens gifts, including tooth boxes, picture frames and rattles. Asprey have designed and manufactured sporting trophies, including the Race To Dubai trophy, in addition, Asprey is responsible for crafting the ICC cricket trophies, Wimbledon championship runner-up and winners salvers as well as the FA cup trophy and medals. The Asprey fine and rare book tradition evolved from the early 1900s when small compendia of reference books were produced, however, it was not until the Second World War, when raw materials were in such short supply, that Asprey began to offer second-hand and antiquarian books
29.
Jefri Bolkiah, Prince of Brunei
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His elder brother is Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah. Prince Jefri was the minister of his oil-rich country from 1986 to 1998. He also served as chairman of the Brunei Investment Agency which invests much of the wealth and was responsible for overseas investments. In the wake of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, the sultan had external accountants audit the books of BIA, resulting in charges by the Brunei government that Prince Jefri had embezzled $14.8 billion. He denies the charges but in 2000 agreed to turn over his holdings to the government, in return for avoiding criminal prosecution. After numerous legal disputes and appeals, in 2007 Britains Privy Council ruled that this agreement is enforceable and his various legal issues with the Bruneian state have become the most expensive legal case in British legal history. Prince Jefri is known for his extravagant lifestyle and his personal holdings included a huge art collection, the British jeweller Asprey, the New York Palace Hotel, Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles and Plaza Athénée in Paris. He is married to three wives and divorced from two others and has eighteen children, Prince Jefri is the youngest brother of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Muizzaddin Waddaulah. He has had five wives, two of whom he is divorced from and three to whom he is married, and eighteen children aged between around 4 to 37 in 2008. His assets were estimated at $1.5 billion, Prince Jefri has had a number of legal issues with the state of Brunei, which have amounted to the most costly legal battle in the world. Brunei is a gas and oil rich state ruled by the Sultan in a constitutional sultanate, the Sultan was, at one time, the richest man in the world. In July 1998 the Amadeo group collapsed under US$10 billion in debt, between 1983 and mid-1998 some US$40 billion of what were called special transfers were made from the accounts of the BIA. Prince Jefri was accused of misappropriating state funds to pay for his own investments, bought through BIA and Amedeo companies. In February 2000, the Bruneian government attempted to obtain an order on Prince Jefri’s overseas assets. Following protracted negotiations a settlement agreement was signed by the Prince in May 2000, however, Prince Jefri claimed assurances were made to him by the Sultan with regards to keeping certain properties to maintain his lifestyle, which BIA denied. In 2001 ten thousand lots of Prince Jefri’s possessions went to auction, after a number of appeals, this finally reached the Privy Council in London, which can serve as Bruneis highest court of appeal as a result of Bruneis former protectorate status. The decision of the Privy Council did not end the litigation between Prince Jefri and the BIA, the BIA re-opened proceedings in Malaysia and the Cayman Islands, resulting in the BIA gaining control over the Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles and The New York Palace Hotel in Manhattan. The BIA also re-opened collateral litigation in the British High Court, after winning before the Privy Council, the BIA asked the court to determine whether Prince Jefri should be held in contempt of court for allegedly making misstatements in his listing of assets
30.
Royal Collection
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The Royal Collection is the art collection of the British Royal Family and the largest private art collection in the world. The Queen owns some objects in the collection in right of the Crown, the Queens Gallery at Buckingham Palace in London was built specially to exhibit pieces from the collection on a rotating basis. There is an art gallery next to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. The Crown Jewels are on display in the Jewel House at the Tower of London. About 3,000 objects are on loan to museums throughout the world, few items from before King Henry VIII survive. The most important additions to the collection were made by Charles I, a collector of Italian paintings. Many works have been given from the collection to museums, especially by George III and Victoria, in particular, most of the then royal library was given by George III to the British Museum, now the British Library, where many books are still catalogued as Royal. The core of this collection was the purchase by James I of the collections of Humphrey Llwyd, Lord Lumley. Throughout the reign of Elizabeth II, there have been significant additions to the collection through purchases, bequests and through gifts from nation states. Numbering over 7,000 works, spread across the Royal Residences, numbering over 300 items, the Royal Collection holds one of the greatest and most important collections of French furniture ever assembled. The collection is noted for its range as well as counting the greatest cabinet-makers of the Ancien Régime. The Royal Collection is privately owned, although some of the works are displayed in areas of palaces, some of the collection is owned by the monarch personally, and everything else is described as being held in trust by the monarch in right of the Crown. All works of art acquired by monarchs up to the death of Queen Victoria in 1901 are heirlooms which fall into the latter category. Items the British royal family acquired later, including official gifts, ambiguity surrounds the status of objects that have come into Queen Elizabeth IIs possession during her reign. The Royal Collection Trust has confirmed that all pieces left to the Queen by the Queen Mother belong to her personally, non-personal items are said to be inalienable as they can only be willed to the monarchs successor. The legal accuracy of this claim has never been substantiated in court, in a 2000 television interview, the Duke of Edinburgh said that the Queen was technically, perfectly at liberty to sell them. In 1995, Iain Sproat, then Secretary of State for National Heritage, a registered charity, the Royal Collection Trust was set up in 1993 after the Windsor Castle fire with a mandate to conserve the works and enhance the publics appreciation and understanding of art. It employs around 500 staff and is one of the five departments of the Royal Household, buildings do not come under its remit
31.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
32.
Hansard
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Hansard is the traditional name of the transcripts of Parliamentary Debates in Britain and many Commonwealth countries. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard, a London printer and publisher, though the history of the Hansard began in the British parliament, each of Britains colonies developed a separate and distinctive history. Before 1771, the British Parliament had long been a highly secretive body, the official record of the actions of the House was publicly available, but there was no record of the debates. The publication of remarks made in the House became a breach of Parliamentary privilege, as the populace became interested in parliamentary debates, more independent newspapers began publishing unofficial accounts of them. Several editors used the device of veiling parliamentary debates as debates of fictitious societies or bodies, the names under which parliamentary debates were published include Proceedings of the Lower Room of the Robin Hood Society and Debates of the Senate of Magna Lilliputia. The Senate of Magna Lilliputia was printed in Edward Caves The Gentlemans Magazine, the names of the speakers were carefully filleted, for example, Sir Robert Walpole was thinly disguised as Sr. R―t W―le. In 1771 Brass Crosby, who was Lord Mayor of the City of London, had brought him a printer by the name of John Miller who dared publish reports of Parliamentary proceedings. He released the man, but was ordered to appear before the House to explain his actions. Crosby was committed to the Tower of London, but when he was brought to trial, several judges refused to hear the case and after protests from the public, Crosby was released. Parliament ceased to punish the publishing of its debates as harshly, partly due to the campaigns of John Wilkes on behalf of free speech, there then began several attempts to publish reports of debates. Among the early successes, the Parliamentary Register published by John Almon and John Debrett began in 1775, cobbetts avocation for the freedom of the press was severely punished by the British Government. On June 5,1810 William Cobbett stood trial for libel for an article he wrote against the British Government which was published by Thomas Curson Hansard. Cobbett was found guilty, upon the fullest and most satisfactory evidence, the sentence was described by J. C Trewin as vindictive. Cobbetts Parliamentary Debates became Hansard Parliamentary Debates, abbreviated over time to the now familiar Hansard, from 1829 the name Hansard appeared on the title page of each issue. Neither Cobbett nor Hansard ever employed anyone to take notes of the debates. For this reason, early editions of Hansard are not to be relied upon as a guide to everything discussed in Parliament. The last attempt at a rival was The Times which published debates in the 1880s. In 1878 a subsidy was granted to the Hansard press and at that point reporters were employed, despite hiring contract reporters there were still widespread complaints about the accuracy of the debates
33.
St Edward's Crown
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St Edwards Crown is one of the oldest Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom and the centrepiece of the coronation regalia. Named after Edward the Confessor, it has traditionally used to crown English and British monarchs at their coronation ceremonies. The current version was made for the coronation of Charles II in 1661, Edward the Confessor wore the first crown of this name at Easter, Whitsun and Christmas. It may have incorporated elements of a crown that belonged to Alfred the Great, in 1066, St Edwards Crown was reputedly used at the coronation of William the Conqueror. It was subsequently used for the coronations of William II, Henry I, Stephen, Henry II, Richard I, at the first coronation of Henry III in 1216, a chaplet was used instead of the crown. From this it was inferred by the German historian, Reinhold Pauli, however, Arthur Penrhyn Stanley maintained that the original crown and regalia were kept in the Treasury until the time of Henry VIII, and survived until 1642. It was supposedly used in 1533 to crown the wife of Henry VIII. During the English Civil War in 1642, Parliament sold the medieval St Edwards Crown, the British monarchy was eventually restored in 1661, and in preparation for the coronation of Charles II, a new St Edwards Crown was made by Sir Robert Vyner. It is 30 cm tall and weighs 2.23 kg and its purple velvet cap is trimmed with ermine. In 1671, Colonel Thomas Blood briefly stole the crown from the Tower of London, a new monde was created for the coronation of James II, and for William III the base was changed from a circle to an oval. St Edwards Crown was placed on the coffin of Edward VII for his lying in state, imitation pearls on the arches and base were replaced with golden beads. It was also smaller to fit George V, the first monarch to be crowned with St Edwards Crown in over 200 years. When not used to crown the monarch, St Edwards Crown was placed on the altar during the coronation, however, it did not feature at all at the coronation of Queen Victoria. Before 1649, it was usual for a monarch to be crowned with the original St Edwards Crown, images based on the crown are used in coats of arms, badges, logos and various other insignia throughout the Commonwealth realms to symbolise the monarchs royal authority. In these contexts, it replaced the Tudor Crown in 1953 by order of Queen Elizabeth II, use of the crowns image in this way is by permission of the monarch. Coronation crown Canadian royal symbols St Edwards Crown at the Royal Collection, the Crown Jewels at the Royal Family website
34.
Crown of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
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The crown was made by Garrard & Co. the Crown Jeweller at the time, and is modelled partly on the design of Queen Marys Crown, though it differs by having four half-arches instead of eight. As with Queen Marys Crown, its arches are detachable at the crosses pattée and it is the only crown for a British king or queen to be made of platinum. The Koh-i-Noor became a part of the Crown Jewels when it was left to the Crown upon Victorias death in 1901 and it had been successively mounted in the crowns of Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary before it was transferred to The Queen Mothers Crown. It was placed on top of The Queen Mothers coffin for her lying-in-state, the crown is on public display along with the other Crown Jewels in the Jewel House at the Tower of London. Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mothers Crown at the Royal Collection
35.
Crown of Queen Mary
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The Crown of Queen Mary was the consort crown of Mary of Teck, wife of King George V. It was manufactured for the coronation of George and Mary in 1911, the crown was made by Garrard & Co and contains around 2,200 diamonds. It contained the Koh-i-Noor diamond as well as Cullinan III and Cullinan IV, in 1914 they were replaced by crystal models. Unlike many earlier coronation crowns, it was constructed so that its arches could be removed. Many of the stones from the crown were used in the 1937 Crown of Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary used her crown in circlet form at the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth and at state ceremonies involving her granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II. Since Queen Marys death on 24 March 1953 her crown has remained unworn, Queen Marys Delhi Durbar diadem was inherited by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and is now the personal property of Queen Elizabeth II. This tiara with all the stones removed, was lent by the Queen to the Duchess of Cornwall during a state dinner at Buckingham Palace. Queen Marys Crown at the Royal Collection
36.
Crown of Queen Alexandra
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The Crown of Queen Alexandra was the consort crown of Alexandra of Denmark, the queen consort of King Edward VII. It was manufactured for the 1902 coronation, traditionally, queens consort had been crowned with the 17th century Crown of Mary of Modena. In 1902 it was decided to use neither the Modena nor Adelaide crowns for the first coronation of a consort in seven decades. Instead it was decided to create a new consort crown. The crown itself departed from the style of British crowns. It was less upright than the norm in British crowns, and more squat in design and its front arch joined a jewelled cross into which was set the Koh-i-Noor diamond. As with the later Crown of Queen Mary and Crown of Queen Elizabeth, the Crown of Queen Alexandra was not worn by later queens, with new crowns being created for Mary of Teck in 1911 and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1937. The major stones have been replaced with artificial ones referred to as paste
37.
Crown of Queen Adelaide
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The Crown of Queen Adelaide was the consort crown of Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, wife and Queen consort of King William IV of the United Kingdom. It was used at the coronation of William and Adelaide in 1831 and it was emptied of its jewels soon afterwards, was not worn again by Queen Adelaide, and has never been worn since. Since the 1690s English and British queens consort had been crowned with the Crown of Mary of Modena, first made for the wife of King James II. However criticism of the use of this crown had mounted, for reasons of age, size, state of repair and because it was seen to be too theatrical. In the preparations for the coronation in 1831 it was ruled that the Modena crown was unfit for Her Majestys use, plans were made for the creation of a new consort crown. The new crown followed British crown tradition in having four arches, meeting a globe. The Queen had objected to the practice of hiring diamonds. Instead diamonds from her own private jewellery were installed in her new crown, following the coronation, the diamonds were all removed, and the crown stored as a shell. Since Queen Adelaide, all British queens consort have had their own special consort crown made for them, later consort crowns were made for Alexandra of Denmark, Mary of Teck and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. Patrick which were stolen from Dublin Castle. ^ Anne Keay, The Crown Jewels p.58
38.
Crown of Mary of Modena
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The Crown of Mary of Modena was the consort crown of Mary of Modena, queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland, wife of James VII & II. Traditionally, where a monarch is married, his consort is crowned with him at his coronation. Under Oliver Cromwells rule, all of the ancient English crown jewels had been destroyed, when Charles II was crowned in 1661 he was not married, so there was no need to create a new consort crown. When however his brother, the Duke of York became James II & VII, it was necessary to make a new crown for his queen. In fact, three items of royal headgear were created, a coronation crown state crown, and a diadem or headcovering, Mary of Modenas coronation crown no longer exists. However her state crown and diadem still are held in the Tower of London, the circlet of gold, set with pearls at both edges, is decorated with 20 large diamonds. 4 crosses and 4 fleurs-de-lis, all made of diamonds, alternate above the row of pearls. It contains four half arches above the crosses, one row of pearls on each arch is framed on both sides by two rows of diamonds, a globe sits at the centre, on which sits a cross made of 5 diamonds and 3 pearls. In 1831, however the crown out of favour, and was replaced by the Crown of Queen Adelaide for the latters coronation alongside her husband. One official in the Lord Chamberlains office later wrote of the crowns very tawdry and it is no longer used in royal ceremonial, but in 1938–9 had its mock pearls replaced with cultured pearls. ^ Anna Keay, The Crown Jewels Historic Royal Palaces,2002, Mary of Modenas Crown of State at the Royal Collection
39.
Imperial Crown of India
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The Imperial Crown of India is the crown used by King George V in his capacity as Emperor of India at the Delhi Durbar of 1911. The British constitution prohibits the Crown Jewels from leaving the country, there are also considerable risks involved in transporting the historic regalia by sea and land over such a great distance. The Crown Jewellers at the time, Garrard & Co, made the crown at a cost of £60,000, the Imperial Crown of India weighs 920 g and is set with emeralds, rubies, sapphires and 6,100 diamonds. In the centre of the front cross is a very fine Indian ruby, the king wrote in his diary that it was heavy and uncomfortable to wear, Rather tired after wearing my crown for 3½ hours, it hurt my head, as it is pretty heavy. Similar to other British crowns, it consists of a circlet with four crosses pattée, however, the eight half-arches on top, which join at a typical monde and cross pattée, point upwards in the form of a Gothic ogee arch. It has not been used since George V returned from India and is now a part of the Crown Jewels on display in the Jewel House at the Tower of London, Imperial crown The Imperial Crown of India at the Royal Collection
40.
Small Diamond Crown of Queen Victoria
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It was perhaps the crown most associated with the queen and is one of the Crown Jewels on public display in the Jewel House at the Tower of London. Under government pressure she came back into view in 1870. The new small crown was created as a substitute, meeting both the duties of a monarch and her own desired form of dress as a widow. It was manufactured in March 1870 by the Crown Jewellers, Garrard & Co, although diminutive, the silver crown follows the standard design for British crowns. It is made up of two arches joining at a monde surmounted by a cross, each of the arches runs from a cross pattée along the rim of the base. Between each cross pattée is a fleur-de-lis, because of its small size –9 cm across and 10 cm high – the crown possesses no internal cap. It contains 1,162 brilliant and 138 rose-cut diamonds weighing 132 carats that were taken from a necklace belonging to the queen. Unlike coloured gemstones, diamonds were seen as acceptable to wear in mourning, the crown weighs 160 g in total. Queen Victoria first used her new crown at the State Opening of Parliament on 9 February 1871 and she often wore it minus the arches as a circlet or open crown. The crown had belonged to Queen Victoria personally rather than to the Crown, Victoria left it to the Crown in her will. It was subsequently worn on occasions by the consort, Alexandra of Denmark and after her by the next queen consort. After the death of Marys husband, George V, she stopped wearing the crown, Queen Victorias Small Diamond Crown at the Royal Collection
41.
Tudor Crown
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It was described by the art historian Sir Roy Strong as a masterpiece of early Tudor jewellers art, and its form has been compared to the crown of the Holy Roman Empire. The centre petals of the fleurs-de-lis had images of Christ, the Virgin Mary and St George, the crown was mentioned again in 1532,1550,1574 and 1597. After the death of Elizabeth I and the end of the Tudor dynasty, both James I and Charles I are known to have worn the crown. Following the abolition of the monarchy and the execution of Charles I in 1649, according to an inventory drawn up for the sale of the kings goods, it weighed 3.3 kg. It can be viewed as part of an exhibition in the Royal Chapel at Hampton Court Palace, imperial State Crown Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom The Making of Henry VIIIs Crown a video by Historic Royal Palaces Download a 3D digital model at Thingiverse
42.
Mirror of Great Britain
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The Mirror of Great Britain was a piece of jewellery that was part of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom during the reign of James I of England and VI of Scotland. The jewel was created around 1604 to mark Jamess Union of the Crowns of England and Scotland and it was created in gold with five main stones set into it, four diamonds and a ruby. The ruby and one of the diamonds were table-cut, while two further diamonds were lozenges, one of them was known as the Stone of the letter H of Scotland or the Great Harry and had belonged to Jamess mother, Mary, Queen of Scots. The final diamond was the Sancy Diamond which is believed to have previously owned by the Burgundian crown. The jewel was also decorated with two pearls and a number of smaller diamonds, the diamond used in the piece from the Great Harry appears to have been a gift to Mary, Queen of Scots from Henry II of France. In 1625, James pawned the jewel, and it was split up, the pearls remained in royal possession for another year but were then also pawned. The Sancy Diamond was reclaimed but again pawned in 1654 and subsequently part of the French Crown Jewels. The Sancy Diamond is now in the collection at the Louvre, the National Galleries of Scotland collection includes a 1604 portrait by John de Critz of James I and VI wearing the Mirror of Great Britain on his hat
43.
Cullinan Diamond
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The Cullinan Diamond is the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found, weighing 3,106.75 carats, discovered at the Premier No.2 mine in Cullinan, modern-day South Africa, on 26 January 1905. It was named after the chairman of the mine, Thomas Cullinan and it was the largest polished diamond of any colour until the discovery in 1985 of the Golden Jubilee Diamond, also from the Premier Mine. Cullinan I is mounted in the head of the Sovereigns Sceptre with Cross, the second-largest is Cullinan II or the Second Star of Africa, at 317.4 carats it is the fourth-largest cut diamond in the world, and is mounted in the Imperial State Crown. Both diamonds are part of the Crown Jewels which belong to the monarch in right of the Crown, at approximately 1 1⁄3 pounds,3 7⁄8 inches long,2 1⁄4 inches wide and 2 5⁄8 inches high the diamond was twice the size of any previously discovered. Wells immediately took it for examination, Sir William Crookes performed an analysis of the Cullinan diamond, ascertaining a weight of 3,106 carats. The stone was named after Sir Thomas Cullinan, the owner of the diamond mine. Crookes mentioned its remarkable clarity, but also a spot in the middle. The colours around the spot were very vivid and changed as the analyser was turned. According to Crookes, this pointed to internal strain, such strain is not uncommon in diamonds. Because one side of the diamond was perfectly smooth, it was concluded that the stone had originally been part of a larger diamond. Crookes pronounced the Cullinan a fragment, probably less than half, of an octahedral crystal. The discovery became a sensation, with the developments being followed avidly by the press. Wells was awarded £3,500 for the find and the diamond was purchased by the Transvaal Colony government for £150,000 and insured for ten times the amount. Prime Minister Louis Botha suggested that the diamond be presented to King Edward VII as a token of the loyalty and attachment of the people of Transvaal to his throne, a vote was staged in order for the government to find out what should be done with the diamond. In the aftermath of the Boer Wars the Boers voted in favour of presenting the king with the diamond, the final vote was 42 against and 19 in favour. In the wake of the vote, the British prime minister of the time, Henry Campbell-Bannerman, however, future prime minister Winston Churchill eventually managed to persuade the king to accept, to which Edward VII finally agreed. Churchill was presented with a replica of the diamond, which he delighted in showing off to friends. In 1905, due to the value of the Cullinan
44.
Koh-i-Noor
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The Koh-i-Noor is a large, colourless diamond that was found near Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, India, possibly in the 13th century. According to legend, it first weighed 793 carats uncut, although the earliest well-attested weight is 186 carats, in 1852, Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria, unhappy with its dull and irregular appearance, ordered it cut down from 186 carats. It emerged 42 percent lighter as a dazzling oval-cut brilliant weighing 105.6 carats, as the diamonds history involves a great deal of fighting between men, the Koh-i-Noor acquired a reputation within the British royal family for bringing bad luck to any man who wears it. Since arriving in the country, it has ever been worn by female members of the family. Today, the diamond is set in the front of the Queen Mothers Crown, part of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, and is seen by millions of visitors to the Tower of London each year. The governments of India, Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan have all tried to claim ownership of the Koh-i-Noor and demanded its return at various points in recent decades. However, the early history is lost in the mists of time. It is however impossible to know where it was found, in the early 14th century, Alauddin Khalji, second ruler of the Turkic Khalji dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, and his army began looting the kingdoms of southern India. Malik Kafur, Khiljis general, made a raid on Warangal in 1310. He called the stone the Diamond of Babur at the time, both Babur and his son and successor, Humayun, mentioned the origins of this diamond in their memoirs, thought by many historians to be the earliest reliable reference to the Koh-i-Noor. Shah Jahan, the fifth Mughal emperor, had the stone placed into his ornate Peacock Throne, in 1658, his son and successor, Aurangazeb, confined the ailing emperor at nearby Agra Fort. While in the possession of Aurangazeb, it was cut by Hortenso Borgia. For this carelessness, Borgia was reprimanded and fined 10,000 rupees, according to recent research the story of Borgia cutting the diamond is not correct, and most probably mixed up with the Orlov, part of Catherine the Greats imperial Russian sceptre in the Kremlin. Along with a host of items, including the Daria-i-Noor, as well as the Peacock Throne. When he finally managed to obtain the stone, and that is how the stone got its name. It is estimated that the worth of the treasures plundered came to 700 million rupees. This was roughly equivalent to £87.5 million sterling at the time, the riches gained by the Afsharid Empire from the Indian campaign were so monumental that Nader Shah made a proclamation alleviating all subjects of the Empire from taxes for a total of three years. After the assassination of Nader Shah in 1747 and the collapse of his empire, the stone came into the hands of one of his generals, Ahmad Shah Durrani, who later became the Emir of Afghanistan
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St Edward's Sapphire
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St Edwards Sapphire is an octagonal, rose-cut sapphire that forms part of the British Crown Jewels. Its history stretches back in time than any other gemstone in the royal collection. The stone is thought to have been in the ring of Edward the Confessor, known later as St Edward. Edward, one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England, was buried with the ring at Westminster Abbey in 1066 and it was reputedly taken from the ring when Edwards body was re-interred at Westminster Abbey in 1163. How the gem survived the English Civil War in the 17th century is not clear, St Edwards Sapphire is on public display with the other Crown Jewels in the Jewel House at the Tower of London
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