The coronation has officially been set for May 6, 2023, at Westminster Abbey in London. During this ceremony, Charles III will be crowned king and Camilla will be named queen consort.
The Royal Family recently announced that Charles will wear the St. Edward’s Crown for his coronation, which was made for Charles II in 1661 and “is thought to date back to the eleventh-century royal saint, Edward the Confessor—the last Anglo-Saxon king of England,” according to The Royal Collection Trust.
The design features four crosses-pattée, four fleurs-de-lis, and two arches. The solid gold crown has a velvet cap with an ermine band and is set with a collection of stunning gems—including rubies, amethysts, sapphires, garnet, topazes, and tourmalines.
According to a post from The Royal Family’s Instagram, Queen Mary’s Crown was recently removed from the Tower of London to be modified for Camilla ahead of the coronation. According to the post, “This is the first time in recent history that an existing crown will be used for the Coronation of a Consort instead of a new commission being made.”
Queen Mary’s Crown was originally designed for the coronation in June 1911. At the time, it contained three large diamonds—the Koh-i-nûr, and Cullinan III and IV, also known as the Lesser Stars of Africa.
These incredibly rare diamonds were later replaced with crystal replicas so the jewels could be used in other settings. According to The Royal Collection Trust, “The Koh-i-nûr diamond was moved to the crown of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and Cullinan III and IV were set as a brooch.”
As a tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, Camilla will have the Queen Mary crown reset with the Cullinan III, IV and V diamonds, which were part of Queen Elizabeth II’’s personal jewelry collection (she often wore them as brooches).
