The State Crown of Mary of Modena is the consort crown made in 1685 for

Mary of Modena Mary of Modena ( it, Maria Beatrice Eleonora Anna Margherita Isabella d'Este; ) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland as the second wife of James II and VII. A devout Roman Catholic, Mary married the widower James, who was then the young ...

, queen of England, Scotland and Ireland. It was used by future queens consort up until the end of the 18th century. Originally set with hired diamonds, the crown is set with crystals for display in the Jewel House at the Tower of London. Mary also had a diadem, also in the Jewel House, and a

coronation crown A coronation crown is a crown used by a monarch when being crowned. In some monarchies, monarchs have or had a number of crowns for different occasions, such as a coronation crown for the moment of coronation and a ''state crown'' for general u ...

, now owned by the

Museum of London The Museum of London is a museum in London, covering the history of the UK's capital city from prehistoric to modern times. It was formed in 1976 by amalgamating collections previously held by the City Corporation at the Guildhall, London, Gui ...

Description

The gold crown originally had 523 small diamonds, 38 large diamonds, and 129 large pearls. These have been replaced with quartz crystals. It is tall and weighs . The crown is decorated with crosses pattée and

fleurs-de-lis The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...

and has four half-arches, surmounted with a

monde 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 monarch rules. It is the point at which a crown's half arches meet. It is usually topped off either w ...

and cross pattée.

Origin

Traditionally, when a king is married, his wife is crowned as queen at their coronation ceremony. In 1649, the monarchy was abolished after a long civil war between Charles I and his Parliament, and the Crown Jewels were either sold or turned into coins by the Mint. The coronation of

and her husband,

James II and VII James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...

, marked the first time a queen was crowned after the restoration of the monarchy, Charles II having been unmarried when he took the throne in 1660.Mears, et al., p. 25. Mary of Modena's Diadem

Three pieces of headgear were made for the queen: a diadem to wear in procession to Westminster Abbey, a coronation crown for the crowning, and a

state crown A state crown is the working crown worn or used by a monarch on recurring state occasions such as when opening Parliament in Britain, as opposed to the coronation crown with which they would be formally crowned. Some state crowns might however b ...

to wear upon leaving the Abbey.Rose, pp. 36–37. Made by Richard de Beauvoir, the state crown was covered in diamonds valued at £35,000, and the bill for hiring them was £1,000. She paid for the crowns and diadem out of her own pocket, and also commissioned two new sceptres and a coronation ring for the ceremony. Mary's diadem was set with 177 diamonds, 78 pearls, 1 sapphire, 1 emerald, and 1 ruby; it now contains artificial gemstones and cultured pearls, and is also on display at the Tower of London. It is tall and weighs . Her empty coronation crown was acquired from a private dealer by the

in 1956. It had been sent to the Crown Jewellers,

Rundell & Bridge Rundell & Bridge were a London firm of jewellers and goldsmiths formed by Philip Rundell (1746–1827) and John Bridge (baptized 1755–1834). History When Edmond Walter Rundell, nephew of Philip Rundell, was admitted as a partner in 1804, the ...

, for maintenance work in the 19th century, but was never returned to the Royal family. Originally, the crown weighed and was set with 419 diamonds, 46 large pearls, 7 rubies, 7 sapphires, and 2 emeralds.Twining, p. 158.

Usage

The crown was subsequently used by queens regnant

Mary II Mary II (30 April 166228 December 1694) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland, co-reigning with her husband, William III & II, from 1689 until her death in 1694. Mary was the eldest daughter of James, Duke of York, and his first wife ...

and Anne; and by queens consort

Caroline of Ansbach , father = John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach , mother = Princess Eleonore Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach , birth_date = , birth_place = Ansbach, Principality of Ansbach, Holy Roman Empire , death_date = , death_place = St James's Pala ...

and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. In 1831, the crown was judged to be too theatrical and in a poor state of repair, and so another crown was made for the new queen, Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen.Keay, p. 137. However, it is possible that Adelaide was crowned using one of Mary of Modena's crowns.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* * {{Crowns 1685 works Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom