![Queen Victoria (1887)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Queen_Victoria_%281887%29.jpg)
The Small Diamond Crown of Queen Victoria is a miniature
imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imperial, Nebraska
* Imperial, Pennsylvania
* Imperial, Texa ...
and
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 ...
made at the request of
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
in 1870 to wear over her
widow's cap following the death of her husband,
Prince Albert. It was perhaps the crown most associated with the queen and is one of the
Crown Jewels on public display in the
Jewel House
The Jewel House is a vault housing the British Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, Crown Jewels in the Waterloo Block (formerly a barracks) at the Tower of London. It was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1994 and refurbished in 2012. Regalia ...
at the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
.
Background
Following the death of
Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Franz August Karl Albert Emanuel; 26 August 1819 – 14 December 1861) was the consort of Queen Victoria from their marriage on 10 February 1840 until his death in 1861.
Albert was born in the Saxon duch ...
, Victoria's husband, in 1861, Queen Victoria withdrew from public life and wore a black and white ensemble colloquially known as
widow's weeds, which she continued to wear until her death in 1901. Under government pressure she came back into public view in 1870. However, she declined to wear her
Imperial State Crown
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 monarc ...
again, partly because she found it heavy and uncomfortable to wear, and partly because it would have been impossible to wear on top of her widow's cap. The new small crown was created as a substitute, meeting both the ceremonial duties of a monarch and her own desired form of dress as a
widow
A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died.
Terminology
The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word ...
.
It was manufactured in March 1870 by the Crown Jewellers,
Garrard & Co
Garrard & Co. Limited, formerly Asprey & Garrard Limited, designs and manufactures luxury jewellery and silver. George Wickes founded Garrard in London in 1735 and the brand is headquartered at Albemarle Street in Mayfair, London. Garrard also h ...
.
Design
Although diminutive, the silver crown follows the standard design for British crowns. It is made up of two arches joining at 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 ...
surmounted by a cross. Each of the arches runs from a
cross pattée
A cross pattée, cross patty or cross paty, also known as a cross formy or cross formée (french: croix pattée, german: Tatzenkreuz), is a type of Christian cross with arms that are narrow at the centre, and often flared in a curve or straight ...
along the rim of the base. Between each cross pattée is a
fleur-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 ...
. Because of its small size – across and high – the crown possesses no internal
cap
A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...
.
It contains 1,162 brilliant and 138 rose-cut diamonds weighing that were taken from a large necklace belonging to the queen.
Unlike coloured
gemstone
A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, ...
s, diamonds were seen as acceptable to wear in mourning.
The crown weighs in total.
Usage
Queen Victoria first used her new crown at the
State Opening of Parliament
The State Opening of Parliament is a ceremonial event which formally marks the beginning of a session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It includes a speech from the throne known as the King's (or Queen's) Speech. The event takes place ...
on 9 February 1871. She often wore it minus the arches as a circlet or open crown.
After Victoria
![Alexandra von Daenemark](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Alexandra_von_Daenemark.jpg)
The crown had belonged to Queen Victoria personally rather than to
the Crown
The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
and thus was not a part of the
Crown Jewels. Victoria left it to the Crown in her
will
Will may refer to:
Common meanings
* Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death
* Will (philosophy), or willpower
* Will (sociology)
* Will, volition (psychology)
* Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will
...
. It was subsequently worn on occasions by the
queen consort,
Alexandra of Denmark
Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 to 6 May 1910 as the wife of King ...
(1901–1910) and after her by the next queen consort,
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck (Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes; 26 May 186724 March 1953) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 6 May 1910 until 20 Janua ...
(1910–1936). After the death of Mary's husband,
George V, she stopped wearing the crown. When the new queen consort,
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of Ki ...
(1936–1952), decided not to wear the Small Diamond Crown, it was deposited by Queen Victoria's great-grandson,
George VI
George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...
, in the
Jewel House
The Jewel House is a vault housing the British Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, Crown Jewels in the Waterloo Block (formerly a barracks) at the Tower of London. It was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1994 and refurbished in 2012. Regalia ...
at the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
, where it remains on public display.
References
{{Queen Victoria
Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom
Individual crowns
Queen Victoria
1870 introductions
1870 in the United Kingdom