Well if what you’ve got is a headband (uh, diadem) and you want it to be more like a hat, what would you do?
Well, you could have just padded the brim that rests on your head.
That’s not a hat.
Well, whatever you call the brim when it’s on a crown. You get the concept.
I was just wondering because I think the crowns would look better without the visible fabric.
It’s a cap of maintenance which is in itself a traditional signifier of nobility.
So, a circlet?
There are several traditional explanations:
- To give a background for the elements of the crown, to make them stand out against the plain fabric;
- to keep the monarch’s head warm when the crown is worn for an extended period, particularly in drafty cathedrals or outdoor parades;
- as a cap of maintenance, or an allusion to one, such a cap being a traditional sign of nobility;
- in mimicry of the Byzantine tradition, such as St. Stephen’s Crown.
Nobody knows which is the real explanation, but certainly fabric caps have been incorporated into crowns since the late medieval period. The Tudor Crown of Henry VIII (constructed before 1521) is depicted as having one. for example.
Thank you! That was very helpful.
Also IMHO if you’re going to have that strip of ermine fur underneath the band, you need the fabric of the velvet or whatever cap to balance that out.
Now for some reason I am absolutely dying to know what kind of interior sweatband is lining the band of the crown, and whether or not they swap it out for a new one every time the crown is worn. The Royal Collection Trust website doesn’t seem to say anything about it.
[checks forum] Uh, this has kinda gotten away from P&E concerns, sorry.
if i remember properly there are adjustment to the band to make the crown fit better. i’m sure head sizes are not identical from monarch to monarch. adjustments were made to fit elizabeth and i’m sure adjustments will be made to fit charles.
Fully accepting any hand slap I might get for continuing this hijack before a mod shuts it down, Charles’ job is almost entirely symbolic, so the fit and look of his crown and coat of arms are arguably in-scope.
It’s a little known fact that part of the Crown Jewels is the Royal Hammer, used for rough adjustments to the fit of the crown, while being worn of course.
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.[10] The one made for Queen Victoria in 1838 is the basis for today’s crown. Made by Rundell and Bridge in 1838 using old and new jewels, it had a crimson velvet cap with ermine border and a lining of white silk. It weighed 39.25 troy ounces (43.06 oz; 1,221 g) and was decorated with 1,363 brilliant-cut, 1,273 rose-cut and 147 table-cut diamonds, 277 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, 4 rubies, and the Black Prince’s Ruby (a spinel).[11] 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 and broke. Victoria wrote in her diary, “it was all crushed and squashed like a pudding that had sat down”.[12] The empty frame of Victoria’s imperial state crown survives in the Royal Collection.[13]
A new crown was made for the coronation of George VI in 1937 by Garrard & Co.[14][15] The crown was adjusted for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953, with the head size reduced and the arches lowered by 25 mm (1 inch) to give it a more feminine appearance.[16]
perhaps charles will have a new crown made? the crown is an important part of the reign as it is worn to open parliament yearly.
Thanks for all the responses everybody! I now officially declare this hijack closed. Sorry, no crown to wear while making my declaration.
During the funeral, during one of the quieter moments the commentators were talking about all of the changes that would have to be made with the new monarch. Besides them mentioning the usual currency and coinage portrait changes, the red letter boxes will stop being produced with Elizabeth’s crest and start using Charles’.
The commentator said it’s not like they’re going to pull up the old ones but rather use the new crest on new installations or when the boxes are replaced. With the big drop off in snail mail new installations are rare, and they’re designed to last forever so replacements are even more rare. It will be a while before the difference is noticed.
I believe there are still some George V and Victoria boxes in service.
The real reason is because a king didn’t want people talking about how much hair he had lost since the previous year
There’s an Edward VII postbox in my street, and a Victoria one close to my office - even though we (South Africa) became a republic in 1961.
I’d be extremely surprised if he had an actual new crown made. That’s not the kind of thing that would be good optics in 2022. Maybe they’ll ship-of-Theseus some new parts in and vaguely allude to restoration work, but it will be treated as if it was the exact same object as was made for his grandfather in 1937.
The messiest crown-related drama is probably going to be around the Koh-i-Noor diamond, which is currently in the crown that is expected to be used to crown the new queen. If that’s not replaced with some other jewels (as it was in Queen Mary’s crown so she could wear the circlet to her son’s coronation), it’s going to turn the coronation into a major diplomatic dispute.
They could make a new one with a 3-D printer. That would show how up-to-date Charles is.