What To Know About St. Edward’s Crown—And The Controversies Behind The Royal Jewels On Display During King Charles’ Coronation

Topline

Charles III will be crowned Saturday with the centuries-old St. Edward’s Crown, a piece of the Royal Family’s famous Crown Jewels, a collection known for its extravagance and controversies as they feature jewels mined from former United Kingdom colonies and ivory from the controversial ivory trade.

Key Facts

St. Edward’s Crown

St. Edward’s Crown is made of 22-carat gold and 444 precious and semiprecious stones, including 345 rose-cut aquamarines, 37 white topaz, 27 tourmalines, 12 rubies, seven amethysts, six sapphires, two jargoons, one garnet, one spinel and one carbuncle.

Queen Mary’s Crown—and The Koh-I-Noor Diamond

Camilla will use Queen Mary’s crown—which has a gold-lined silver frame and 2,200 diamonds—and will carry a controversial scepter made of ivory. Camilla’s crown will not feature an infamous gem, the Koh-i-Noor diamond, a 105.6-carat stone mined in India with a long, disputed history that is seen as a symbol of the United Kingdom’s colonial history. Queen Mary’s crown will instead be fitted with Elizabeth II’s Cullinan III, IV and V diamonds, which are 94.4, 63.6 and 18.8 metric carats respectively—though these gems have also faced criticism and calls to be returned to South Africa where the large Cullinan diamond was mined in 1905.

Sovereign’s Scepter And Cross And Imperial State Crown

Other stones cut from the Cullinan diamond will be on display at the coronation: Charles will be presented with the Sovereign’s Scepter with Cross, a golden rod featuring the 530.2-carat Cullinan I diamond (known as the “Great Star of Africa”), and he will wear the Imperial State Crown upon leaving Westminster Abbey which features the 317.4-carat Cullinan II diamond.

Claims On The Koh-I-Noor

India’s Bharatiya Janata party, of which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a member, says the Koh-i-Noor diamond “brings back painful memories of the colonial past.” The Indian government—as well as Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan—consider the gem to be rightfully theirs as its leaders have at times possessed the gem throughout its centuries-long history. Even the Taliban has demanded the return of the gem to Afghanistan.

Cullinan Diamonds Controversy

Anti-monarchists ridiculed the use of Cullinan diamonds instead of the Koh-i-Noor for Camilla’s crown, which have also faced calls for their return to South Africa. South African lawyer and activist Mothusi Kamanga told Reuters: “​​The diamond needs to come to South Africa. It needs to be a sign of our pride, our heritage and our culture.”

Surprising Fact

Among the most notable critics of the ivory trade is Prince William, who considers it “a symbol of destruction, not of luxury” and has called for a total ban to protect animals from being slaughtered. Whether Camilla would use the ivory scepter was highly speculated by British media ahead of the coronation because of William’s fierce criticism of the ivory trade.

Big Number

$4 billion. That’s how much the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors estimated the Crown Jewels were worth in 2019, using the sale of the French Crown Jewels in 1887 and the sale of the late Princess Margaret’s jewelry in 2006 as a comparison. The collection consists of more than 100 objects and 23,000 gemstones and has been protected in the Tower of London since the 1660s.

Key Background

The United Kingdom is facing renewed criticism for its long history of colonialism—historians say Britain has invaded 90% of the world’s countries, and 56 countries are still in the Commonwealth today. Some Commonwealth countries, including Australia and several in the Caribbean, expressed interest in becoming independent of the monarchy after Elizabeth II’s death, following in the footsteps of Barbados after it declared independence in 2021. Favorability of the monarchy has dropped significantly: The National Centre for Social Research found in April record-low approval of the monarchy with just 29% of respondents deeming it “very important,” the lowest percentage since it started collecting data 40 years ago.

Further Reading

The Long and Controversial History of the Coronation Crowns (TIME)

Everything You Need To Know About King Charles’ Coronation: How To Watch It And Who’s Attending (Forbes)

How Rich Is King Charles III? Inside The New Monarch’s Outrageous Fortune (Forbes)

South Africans call for UK to return diamonds set in crown jewels (CNN)