Langbahn Team – Weltmeisterschaft

Crown of James I

Crown of James I
The Crown of James I, circa 1632
Details
CountryKingdom of England
Made1603
Arches2
MaterialGold
Notable stonesBlack Prince's Ruby[1]

The Crown of James I was a crown created for the 1603 coronation of James I of England.[2] It featured in a 1633 van Dyck portrait of Charles I and is not subsequently mentioned in the schedule of regalia broken up in 1649 during the English Civil War.

Description

James was crowned with the Tudor Crown at his 1603 coronation but wore the crown created specially for him at the end of the service.[3] The crown is described in detail in a 1606 list of items to be annexed to the Crown:[4]

'Item, a Crown Imperiall of gould, set about the nether border with nyne pointed diamonds, and betwene every diamond a knot of pearl, set by five pearles in a knot; in the upper border eight rock-rubies and twenty round pearlees; the foure arches being set each of them with a table diamond, a table ruby, an emerald; and uppon two of the arches eighteen pearls, and uppon the other two arches seventeen pearles ; and betweene every arch a great ballace sett in a collett of gould, and uppon the toppe a very great ballace pierced, and a little crosse of goulde upon the toppe, enamelled blewe.'

The 'very great ballace pierced' on the top of the crown is the Black Prince's Ruby which James had inherited from Elizabeth I.[1]

See also

Notes

References

  1. ^ a b Roe, F. Gordon (1937). Coronation Cavalcade: The Story of the British Crown. London: P.R. Gawthorn Ltd. p. 65. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
  2. ^ Steeholm, Clara and Hardy (1938). James I of England: the Wisest Fool in Christendom. London: Michael Joseph. p. 252. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  3. ^ The Ancestor; a Quarterly Review of County and Family History, Heraldry and Antiquities. Vol. II. London: Constable. 1902. pp. 73–74. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
  4. ^ Nichols, John (1828). The Progresses of King James the First in Four Volumes. Vol. II. London: J.B. Nichols. p. 44–45. Retrieved 3 February 2025.