Dare to imagine holding a piece of history. It is a symbol of royal investiture and crafted with gold. Today we are standing in front of The Coronet. It may not look like a jewel house. But it holds stories of crowns and princes.
The Coronet of Charles, Prince of Wales is not here. It is a small crown with a big story. It is part of the Honours of Wales. The coronet was made for Charles III. He used it at his investiture as Prince of Wales in 1969.
The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths gifted it. They gave it to the Prince’s mother, Queen Elizabeth II. Louis Osman designed the coronet. People described it as modern, yet traditional. You can see it today. It is on display in the Jewel House at the Tower of London.
But why was a new coronet needed? In 1936, King Edward VIII abdicated. He went into exile as the Duke of Windsor. Edward took the Coronet of George, Prince of Wales with him. This act was highly controversial. The coronet was made for King George V. He wore it at his father’s coronation in 1902. Edward also wore it at his father’s coronation in 1911.
In 1969, it was impractical to charge the ex-king. He would return the coronet after his death in 1972. The 1902 coronet was unavailable. Also, the Coronet of Frederick, Prince of Wales was too old to use. So, a new coronet was made for Prince Charles’s investiture. He became Prince of Wales in 1958. The ceremony was before his 21st birthday. Today, the coronets of Frederick and George are in the Tower of London. They are part of the Crown Jewels.
King Charles II set the form in 1677. The Coronet has one arch. British monarchs’ crowns have two or four half-arches. This shows the Prince of Wales is below the monarch. Yet, he outranks other royal princes and dukes. Louis Osman, an eccentric designer, created the coronet. It had a futurist look popular in the 1960s.
A gold-plated ping-pong ball sits in the arch’s center. It is the monde. Malcolm Appleby engraved it with the Prince of Wales’s insignia. Thirteen square diamonds in platinum encircle the monde. They form the constellation Scorpio. That is the Prince of Wales’s star sign.
The base is 24-carat textured gold. Inside, there is a purple velvet cap. Ermine lines the cap. Four crosses and four abstract fleurs-de-lis adorn the base. They are in 22-carat gold from the Mawddach Valley. This was the last Welsh gold held by Johnson Matthey.
Diamonds and emeralds sparsely decorate the base. The diamonds represent the seven deadly sins. They also represent the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. In total, the coronet features 75 diamonds and 12 emeralds. White and green are the national colors of Wales. The coronet weighs 1.36 kilograms or 3 pounds. It is 26.5 centimeters or 10.4 inches tall. The diameter is 28.8 centimeters or 11.3 inches at its widest.
Osman unveiled the coronet in London. He called it “something that is modern”. The frame was made using electroplating. Gold was plated onto an epoxy resin cast. B. J. S. Electroplating Co. made a fibreglass mould. They used a wax model by Louis Osman. Engelhard Industries assisted with the electroforming. David Mason led the project at Engelhard. Electroforming an object that size was a world first. It was the first crown made this way.
The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths gifted the coronet to Queen Elizabeth II. The investiture took place at Caernarfon Castle on 1 July 1969. Princes of Wales rarely use coronets. Frederick’s coronet was never worn. George’s coronet was worn rarely. Charles only wore his at his investiture. In 1970, it was carried before him in the House of Lords.
Queen Elizabeth II loaned the coronet to the National Museum and Gallery of Wales in 1974. It went into storage at St James’s Palace, London, in 2011. In 2020, the coronet and rod went on display at the Tower of London.
So, while we are here at The Coronet, remember the real coronet’s journey. It is a symbol of tradition and modernity. A piece of Welsh and British history. A treasure crafted with care and meaning.