Skip to main content

Previous

Thatcherism and the prime ministership of Margaret Thatcher, 1979–90

OBJECT

St Edward’s Crown

St Edward’s Crown is a key symbol of the British monarchy, but what does it reveal about how the monarchy reasserted itself after the 1660 Restoration?

All monarchies have some kind of formal regalia, usually involving a crown. While some form of ceremonial headwear was part of the trappings of power in imperial Rome, the crown as we know it really came into its own during the medieval era. Very few examples of medieval crowns exist but the best preserved is the crown of the Holy Roman Empire, now in Vienna.

We do not know what the English crown in the medieval period looked like exactly. It appears on some coins adorning the head of various monarchs and there are some surviving descriptions, but the actual crown and all other crown jewels were destroyed by Oliver Cromwell after the English Civil War.

Your organisation does not have access to this article.

Sign up today to give your students the edge they need to achieve their best grades with subject expertise

Subscribe

Previous

Thatcherism and the prime ministership of Margaret Thatcher, 1979–90

Related articles: