| Crown of Scotland | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Heraldic depictions | |
.svg) | |
| Details | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Made | 1540(remade from previous version) |
| Owner | Charles III in right ofthe Crown |
| Weight | 1.6 kg (3.5 lb) |
| Arches | 4 |
| Material | Scottish gold and silver[1] |
TheCrown of Scotland (Scots:Croun o Scotland,Scottish Gaelic:Crùn na h-Alba) is the centrepiece of theHonours of Scotland. It is thecrown that was used at thecoronation of themonarchs of Scotland, and it is the oldest surviving crown in theBritish Isles and among the oldest inEurope.
A crown must have been made during the reign ofRobert the Bruce or his son,David II, as David wasanointed and crowned, as were all the subsequentStewart kings. It was probably this new crown that was remodelled into the current crown. Remade in its current form forJames V in 1540, the crown was last used in a coronation to crownCharles II in 1651. Until1707 the crown was present at the opening of each term of theParliament of Scotland as a symbol of royal authority. The crown has been present at each Opening Ceremony of theScottish Parliament since 1999.
Made of solid gold andsilver, the crown weighs 1.6 kilograms (3 pounds 8 ounces) and is decorated with 69 Scottish freshwaterpearls and 43gemstones.[2] Stylised versions of the crown appear upon the version of theroyal coat of arms of the United Kingdom used in Scotland and the ScottishRoyal Cypher ofCharles III.
The Crown of Scotland is kept on public display in the Crown Room atEdinburgh Castle.
The base of the Crown of Scotland is acirclet of solidgold set with 22 largepearls and the twentygemstones from the old crown. These pearls and gemstones are set within frames with leaf-shaped sides andsilver andenamel upper and lower sections. On the top edge of the circlet are forty gold half circles, with each half circle topped by an alternating sequence of twenty pearls, ten goldfleurs-de-lis, and ten goldcrosses fleury. Each cross fleury features four pearls surrounding a central gemstone.[3]
The circlet supports the four solid gold arches from the old crown, each of which is decorated with gold and red-enamelledoak leaves. The arches are topped by a goldmonde, which is enamelled blue and covered with small gold stars, and topped by a goldcross pattée, set off with black enamel, eight pearls and a largeamethyst. James V'sroyal cypher 'JR5' appears on the lower arm of the cross on top of the crown, enamelled in black.[4] The crown has a redvelvetbonnet, with four enamelled gold ornaments adorned with a pearl attached to it between the four arches.[5]
.jpg)
The earliest known depiction of a Scottish monarch wearing a crown is from the reign ofEdgar (1097–1107), who was depicted on hisGreat Seal wearing a crown and holding a sceptre and sword.[6] The first written reference to the Crown of Scotland dates from theabdication ofJohn Balliol in 1296, when the Scottish regalia was described as consisting of a sceptre, sword, crown and ring. The crown and other regalia were seized by the army ofEdward I of England in 1296 and taken toEngland.[7]
Following his seizure of the throne in 1306,Robert the Bruce was crowned atScone Abbey with a newly made circlet of gold.[8] The circlet was captured by the English after theBattle of Methven and taken to England and, although it has been claimed that the present Crown of Scotland incorporates the original circlet, there is no record of the circlet ever having been returned to Scotland and no clear evidence for this claim.[9] A new crown must have been made during the reign of Robert the Bruce or his son,David II, as David wasanointed and crowned, as were all the subsequentStewart kings, and it was probably this new crown that was remodelled into the current crown.[10][11][12]
From the reign of Edgar until the reign ofJames III (1460–1488) the Crown of Scotland was depicted as a circlet or "open" crown surmounted by fleurs de lis around its rim.[13] The first evidence of a change in the form of the crown appears late in the reign of James III, with the king depicted on a silver coin of 1484 wearing animperial or "closed" crown with four arches surmounted by amonde and cross. The earliest illustration of the Crown of Scotland as an imperial crown dates from 1503 whenJames IV was depicted wearing an imperial crown in theBook of Hours commissioned for his marriage toMargaret Tudor. The accuracy of this depiction of the crown has been questioned, as the artist lived in County of Flanders and would never have seen the crown.[14] A new crown was made for Margaret Tudor byJohn Currour. The king's crown was repaired byMatthew Auchinleck in 1503 and ermine was added to its bonnet in March 1504, suggesting it may have been made in imperial form.[15]
The Crown of Scotland assumed the form of an imperial crown when it was remodelled in August 1532.[16] The existing crown was delicate and had been repaired in May 1532, and would be again the following year byAdam Leys.[17] In October 1533,James Hamilton of Finnart was paid for three ounces of gold used to repair the crown.[18]
In January 1540, James V commissioned the royal goldsmith,John Mosman, to remodel the crown.[19] Mosman dismantled the old crown, removing the four arches and all the gemstones and pearls. The circlet of the old crown was melted down, and Mosman added 41 ounces ofScottish gold mined atLeadhills inLanarkshire.[20] Mosman created a new circlet and decorated it with the gemstones and pearls from the old crown, added the four arches, the monde and cross. James V ordered a purple and ermine bonnet from tailorThomas Arthur of Edinburgh to fit inside the crown.[21]James VII ordered the colour of the bonnet be changed to red in 1685. The bonnet has been replaced several times, and the present bonnet was made in 1993.[22]
The re-modelled crown was first worn by James V in February 1540 to thecoronation atHolyrood Abbey of his second wife,Mary of Guise, asqueen consort. It was subsequently used in the coronations of the infant monarchsMary, Queen of Scots, in 1543 andJames VI in 1567. In the absence of a resident Scottish monarch following theUnion of the Crowns in 1603, theHonours of Scotland were carried to sittings of theParliament of Scotland in Edinburgh to symbolise themonarch's presence and theroyal assent to legislation. The crown was used at thecoronation ofCharles I at theHolyrood Abbey in 1633, and ofCharles II atScone parish church in 1651. The subsequent monarchs of Scotland only took the Scottish coronation oath, and were never crowned in Scotland. During theWars of the Three Kingdoms, having already destroyed theEnglish Crown Jewels,Oliver Cromwell sought to destroy the Scottish Regalia. However, the Honours of Scotland were secretly buried atDunnottar Castle,Aberdeenshire, until Charles II was restored in 1660.
Following theAct of Union of 1707, which united theKingdom of Scotland and theKingdom of England to form theKingdom of Great Britain, and having no ceremonial role to play in the proceedings of the newParliament of Great Britain inLondon, the Honours of Scotland were locked away inEdinburgh Castle. There they remained all but forgotten in a chest until 1818, when a group of people includingSir Walter Scott set out to find them.
Since 1819, they have been on display in theCrown Room of Edinburgh Castle, from where they are removed only for state occasions. The first such occasion was in 1822 when presented toGeorge IV at thePalace of Holyroodhouse during his visit to Edinburgh – the first visit to Scotland by a reigning monarch since Charles II in 1651.
On 24 June 1953, following hercoronation atWestminster Abbey, the Crown of Scotland was carried beforeElizabeth II in a procession from the Palace of Holyroodhouse toSt Giles' Cathedral,Edinburgh, where the Honours of Scotland were presented to the monarch during a National Service of Thanksgiving.
The Crown of Scotland has been present at the royal opening ceremonies of the modernScottish Parliament, including the first in 1999,[23] and the official opening of the newScottish Parliament Building at Holyrood in 2004.[24] On such occasions the crown, carried by theDuke of Hamilton, the hereditary bearer of the Crown of Scotland, immediately precedes the monarch in the custom of the opening ceremonial procession of the ancientParliament of Scotland known as theRiding of Parliament.
.jpg)
The Crown of Scotland surmounted the Scottish version of theRoyal Standard of the United Kingdom which covered the coffin of Elizabeth II as she lay-at-rest in St Giles' Cathedral from 12 to 13 September 2022.[25] On 5 July 2023, the Crown, the Sceptre and theElizabeth Sword, the newest addition to the Honours of Scotland, were presented toCharles III at anational service of thanksgiving at St Giles' Cathedral.[26]
.svg)
As well as appearing in theRoyal coat of arms of the UK used in Scotland, the crown appears in the version of the UK royal arms used by theScotland Office, and it also appeared in the arms used by the formerScottish Executive.
Stylised versions of the crown appear upon Scottish version of theRoyal Cypher ofCharles III and upon the badges of theRoyal Regiment of Scotland,The Royal British Legion Scotland, theScottish Ambulance Service,Police Scotland and, (as part of thecrest of theRoyal Arms), upon the logos of theCrown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service,RCAHMS, andGeneral Register Office for Scotland.
Use of the crown for commercial purposes is restricted in the UK (and in countries which are party to theParis Convention) under theTrade Marks Act 1994, and its use is governed by theLord Chamberlain's Office.[27]
A version of the crown is used uponRoyal Mail premises, vehicles and Scottishpillar,lamp andwall boxes, and a metal insert plate showing the Crown of Scotland also appears on model K6red telephone boxes in Scotland.
From 1927 until its abolition in 1975, the arms ofKincardineshire County Council featured the crown, together with the sword and sceptre, above an artist's rendering of Dunnottar Castle, to mark the county's status as the 17th-century hiding place of the Honours of Scotland during theWars of the Three Kingdoms.[28]
The Crown of Scotland also appears on maritime flags, including theBlue Ensign of vessels belonging toMarine Scotland (Compliance Division), and upon theburgees of certain royal yacht clubs in Scotland including, for example, that of the Royal Scottish Motor Yacht Club.[29]
From 1968 to 2008, the reverse of theFive pence coin, minted for circulation throughout the United Kingdom, featured the Royal Badge of Scotland – a thistle surmounted by the Crown of Scotland.
The crown, as a component of the Royal Badge of Scotland ('A Thistle Royally Crowned'), appeared on a 'Regional' series of pre-decimal definitive Royal Mail stamps from 1958 to 1970.
In 2003 a new crown was made for theLord Lyon King of Arms, modelled on the Crown of Scotland.[30] This crown has removable arches (like one of the lateQueen Mother's crowns) which will be removed at coronations to avoid any hint oflèse-majesté.[31]
Thecoat of arms of Nova Scotia, issued in 1625, includes a unicorn wearing the crown of Scotland as the dexter supporter to symbolise the province's Scottish colonial history. The arms fell into disuse by the mid-19th century, although was later reinstated in 1929.[32]
.svg)
.svg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
![Royal Mail vehicle logo (side door) used in Scotland showing a simplified version of the Crown of Scotland. (A convention adopted after the 1953 Coronation prevents EIIR being used in Scotland)[33]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aRoyal_Mail_vehicle_logo_(Crown_of_Scotland).jpg){kind=logo}
.jpg)
.jpg)
Royal heraldry in the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | .svg) | |
| England | ||
| Scotland | ||
| Wales | ||