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TheDiamond Diadem, historically known as theGeorge IV State Diadem, is a diadem that was made in 1820 forKing George IV. Thediadem has been worn byqueens regnant andqueens consort in procession tocoronations andState Openings of Parliament. It has been featured in paintings and on stamps and currency.
The diadem was most recently worn byQueen Camilla at the 2024State Opening of Parliament.
George IV commissionedRundell & Bridge to make the diadem in 1820 at a cost of £8,216. The fee included a hire charge of £800 for the diamonds but there is no evidence they were ever returned to the jewellers.[1] George IV wore the diadem over his velvetcap of maintenance in the procession to his coronation atWestminster Abbey.[2] These are the equivalent of £800,000 and £80,000 in 2023, respectively.[3]
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 Short video on YouTube by the Royal Collection Trust (2022) |
The gold and silver frame, measuring 7.5 centimetres (3.0 in) tall and 19 centimetres (7.5 in) in diameter, is decorated with 1,333 diamonds weighing a total of 320 carats (64 g), including a four-carat yellow diamond in the frontcross pattée.[4] Along the base are two strings of pearls. Originally, the upper string had 86 pearls and the lower 94, but they were changed to 81 and 88 in 1902.[5] Instead of the heraldicfleurs-de-lis usually seen on British crowns, the diadem has four bouquets ofroses,thistles andshamrocks, the floral symbols of England, Scotland and Ireland respectively,[6] alternating with four crosses pattée around the top of its base.
It has been worn by everyqueen regnant andqueen consort fromQueen Adelaide, the wife ofKing William IV, toQueen Camilla, the wife ofKing Charles III. The diadem may have been reset with jewels from the royal collection forQueen Victoria,[7] although the Royal Collection Trust suggests the original 1820 stones were discreetly purchased from Rundell Bridge and Rundell and remain in situ.[8] Queen Elizabeth II wore the diadem in the procession toher coronation in 1953,[9] and she also wore it in the procession to and from the annualState Opening of Parliament.[10]
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The iconic piece of jewellery has featured in many portraits of Queen Elizabeth II, including one painted byLucian Freud in 2001[11] and one byRaphael Maklouf in 1984 that appears on Commonwealth coinage.
Arnold Machin designed an earlier portrait in the 1960s that was used on coins and theMachin series of postage stamps in the UK.[12]
The diadem has also featured on the coins and banknotes of mostCommonwealth realms, and those ofAnguilla,Bermuda,British Guiana,British Honduras,British Virgin Islands,Cyprus,Dominica,Fiji,British Hong Kong,Malaya,Malta,Mauritius,British North Borneo,Rhodesia and Nyasaland,Southern Rhodesia,St Kitts and Nevis andTrinidad and Tobago.
Media related toGeorge IV State Diadem at Wikimedia Commons