“Caring for the Crown Jewels” by Brian D'Arcy

3 rd January 2007 - Brian D'Arcy

Illustrated Talk on the Crown Jewels and Royal Regalia

by Brian D'Arcy RVM.

We as a club were please to have Brian (left) with us, he informed us he is not an historian but a teller of stories, all true of course, and spoken in an enlightening and humorous way. Brian like all Yeoman Warders had served in the British Army for at least 22 years, and up to today these had all been men, it was announced in The Daily Telegraph (more below) the first woman Yeoman had been elected in the history of the Tower. (No printable comments from Brian!) Brian has risen through the ranks at the Tower to the highest security post in the Jewel House as Head Curator, and held this position to his recent retirement.

The Crown Jewels have been kept at the Tower of London since 1303 after they were stolen from Westminster Abbey, all were recovered, today the Crown Jewels are kept in a part of the Tower known as Jewel House, where armed guards defend them. They were temporarily taken out of the Tower in the Second World War, more below on this subject in question time.

The Crown Jewels are considered to be the most valuable and one of the largest jewellery collections in existence. Brian then showed a series of slides of the various regalia these include beside the various crowns there are maces, a Queen’s orb, sixteen silver state trumpets and a variety of banqueting plate used in the coronation ceremony, which also form part of this priceless and unique collection, this collection contains various crowns, some of which are used by every Sovereign, others being made personally for Sovereigns or for Queens Consort, the crown of a King has a slightly pointed arched top, a Queen has a slightly bowed top.

The collective term Crown Jewels denotes the regalia and vestments worn by the sovereign of the United Kingdom during the coronation ceremony and at various other state functions. Many of these descend directly from the pre-Reformation period and have a religious and sacred connotation.

Unfortunately many of the pictures Brian showed are covered by Crown copyright and cannot appear on this web site, so please have a look at the images here:-

http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/crown_jewels.htm - worth a visit to see some impressive pictures.

Brian continued at break neck speed and covered many areas and historical facts of the “Jewels” supplemented by his rich vein of humour, for which this website cannot replicate, the oldest set of Crown Jewels dating from the Anglo-Saxon period were lost by John of England near The Wash, hence even today treasure seekers can be found on the shores of the Wash with their electronic metal detectors!. A replacement set were made shortly afterwards which were later joined by the addition of Welsh prince Llewellyn’s treasures as war booty. This set was stolen from Westminster Abbey in 1303 although most, if not all, were recovered days later from the window of a London jeweller's shop with dire consequences for the owner.

Oliver Cromwell melted down most of the Crown Jewels after the establishment of the Commonwealth as they were then considered to be redundant, this was an appalling act of historical vandalism.

Upon the Restoration of Charles II of England most of the regalia were replaced. The only pieces to survive from before the Civil War are three swords and a spoon.

The Imperial State Crown was made in 1937 for King George VI, and was similar to the one made in 1838 for Queen Victoria it is worn after the conclusion of the Coronation ceremony when the monarch leaves Westminster Abbey, and also at the annual State Opening of Parliament.

The Imperial Crown of India was created when King George V visited Delhi as Emperor of India. British law prohibited the removal of a Crown Jewel from the country. Thus, a new crown was made with more than 6,000 diamonds, it was one of the heaviest crowns in the collection.

Crown of Queen Elizabeth (1937) Queens consort, that is, wives of Kings, traditionally wore the Crown of Mary of Modena, queen of King James II. By the beginning of the 20th century that small crown was in a decrepit state. A new European-style crown, flatter and with more arches than was traditional in British crowns, was manufactured for Queen Alexandra, consort of King Edward VII. A new crown, more akin to traditional British crowns, was manufactured for Queen Mary, consort of King George V, who was crowned in 1911. The final new consort's crown in the 20th century was manufactured for Queen Elizabeth, consort of King George VI, who along with her husband was crowned in 1937. All three consorts' crowns in turn included the famous Koh-I-Noor diamond, recently India has requested its return and Brian in his dry way suggested when this may happen, but it is best not to state this on the world wide web!.

The Sceptre with the Cross so called because it is surmounted by a cross representing Christianity over the British Empire, in our multicultural society best not mentioned in today’s politically correct atmosphere?

The Sceptre with the Dove, a dove symbolising the Holy Ghost, while the Sceptre with the Cross is borne in the right hand, the Sceptre with the Dove is borne in the left, as the Sovereign holds Sceptres, he or she is crowned with St. Edward's Crown.

The Sovereign's Orb, is a hollow golden sphere with a band of jewels running along the centre, and a half-band on the top where there is also jewelled Cross representing the Sovereign's role as Defender of the Faith.

Five Swords are used during the coronation, the Jewelled Sword of Offering was made for the Coronation of King George IV, the Sword of State is the largest sword in the collection, and is borne in front of the Monarch at the State Opening of Parliament. The other three swords used are the Sword of Spiritual Justice, the Sword of Temporal Justice, and the Sword of Mercy, the last has lost the sharp end and again Brian held as in fits of laughter about its probable (untrue?) breakage.

The coronation of a new sovereign is one of the monarchy's most glittering pageants, staged in the gothic splendour of ancient Westminster Abbey, where every King and Queen of England (with the exception of Edward V and Edward VIII) has been crowned since King Harold II in 1066. This time honoured ritual emphasizes the continuity and majesty of the British monarchy.

The Koh-I-Noor Crown, one of the most impressive of the crowns on display at the Tower of London is the crown made for Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. This contains the legendary Koh-I-Noor, or Mountain of Light diamond. Indian in origin, its history can be traced to the thirteenth century. It was presented to Queen Victoria by the East India Company in 1850. A legend clings to it that it brings good luck to any woman that wears it, but disaster to any man and many of the men that have owned it have met a violent end.

During question time a member asked about Captain Blood, Brian corrected the rank as Colonel and gave the following details:- A near successful attempt to steal the Crown Jewels, this took place in 1671 and was masterminded by Colonel Blood. His plan commenced by making himself familiar to the Assistant Keeper of the Jewels called Talbot Edwards who lived with his wife and family in the Martin Tower. Talbot was allowed to show the jewels to visitors for a fee. Dressed convincingly as a parson, Blood came accompanied with a woman whom he addressed as his wife. She expressed a wish to see the crown and Edwards obliged. At this time the jewels were stored in a cupboard behind a wired grille in the Martin Tower.

Blood remarked that the Edwards had a daughter of marriageable age and he brought up the possibility that a marriage could be arranged between her and a nephew of his, whom, to whet their appetite, he added, was possessed of three hundred a year in land. The gullible Edwards' expressed themselves very interested and invited their visitor to come for dinner a few days later.

During his following visit, Blood piously said grace over the meal and expressed his admiration for a case of pistols, which he persuaded Edwards to sell to him. He arranged to return with the prospective husband, on this occasion he said wife would be arriving in a few moments and in the meantime, he suggested that Edwards showed them the jewels, he was then overwhelmed and gagged but he struggled to free himself and made as much noise as possible, until he was knocked over the head with a mallet.

They then set to work removing the regalia from the cupboard and concealing them under their clothing. Blood himself crushed the crown to make it less conspicuous under his cloak. Just as it looked likely that their plan was likely to succeed, Edwards' son returned unexpectedly and raised the alarm. The gang was captured as they tried to get away and all the jewels recovered. He was never punished and was restored to his confiscated estates in Ireland, which lead to whispers that the merry monarch himself was involved in the plot in some underhand way. John Evelyn suggested that Colonel Blood had been taken into the Kings service as a spy.

Another question about the location of the jewels during the WW11 he stated it was reported that they were secretly kept in the basement vaults of the Sun Life Insurance company in Montreal, Canada, during World War II, along with the gold bullion of the Bank of England. However it has also been said that they were kept in the Round Tower of Windsor Castle, or the United States Bullion Depository or even at a prison in Devon. The Windsor Castle suggestion is the most probable, since by ancient custom the Crown is not supposed to leave the country, and in any event the risk of transporting the Crown Jewels broad would have outweighed any advantage, Brian said this was still a State secret and even he with all his years in the “Tower” did not know.

This was a most fascinating presentation which set the Probus Club of Ewell New Year of to a flying start and Brian Cannel in his vote of thanks expressed our thanks and we voted with generous acclaim in our normal manner.