Interesting facts about England’s Crown of Jewels….

1) King Henry V of England had to pawn some of the crown jewels to mop funds to fight France in the Battle of Agincourt in the 15th century. A diamond and ruby crown belonged to Richard II were used to secure a loan. England trounced a numerically strong French army in the war and King Henry married the French princess.

2) Anne of Denmark, the consort wife of King James I of England and Ireland and often called as the dancing queen of England wore pieces of crown jewels to act in Shakespeare’s play in her magnificent court in the palace.

3) The most down-to-earth king of England’s history, King William IV had to deal with an extreme toothache in his coronation day not because of eating cold food, but because of the heavy coronation crown.

4) Queen Anne at her coronation as the queen of England and Scotland in 1702 had to be carried through the passages of the coronation hall due to the weight of the crown jewels.

5) While the imperial state crown slipped to the ground from the hands of the then Duke of Argyll, the hereditary holder of the crown in 1845, Queen Victoria described the event as ‘all crushed and squashed, looking like a pudding that had sat down’.

6) The archbishop of Canterbury had to literally force a small ring onto the fingers of Queen Victoria at her investiture ceremony which she described after as ‘jolly painful to take off’.

7) At the coronation of King George VI, the last emperor of India, the archbishop of Canterbury crowned the king from back to front. George VI helpfully tied some red cotton to the back. Unfortunately, someone then took it off.

8) Diamonds inscribed in the crown fell off the ground during the coronation of King George III in 1761. But it was found from the spot immediately leaving no room for future controversies.

9) While Koh-i-Noor diamond was placed in the crown of Queen Mother, it had a curse inscribed on it, ‘He who owns this diamond will own the world but will also know all its misfortunes. Only God, or a woman, can wear it with impunity.’ Only women would wear the diamond due to this curse.0) The Crown of Jewels was once stolen and was captured back. The story goes as Col. Thomas Blood tried hard to steal the crown jewels and sceptre. In 1671, Blood entered the Tower of London and killed the keeper of the crown. Though he was caught by the guard and sent to the King in chains, he was granted pardon by the king. Interestingly, he was also granted a pension and his lands restored. Till today nobody knows why did the King grant pardon to a thief who robbed the crown.