What’s the story behind the most iconic item in the Crown Jewels?
The Queen's coffin is now lying in state in Westminster Hall having been escorted from Buckingham Palace by King Charles, Princes William and Harry, and other senior royals. On top of the coffin sits the Imperial State Crown, perhaps the most familiar item in the Crown Jewels - a priceless collection of tens of thousands of gemstones collected over the centuries by British kings and queens.
"It can be quite hard to look at sometimes because of the sheer light that comes off them. It's literally dazzling… visually overpowering," says historian and author of The Crown Jewels, Anna Keay. During her reign, Queen Elizabeth II would wear it annually for the State Opening of Parliament - as she sat on a golden throne reading out the government's key legislative plans for the year ahead.The Queen, with the Duke of Edinburgh by her side, wearing the crown at the State Opening of Parliament in 2016"You can't look down to read the speech, you have to take the speech up, because if you did your neck would break," explained Her Majesty.
It also includes the oldest gem in the royal collection - a sapphire said to have once been worn in a ring by the 11th Century king of England, St Edward the Confessor. The stone is now set at the centre of the cross that tops the crown.
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