Tudor Crown

The Tudor Crown, also known as Henry VIII's Crown, was the imperial and state crown of English monarchs from around the time of Henry VIII until it was destroyed during the Civil War in 1649. It was described by the art historian Sir Roy Strong as "a masterpiece of early Tudor jeweller's art", and its form has been compared to the crown of the Holy Roman Empire. The Tudor Crown is a widely used symbol in the heraldry of the United Kingdom. In use officially from 1901 to 1952 and again from 2022, it is used to represent "the Crown" as the sovereign source of governmental authority. As such, it appears on numerous official emblems in the United Kingdom, British Empire, and the Commonwealth.

Description
Its date of manufacture is unknown, but Henry VII or his son and successor Henry VIII probably commissioned the crown, first documented in writing in a 1521 inventory of Henry VIII's jewels, naming the crown as "the king's crown of gold". More elaborate than its medieval predecessor, it originally had two arches, five crosses pattée and five fleurs-de-lis, and was decorated with emeralds, sapphires, rubies, pearls, diamonds and, at one time, the Black Prince's Ruby (a large spinel). In the centre petals of the fleurs-de-lis were gold and enamel figurines of the Virgin Mary, St George and three images of Christ. In an effort by Henry VIII to secure his position as head of the new Church of England the figures of Christ were removed and replaced by three Kings of England: St Edmund, St Edward the Confessor and Henry VI, who at that time was also venerated as a saint. The crown was mentioned again in 1532, 1550, 1574 and 1597.

Fate
After the death of Elizabeth I and the end of the Tudor dynasty, the Stuarts came to power in England. Both James I and Charles I are known to have worn the crown. Following the abolition of the monarchy and the execution of Charles I in 1649, the Tudor Crown was broken up and its valuable components sold for £1,100. According to an inventory drawn up for the sale of the king's goods, it weighed 7 lb 6 oz troy (90 ozt).

One of the royal figurines may have survived: a statuette of Henry VI matching the contemporary depiction of the crown was uncovered in 2017 by metal detectorist Kevin Duckett. The location, "at Great Oxendon ... between Naseby and Market Harborough", was on the route taken by Charles I of England as he fled after the Battle of Naseby and may have been lost at that time. The figurine was likely featured on Henry VIII's crown according to some sources. As of February 2021, the figure was being held at the British Museum for assessment and further research. According to historian and Charles I biographer Leanda de Lisle, "the crown was melted down on the orders of Oliver Cromwell but it is believed the figurine – which was one of several adorning the royal treasure – could already have been removed".

Replica
In 2012, a replica of the crown, based on research by Historic Royal Palaces, was made by the retired royal jeweller Harry Collins, using authentic Tudor metalworking techniques and 344 pearls and gemstones. It is exhibited as part of an exhibition within the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace.

Heraldry
The heraldic depictions of the royal crown have undergone many changes in their form and enrichment. The crown began to assume its present form in the reign of Henry V. Henry V's crown consisted of a jewelled circlet heightened by four crosses pattée alternating with eight fleurs-de-lis in pairs, and two arches springing from behind the crosses and supporting at the top a mound and cross. In some reigns, additional arches were used, and the number of crosses pattée and fleurs-de-lis was varied. By the reign of Charles I the heraldic crown was depicted similarly to the Tudor crown (made either for Henry VII or Henry VIII) which had four crosses pattée alternating with four fleurs-de-lis, and also four arches rising almost to a point, the arches being studded with pearls. This crown was destroyed during the Protectorate.

After the restoration of the monarchy, Charles II based the heraldic crown on the new St Edward's Crown of 1661, which had four crosses pattée alternating with four fleurs-de-lis, the number of arches was reduced to two and the curvature of the arches being depressed at the point of intersection. On this pattern the royal crown was depicted until the reign of Queen Victoria. Although Fox-Davies states that the St Edward's Crown is supposed to be heraldically represented over the Royal Arms or other insignia because "it is the 'official' crown of England", various other crowns were depicted under Victoria. Early depictions of the Royal Arms during her reign featured the Imperial State Crown which was created for Victoria's coronation in 1838 and was similar to the St Edward's Crown but with a flatter top. However, depictions varied depending on the artist.

In 1876, Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India, and in 1880, the heraldic crown was altered to give it a more imperial form by making the arches semi-circular. However, Victoria had favoured a Tudor style crown since at least the 1860s. Victoria had featured in William Wyon's gothic crown coin in 1847, and the Palace of Westminster, rebuilt from 1840–1876, makes extensive use of a gothic style crown. The British had assumed direct rule over India in 1858 and the Order of the Star of India, created in 1861, depicted a Tudor Crown from its inception. Victoria had a new crown made in 1870 which resembled the Tudor Crown, declining to wear the Imperial State Crown which she found heavy and uncomfortable.

After the accession of Edward VII, the War Office raised the issue of a standardised design of the crown for use by the British Army, there being in use several crowns of different patterns. In 1901, the king decided on a single Tudor Crown design based on the crown of Henry VII, as "chosen and always used by Queen Victoria personally".

George VI had ceased to use the style 'Emperor of India' in 1948 following India's independence in 1947, and on the accession of Elizabeth II in 1952, she opted to change from the Tudor Crown back to the St Edward's Crown design. Charles III adopted the Tudor Crown on his accession in 2022, similar to that last used under George VI but with a plain circlet and with larger jewels, cross and ermine. In addition to being larger, the jewels are also of different shapes to the 1901 pattern: the central sapphire and the outer rubies are of a rhombus shape rather than oblong.

The jewels shown on the circlet are usually a sapphire in the centre between two emeralds, and two rubies on the outside. However, early versions sometimes have a ruby in the centre and sapphires on the outside, and have a green mound with gold bands rather than a solid gold mound. The cap of the heraldic crown is always represented as crimson regardless of the colour of any actual crowns.

Use of the crown for commercial purposes is restricted in the UK (and in countries which are party to the Paris Convention) under the Trade Marks Act 1994, and its use is governed by the Lord Chamberlain's Office.