Britain’s 17th-century St Edward’s Crown, solid gold crown, encrusted with rubies, amethysts, sapphires, garnet, topazes and tourmalines, is the centrepiece of the Crown Jewels, a large collection of royal regalia housed in the Tower of London that attracts more than a million visitors per year. It has a purple velvet cap with an ermine band, is just over 30 cm (one foot) tall and very heavy. It was last worn by Queen Elizabeth II, at her coronation in 1953. The crown was made for King Charles II in 1661 to replace a mediaeval crown though to date back to Edward the Confessor. The original had been melted down by parliamentarians after the execution of Charles I. For hundreds of years afterwards, the crown was only carried in coronation processions because it was too heavy to wear. It was altered to make it lighter for the coronation of King George V in 1911 but still weighs 2.23 kilograms (nearly five pounds).
When he left Westminster Abbey, Charles wore the more modern Imperial State Crown, also used for occasions such as the opening of parliament. Set with over 2,000 diamonds, the Imperial State Crown was created in 1937 for the coronation of King George VI, the father of Elizabeth II. Long live the King ! 'The Crown' is the name of a tele-series documentaries about the life of Queen Elizabeth. Five seasons have been shown and released on DVDs so far, while a sixth season is in production. It had won many awards and the acting and dialogue is exceptional.
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