Card of the Day: The Imperial Crown of India

Seeing this crown makes me happy because it makes me think of Queen Mary and all the trouble she went through to make sure this crown was made. Now, as we know, Mary of Teck was a collector and she had a special weakness for gems. When her husband, King George V was crowned, they prepared to travel to India for the Delhu Durbar wherein they would ascend as Emperor and Empress. Mary, being also a stickler for detail and making sure that events were carried out properly, was determined that she and her husband be able to wear crowns at the Durbar. There was only one problem—the official crowns were forbidden by Royal Law to be removed from the United Kingdom. No matter how much Queen Mary protested, there was no way that those crowns were leaving England.


And, so, Queen Mary decided that new crowns needed to be made especially for the event so that the new Emperor and Empress of India would be appropriately attired. However, Parliament wasn’t too keen on paying for new crowns. Queen Mary said ostensibly, “Leave it to me.”

And, so, Queen Mary managed to get her friends to donate an array of magnificent gems for the cause. That means, basically, she shook her friends down and they had no choice but to agree. I like to picture Mary of Teck with a big velvet sack of jewels, plunking it down at Garrard’s (the Crown Jewelers) and saying, “make me some crowns.” But, I’m sure that’s not how it really happened. Either way, Mary got her crowns.

Garrard and Co. constructed the crown at the cost of £60,000 (£4,530,137 as of 2011) or $300,000 ($7,047,857 as of 2011). It is set with emeralds, rubies, sapphires, 6,100 diamonds, and one particularly fine ruby. As do the other British crowns, The Imperial Crown of India consists of a circlet topped by four crosses pattée and four fleurs-de-lis. It differs in that the arches on top, which join at a typical monde and cross, are not curved as the other crowns, but rather pointed in an Asiatic manner. Also, it is the only crown with eight arches instead of four—representing the difference between Emperor and King.

And, so, King George V and Queen Mary travelled to Delhi for the Durbar ceremonies. They wore their new crowns, but did not participate in a separate coronation since the Archbishop of Canterbury did not think it fitting for a Christian religious service to take place in a predominantly non-Christian country. Queen Mary nodded sympathetically when George V complained that the crown was too heavy and hurt his head. “Yes, dear.”

It’s important to note that the Imperial Crown of India is NOT part of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom since it was made privately for Mary of Teck and George V. It lives with the Crown Jewels, but it does not belong to the U.K. and is privately owned by the Queen as a family legacy.

The crown has not been worn by any Sovereign since.