Haakon VII was the King of Norway from November 1905 until his death in September 1957.
Crown jewels are the objects of metalwork and jewellery in the regalia of a current or former monarchy. They are often used for the coronation of a monarch and a few other ceremonial occasions. A monarch may often be shown wearing them in portraits, as they symbolize the power and continuity of the monarchy. Additions to them may be made, but since medieval times the existing items are typically passed down unchanged as they symbolize the continuity of the monarchy.
A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, particularly in Commonwealth countries, as an abstract name for the monarchy itself, as distinct from the individual who inhabits it. A specific type of crown is employed in heraldry under strict rules. Indeed, some monarchies never had a physical crown, just a heraldic representation, as in the constitutional kingdom of Belgium, where no coronation ever took place; the royal installation is done by a solemn oath in parliament, wearing a military uniform: the King is not acknowledged as by divine right, but assumes the only hereditary public office in the service of the law; so he in turn will swear in all members of "his" federal government.
The Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, originally the Crown Jewels of England, are a collection of royal ceremonial objects kept in the Tower of London which include the coronation regalia and vestments worn by British monarchs.
The Honours of the Principality of Wales are the regalia used at the investiture of the Prince of Wales, as heir apparent to the British throne, made up of a coronet, a ring, a rod, a sword, a girdle, and a mantle. All but the coronet date from the investiture of Prince Edward in 1911 when most of the Honours of Wales were redesigned.
A coronet is a small crown consisting of ornaments fixed on a metal ring. A coronet differs from other kinds of crowns in that a coronet never has arches, and from a tiara in that a coronet completely encircles the head, while a tiara does not.
The regalia of Norway are items that symbolise the Norwegian monarch's power and majesty. Little is known of the old Norwegian regalia which have since been lost. The majority of the modern regalia date from 1818 and were made for the coronation of Jean Bernadotte as King Carl III Johan.
The crown jewels of the Kingdom of Greece are a set of symbolic regalia that were created for King Otto I shortly after his election to the throne in 1832.
The Coronet of Charles, Prince of Wales is a small crown that is part of the Honours of Wales. The gold coronet, with diamonds set in platinum, was made for and used by Charles III at his investiture as Prince of Wales in 1969. Designed by the artist Louis Osman, the coronet was a gift from the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths to the Prince's mother, Queen Elizabeth II. It has been described as modern but its form is traditional. The coronet is on permanent display in the Jewel House at the Tower of London.
Llywelyn's coronet is a lost treasure of Welsh history. It is recorded that Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales and Lord of Aberffraw had deposited this crown and other items with the monks at Cymer Abbey for safekeeping at the start of his final campaign in 1282. He was killed later that year. It was seized alongside other holy artefacts in 1284 from the ruins of the defeated Kingdom of Gwynedd. Thereafter it was taken to London and presented at the shrine of Edward the Confessor in Westminster Abbey by King Edward I of England as a token of the complete annihilation of the independent Welsh state.
The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty kingdoms which were united to form Norway; it has been in unions with both Sweden and Denmark for long periods.
The Crown of Norway is the crown of the King of Norway and was made in Stockholm in 1818 by goldsmith Olof Wihlborg. The crown is a corona clausa consisting of a ring carrying eight hoops made of gold and surmounted by a monde of blue enamel and an amethyst cross on top of it. The crown is decorated with many pearls and gemstones including amethysts, chrysoprases, a topaz and an alexandrite. Its front is adorned with a huge green tourmaline, a gift of the Brazilian consul in Stockholm to King Charles III Johan. Its splendid colours and its richly elaborated ornaments make the crown typical of the Empire period. Although the goldsmith work was carried out by Olof Wihlborg, it is not known who designed the crown.
A crown is often an emblem of a sovereign state, usually a monarchy, but also used by some republics.
Sweden's regalia are kept deep in the vaults of the Royal Treasury, underneath the Royal Palace in Stockholm, in a museum that is open to the public. The crowns and coronets have not been worn by Swedish royalty since 1907, but they are still displayed at weddings, christenings and funerals.
Coronations in Norway were held from 1164 to 1906, mostly in the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim. Although a crowning ceremony was formerly mandated by the nation's constitution, this requirement was eliminated in 1908. However, Norwegian kings have since chosen voluntarily to take part in a ritual of "benediction" to mark their accession to the throne, during which the crown is present, but not physically bestowed upon the sovereign. The new ceremony retains some of the religious elements of earlier rites, while eliminating other features now considered to be "undemocratic".
The current Crown of the Netherlands is of relatively modern origin. In 1813 the new "Sovereign Ruler" of the Netherlands, Prince Willem of Orange, son and heir of the exiled Stadtholder Willem V of Orange, was sworn in as Dutch monarch in Amsterdam. There was no crown present at the ceremony.
The following outline provides an overview of, and topical guide to, the Kingdom of Norway.
The prince of Wales is sometimes presented and invested with the insignia of his rank and dignity in the manner of a coronation. The title is usually given to the heir apparent of the English or British throne. An investiture is ceremonial, as the title is formally conferred via letters patent issued by the monarch.
Coronations in Europe were previously held in the monarchies of Europe. The United Kingdom is the only monarchy in Europe that still practices coronation. Current European monarchies have either replaced coronations with simpler ceremonies to mark an accession or have never practiced coronations. Most monarchies today only require a simple oath to be taken in the presence of the country's legislature.
Coronations of the Swedish monarchs took place in various cities during the 13th and 14th centuries, but from the middle of the 15th century on in either the Cathedral in Uppsala or Storkyrkan in Stockholm, with the exception of the coronation of Gustav IV Adolf, which took place in Norrköping in 1800. Earlier coronations were also held at Uppsala, the ecclesiastical center of Sweden. Prior to Sweden's change into a hereditary monarchy, the focus of the coronation rite was on legitimising an elected king.
