St Edward's Sapphire is an octagonal rose-cut blue sapphire that forms part of the British Crown Jewels.
St Edward's Sapphire is an octagonal rose-cut blue sapphire that forms part of the British Crown Jewels.
Its history is older than any other gemstone in the Royal Collection. [1] The sapphire is thought to have been set in the coronation ring of King Edward, known later as St Edward the Confessor, who ascended the English throne in 1042, twenty-four years before the Norman conquest. [2]
Edward, one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England, was buried with the ring at Westminster Abbey in 1066.
It was reputedly taken from the ring when Edward's body was re-interred at Westminster Abbey in 1163. [4]
According to an inventory of royal regalia drawn up in 1649, St Edward's Crown, the traditional coronation crown of English monarchs, contained, among other precious stones, a sapphire valued at £60, which may well have been St Edward's Sapphire. [5]
How it survived the abolition of the monarchy during the English Civil War in the 17th century is not clear, but it was most likely re-cut into its present form for Charles II after the restoration of the monarchy. [2]
In 1838, Queen Victoria added the jewel to her new crown, giving it a leading role in the centre of the cross pattée above the monde surmounting the crown, where it remains today in the 1937 version worn by King Charles III. [6]
The Imperial State Crown is on public display with the other Crown Jewels in the Jewel House at the Tower of London.