Crown of Scotland

The Crown of Scotland was remade in its modern form for King James V of Scotland in 1540. It is part of the Honours of Scotland, the oldest set of royal regalia in the United Kingdom. In 1540, the bonnet of velvet and ermine was added, bringing it to its present form. An earlier form is shown in the portrait of James IV of Scotland in the Book of Hours, done for his marriage to Margaret Tudor in 1503: this sets the latest date of original manufacture.

Manufacture

The crown manufactured for James V was refashioned from an older, lighter, damaged crown by the royal goldsmith, John Mosman, in 1540. It has two arches (or four half-arches), on which a golden monde sits, topped off by a cross. The crown bears, arranged alternately, four fleurs-de-lys (three of which are visible in representations) and four strawberry leaves (two of which are visible in representations).

The crown is made mainly of Scottish gold and contains 22 gemstones and 20 precious stones, as well as Scottish freshwater pearls taken from the older crown. It weighs 1.64 kg (3 lb 10 oz).

Usage

The crown was first worn by James V to the coronation of his second wife, Mary of Guise, as queen consort at Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh, in the year of its manufacture. It was subsequently used in the coronations of the child monarchs Mary, Queen of Scots in 1543 and her son James VI, King of Scots in 1567.

In the absence of a resident Scottish monarch following the Union of the Crowns in 1603, when James VI inherited the throne of England and moved his Royal Household from Edinburgh to London, the Honours were carried to sittings of the Parliament of Scotland to symbolise the sovereign's presence and the Royal Assent to legislation.

The crown was used for the Scottish coronation of both Charles I in 1633 and Charles II in 1651. However, no subsequent Scottish monarchs were crowned.

During the Civil War, having already destroyed the ancient English Crown Jewels, Oliver Cromwell sought to destroy the Scottish Crown Jewels. However, the Honours were secretly buried until the monarchy was restored in 1660.

Following the Act of Union of 1707, which unified the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, and having no ceremonial role to play in the proceedings of the new Parliament of Great Britain in London, the Honours were locked away in Edinburgh Castle. There they remained all but forgotten in a chest until 1818, when a group of people including Sir Walter Scott set out to find them. Since 1819 they have been on display in the Crown Room of Edinburgh Castle from where they are removed only for state occasions. The first was when presented to King George IV, at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in 1822, during his visit to Scotland (the first visit to Scotland by a reigning British Monarch since 1651).

On 24 June 1953, following her Coronation at Westminster Abbey, the crown was carried before Queen Elizabeth in a procession from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to the High Kirk of St Giles, Edinburgh, where the Honours of Scotland, including the crown, were presented to The Queen during a National Service of Thanksgiving.

More recently, the crown has been in the openings of new Scottish Parliament sessions, including the first meeting of the modern Parliament in 1999 and the official opening of the new Scottish Parliament Building in 2004. On such occasions the crown, carried by the Duke of Hamilton, the hereditary bearers of the Crown of Scotland in Parliament, immediately precedes Her Majesty The Queen in the custom of the ancient opening ceremonial procession known as the Riding of Parliament.

As well as appearing in Scottish versions of the Royal Cypher and Royal Coat of Arms, including the version of the arms used by the Scotland Office, stylised versions of the crown appear upon the badges of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, The Royal British Legion Scotland, those of the Scottish Police Forces, the Scottish Ambulance Service, and upon the logos of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, RCAHMS, and General Register Office for Scotland. A version of the crown is used upon Royal Mail premises, vehicles and Scottish pillar and wall boxes.