The Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, originally the Crown Jewels of England, are 140 royal ceremonial objects kept in the Tower of London, which include the regalia and vestments worn by British kings and queens at their coronations.Symbols of 800 years of monarchy, the coronation regalia are the only working set in Europe – other present-day monarchies have abandoned coronations in favour of secular ceremonies – and the collection is the most historically complete of any regalia in the world. Objects used to invest and crown the monarch variously denote his or her roles as head of state, Supreme Governor of the Church of England, and head of the British armed forces. In 1953, a new pair of armills or bracelets were made for the coronation of Elizabeth II to represent her role as Head of the Commonwealth. Use of regalia by monarchs in England can be traced back to medieval times. A permanent set of coronation regalia, once belonging to Edward the Confessor, was established after he was made a saint in the 12th century. By the Tudor period it was usual for a monarch to inherit state regalia from his or her predecessor. Most of the present collection as a whole dates from around 350 years ago when Charles II ascended the throne. The medieval and Tudor regalia had been either sold or melted down after the monarchy was abolished in 1649, during the English Civil War. Only four original items pre-date the Restoration: a late 12th-century anointing spoon, which is the oldest object in the collection, and three early 17th-century swords. Upon the Acts of Union 1707, the English Crown Jewels were adopted by British monarchs; the Scottish regalia are known today as the Honours of Scotland. The regalia contain 23,578 stones, among them Cullinan I, the largest clear cut diamond in the world at 530 carats , set in the Sovereign's Sceptre with Cross. It was cut from the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found, the Cullinan Diamond, discovered in South Africa in 1905 and presented to Edward VII. On the Imperial State Crown are Cullinan II , the Stuart Sapphire, St Edward's Sapphire, and the Black Prince's Ruby – a large spinel given to Edward the Black Prince by a Spanish king in 1367. The Koh-i-Noor diamond, originally from India, has featured on three consort crowns. A small number of historical objects at the Tower are either empty or set with glass and crystals. At a coronation the monarch is anointed using holy oil poured from an ampulla into the spoon, invested with robes and ornaments, and crowned with St Edward's Crown. Afterwards, it is exchanged for the lighter Imperial State Crown, which is also usually worn at State Openings of Parliament. Wives of kings are invested with a plainer set of regalia, and since 1831 a new crown has been made specially for each queen consort. Also regarded as Crown Jewels are state swords, trumpets, ceremonial maces, church plate, historical regalia, banqueting plate, and royal christening fonts. When not in use the Jewels are on public display, mainly in the Jewel House, where they are seen by approximately 2.5 million visitors every year.
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