Last modified: 2008-11-01 by rob raeside
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The names used to describe British Crowns can be arranged into four
categories:
Actual Crowns.
Representations of Actual Crowns.
Symbolic Representations of Crowns.
Abstract Crown.
Actual Crowns.
1. St Edward's Crown. Used to crown the Monarch at the Coronation Service.
2. Imperial State Crown. The working crown. Worn by the Monarch after the
Coronation Service and for the Opening of Parliament.
3. Scottish Crown. Part of the Scottish Regalia.
4. Queen Victoria's Small Diamond Crown. Crown made for Queen Victoria in 1870.
5. Crown of India. Worn by King George V at the Delhi Durbar in 1911.
Representations of Actual Crowns.
1. St Edward's. The usual representation of the crown since 1952. Some
Victorian representations of crowns are also obviously St Edward's Crown.
2. Scottish. Used, since 1952, where the Scottish Crown is more appropriate than
the English St Edward's Crown.
3. Queen Victoria's Small Diamond Crown. Used on crowned effigies of Victoria,
on coins and medals, after her Silver Jubilee in 1887.
Symbolic Representations of Crowns.
1. Various Victorian Crowns which are not identifiable as St Edward's Crowns,
described by King Edward VII as, "Foreign Continental Crowns" and "different
deviations of the British Crown".
2. Tudor Crown. The standard pattern representational crown with raised arches,
used between 1901 and 1952. Introduced by King Edward VII who described it as -
"the Tudor, 'Henry VII' Crown, chosen and always used by Queen Victoria
personally". This was, presumably, a reference to Queen Victoria's Small Diamond
Crown, which in shape, is similar to the Tudor Crown.
Abstract Crown. The Imperial Crown. (Not the Imperial State Crown).
Correctly used, the term "Imperial" can be applied to any crown, actual or
representational, between 1547 and 1952. In 1952 some terms, that had been in
used in Proclamations of Accession since 1820, were changed. The first draft
included,
"... the Imperial Crown of Great Britain Ireland and all other His late
Majesty's Dominions is surely and rightfully come to the High and Mighty
Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary our only lawful and rightful Liege Lady
Elizabeth the Second by the Grace of God of Great Britain, Ireland and the
British Dominions beyond the Seas Queen, ...".
But in the final draft it had been changed to;
"... the Crown is surely and rightfully come to the High and Mighty Princess
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Queen of this Realm and of all other Her Realms and
Territories and Head of the Commonwealth, ..."
Clearly some changes to the wording had to be made, but "Imperial Crown" could
have been retained. On 9th February 1952, Sir Norman Brook, Secretary to the
Cabinet, wrote, "I see now that it was unnecessary and perhaps mistaken to avoid
references to 'Imperial Crown'." "Imperial" was a reference to
"sovereignty", not "empire", and was first used by King Henry VIII in an Act
Forbidding Appeals to Rome; "... manifestly declare and express that this Realm
of England is an empire and so hath been accepted in the world .." In his
Commentaries, Blackstone wrote; "The meaning of the legislature when it uses the
terms of Empire and Imperial and applies them to the Realm and Crown of England
is only to assert that our King is equally Sovereign and independent within
these his dominions as any Emperor is in his Empire; and owes no kind of
subjection to any other potentate on earth."
David Prothero, 19 April 2005
![[State crown]](../images/g/gb-crn1.jpg)
by Jarig Bakker, from the illustration of the Royal Mail pennant in Flags at Sea
See also:
![[Imperial or Tudor crown]](../images/g/gb-crimp.gif)
by y T.F. Mills
![[St Edward's crown]](../images/g/gb-crste.gif)
by T.F. Mills
See also:
There have been three basic 'crown shapes' on British flags, though there
are variations within each basic shape.
David Prothero, 23 February 1999, 27, 30 September 2000
I am posting drawings of the imperial or Tudor crown (1902-1953) and the St Edward's crown (1953-present). As was noted above, the Victorian crowns were not very well regulated and there are numerous variations. But the Tudor and St. Edward's crowns are very well regulated. There was a transition period of up to five years (1953-58) for the adoption of the St. Edward's crown in many institutions, and there were, of course, exceptions where it was never updated.
T.F. Mills, 24 February 1999
Contemporary documents in 1901 and for some time after that refer to the "Imperial Crown" mean the real "Imperial State Crown" and not the iconographic Tudor Crown. What we now call the Imperial Crown bears a very strong resemblance to the small diamond crown that Queen Victoria had made in 1870 (perhaps more so than the Tudor Crown) because she found the Imperial State Crown to be too heavy. Surely Edward VII was conscious of this when he standardised crown design in iconography? (Note that 1870 is before Victoria became Empress of India in 1876, so that imperial status seems to be irrelevant -- at least initially.) Another "British Crown of India" was made for the 1911 Delhi Durbar (because British crown jewels may not leave Britain). It looks a little like the 1901 "Imperial Crown" but less so than 1870 crown. Not that the 1870 crown was never used in iconography to represent "the Crown" in Victoria's time except as part of her portraits.
T.F. Mills, 9 September 2004
During Queen Victoria's reign we used a crown that had two arches, similar to
the modern St. Edward's crown but with bulkier and less smoothly curved arches.
In 1901 Edward VII introduced a new crown, based on a Tudor design, and called
the "Imperial Crown" because he was an Emperor. The name has no connection to
the Imperial State Crown. Why he chose the Tudor design I don't know, but it has
been suggested that he thought it looked more "imperial", but unless David can
dig up something from the PRO I guess we will never know. This crown was used
until 1952/3 when Elizabeth II came to the throne. She was the first British
monarch since William IV not to be an Emperor/ess and she decided to
change back to the more traditional crown design of Victoria and her Hanoverian
predecessors. This design was roughly based on the St. Edward's crown used at
the coronation and so was called the St. Edward's crown (it's not an accurate
drawing of the physical crown, only a heraldic approximation).
Because the Queens Victoria and Elizabeth II both had similar style crowns and
all Kings between them shared a different design the two designs are sometimes
called the Queen's Crown and the King's Crown, but this is a misnomer. Charles
will almost certainly retain the St. Edward's design.
Another area of confusion is the term "imperial" - the heralds (both College of
Arms and Court of Lord Lyon) have taken up the habit of referring to any
Royal crown as "imperial". So technically the St. Edward's crown is "imperial".
This cause even more confusion in Scotland which has a third design of crown
(the Scottish crown logically enough), which is also
"imperial"! Which is why the Scottish Royal Arms used officially still have a
Tudor style crown on them. (Actually this was a drawing done in George V's time
and no-one noticed the problem in 1952). When I wanted a drawing of the Scottish
Royal Arms as they should look like I had to do my own original drawing and
present it to Lord Lyon. Incidentally the heralds still use the term "imperial"
for the crown, they just mean the current crown.
So to summarize, "imperial" is a pointless term to describe British crowns (they
are all "imperial"), so use Victorian, Tudor, St. Edward's or Scottish and we
will know which design you mean. Similarly King's Crown and Queen's Crown are
inaccurate descriptions and should be avoided (especially as real Queens'
crowns, such as that for the Queen Mother tend to be more in the Tudor style!)
Graham Bartram, 9 September 2004
I have found two documents which shed some light on the origin and correct
name of the 1901 heraldic crown.
Crowns were described as Imperial, both before and after 1901. In 1903 Edward
VII granted the title "Royal" to the Canadian Mounted Rifles. The War Office
were in some doubt as to how the badge should be described in the Army List and
consulted Albert Woods, Garter King of Arms and Inspector of Regimental Colours.
As a result the descriptions of the badges of the Royal Canadian Artillery,
Royal Canadian Dragoons, and Royal Canadian Regiment were changed from " The
Imperial Cypher VRI surmounted by the Imperial Crown ", to " The Royal Cypher
ensigned by the Imperial Crown ".
[WO 32/4337]
The 1901 heraldic crown was the Tudor Henry VII crown, and even though
instituted by King Edward VII, was actually the choice of Queen Victoria. The
crown was only gradually introduced as existing items needed to be replaced.
A drawing of the new badge for guns was sealed on approval 14th March 1901. It
was similar to the badge that had been stamped on guns during Queen Victoria's
reign with an angular St Edward's crown, and only the royal cypher changed. A
new drawing with a 1901 crown was sealed on approval 10th July 1901.
This is one of the letters in the document.
War Office, London SW. May 1901. 61002[over]7078.
Sir,
I am directed by the Secretary of State for War to acquaint you that His Majesty
the King has selected and approved the above Royal Cypher (see
image) to be worn on badges, buttons and
other devices throughout the Service, wherever the Royal Cypher is at present
borne. The design has been made plain, without foliation, at His Majesty's
express wish.
I am to state that no deviation from it whatever will be permitted, and no
device or ornament will be placed above or upon it.
In connection therewith, His Majesty has brought to notice that on
accoutrements, colours, buttons, etc., there are no less than six or seven
totally different pattern Crowns. Some of them are Foreign Continental Crowns ;
others are different deviations of the British Crown. His majesty now wishes one
uniform Crown alone to become the sealed pattern for the Service, - the Tudor,
"Henry VII" Crown, chosen and always used by Queen Victoria personally; all
other patterns are to be abolished.
The correct design is shown above the Royal Cypher. It will be taken into wear
when new accoutrements, etc., are required, and all Officers are instructed to
obtain the correct pattern when renewing any article of uniform hereby affected.
No Officer is to be encouraged or even allowed to carry out the changes
indicated until the articles he now possesses are worn out.
The provision of correct patterns is now proceeding, and steps will be taken to
insert them in Regimental boxes of badges as opportunity offers.
I am, Sir, Your obedient Servant, Evelyn Wood. A.G. [Adjutant General].
[National Archives (PRO) WO 32/9028]
David Prothero, 27 September 2004
I have heard two competing explanations for the change in the crown:
The first is just an urban legend. All British Kings and Queens are crowned with the St Edward's crown, and all wore the Imperial State crown to open parliament, so there is no King's Crown as opposed to Queen Regnant's crown. Of course there are a whole set of Queen Consorts' crowns. The Queen Mother still uses the Imperial Crown on her arms and flags.
I believe the second one is the true reason. When the Queen came to the throne it was felt appropriate to change the crown (so it changed in 1952/53 not 1947) to reflect the fact that she was not Empress of India, and that the British Empire was being dismantled.
Graham Bartram, 28 September 2000
The concept of King's and Queen's Crowns (KC, QC) is a misconception which is very prevalent among military badge collectors. Even the most authoritative books on badges make this mistake. It is just a coincidence that four male monarchs have been represented by the "KC" followed by a female with the "QC". Who actually wears what real crown is somewhat unrelated to the representation of the Crown as state symbol.
Prior to the accession of Edward VII (1902), the iconographic Crown was unregulated. Some people refer to the "Victorian Crown", which more closely resembled the Elizabethan St. Edward's Crown than the Tudor/Imperial Crown, but in actual fact Crowns in the Victorian era were very much at the mercy of artistic whim, and there was no standard. Edward VII, who invented state pomp and pageantry as we know it today (after 60 years of disinterest from Victoria), regulated the shape of the Crown. It is my (undocumented) theory that he preferred the domed shape to give it more dignity and majesty in reference to the other European imperial crowns. I believe it was originally called the Tudor crown because it was modelled on one worn by Henry VII, and it came to be called the Imperial Crown because its image was standardised throughout the Empire.
George VI relinquished the title "Emperor of India" in June 1948. Elizabeth II apparently followed through on this gesture by abolishing the Imperial Crown in iconography since it had become associated with an obsolete title. It should be noted that the sovereign was emperor/empress in India only, and that there never was a real "British Empire" -- only a haphazard system of
nations. In changing the Crown, Elizabeth II did not presage the dissolution of the Empire. That, too, was a coincidence.
T.F. Mills, 29 September 2000
All Tudor regalia was destroyed after the English Civil War, but details of the
crowns are known from seals, coins etc. The 1901 heraldic crown is not like
either of the crowns of Henry VII. A crown that
appears to be a cross between these two was used on the
1870 flags of Newfoundland. The
crown of Henry VIII is a little more like
the 1901 heraldic crown.
David Prothero, 14 September 2004
The changed shape of crowns on flags after the accession of Edward VII in
1901 was the result of standardising the design. I imagine that the domed
crown was chosen because it was the one the King preferred.
There seems no reason for the change after 1952, except that it was the
choice of the Queen. If the change was intended to have some symbolic
significance, the meaning should have been obvious, or the significance of
the new shape should have been promulgated. Shortly after I joined the
Navy in 1952, badges were being changed for those having the new crown, but
no explanation or reason for the change was announced. A new Royal Cypher
is designed at the beginning of each new reign, and is approved by the
sovereign before becoming official. Perhaps the appearance of the crown
emblem that will be used during the reign is part of that process?
David Prothero, 30 September 2000
T.F. Mills wrote, "Why he [Edward VII] chose the Tudor design I don't know, but
it has been suggested that he thought it looked more "imperial", but unless
David can dig up something from the PRO I guess we will never know.
In response: All that I dug up was in an extract from 'The English Regalia' by
Cyril Davenport, which is reproduced in A.C. Fox-Davies' 'A
Complete Guide to Heraldry':
"St Edward's crown is the crown supposed to be heraldically represented when for
State or official purposes the crown is represented over the Royal Arms or other
insignia. In this the fleurs-de-lis upon the rim are only half fleurs-de-lis.
This detail is scrupulously adhered to, but during the reign of Queen Victoria
many of the other details were very much 'at the mercy' of the artist. Soon
after the accession of King Edward VII the matter was brought under
consideration, and the opportunity afforded by the issue of a War Office Sealed
Pattern of the Royal Crown and Cypher for use in the army was taken advantage of
to notify his Majesty's pleasure, that for official purposes the Royal Crown
should be as shown in this image, which is
a reproduction of the War Office Sealed Pattern already mentioned. It should be
noted that whilst the cap of the real crown is of purple velvet, the cap of the
heraldic crown is always represented as of crimson"
There are no PRO document titles that appear to be relevant, though the title is
not always a good guide to all the contents of a document.
Here is
the Kew National Archives search facility. If anyone wants to browse and finds
an interesting document name, I will investigate.
David Prothero, 14 September 2004
I do not think that there is any specific requirement to change the crown on a
flag. Flags designed since 1953 have a St Edward's crown (unless they are
Scottish); flags designed before 1953 continued with the existing Tudor crown
until they needed replacing. The design of crown then used on the replacement
flag is a matter of choice. There is nothing to say that the replacement of a
'pre-1953 flag' must have a St Edward's crown. It can be made to the original
pattern with a Tudor crown, or have a St Edward's crown.
David Prothero, 1 March 2005
There may be regulations that deal with the change of crown not just on flags
but on items related to government in general (and that therefore we may be
searching the wrong documents). I note, for instance, that British stamps
changed their official watermarks from the Tudor Crown to the St Edward's Crown
in about 1955.
James Dignan, 1 March 2005
James is almost certainly right in his conjecture, in so far as the change in
Crowns was very probably the result of an Order in Council and to get a copy
from the Privy Council Office will require a date (and hopefully a title) since
records of that vintage are kept in paper form which will require a physical
search. If nothing else, the wording would be useful.
Christopher Southworth, 1 March 2005
The instruction that changed the design of representations of the British Crown
in 1952 was HD 4947, the 667th Report of the Committee on the Grant of Honours,
Decorations and Medals.
"The Queen has seen HD 4946 [previous report of the committee] on the subject of
the Royal Cypher and the designs of the representation of the crown. Her
Majesty's wishes with regard to the design of representations of the crown where
used with the Royal Cypher or otherwise, are as follows.
![[Scottish crown]](../images/g/gb-s-crn.gif)
by Clay Moss
The Scottish Crown looks like an imperial crown, but there are no pearls on the arches, instead there are two curlicues on each arms. In addition there is a pearl on a gold mounting on the velvet cap in each quarter (so you can see two of them). This is the official state crown for Scotland and would replace the St Edward's crown on any peculiarly Scottish flag, or flag created under the authority of the Scottish Executive, such as the Scottish Fisheries, or a Scottish constabulary.
The official Scottish Office emblem uses a Scottish crown (neither imperial nor St. Edwards), as do Scottish police forces/services, the Royal Mail, etc. Nowadays all royal crowns on Scottish organizations should be the Scottish crown. There have been times in the past when the English versions were used but that changed some thirty years ago at least.
Graham Bartram, 28 February 1999, 28 September 2000
You can make that forty years ago (at least). In 1960 when the Ministry of Transport, who were still using the Imperial (Tudor) Crown on all their flags, made enquiries at the Scottish Office they were told that the Scottish Crown should be used (where appropriate) on any flags flown from establishments in Scotland or ships registered at a Scottish port.
Public Record Office MT 45/580.
David Prothero, 12 August 2000
See the actual one from the royal web site.
Santiago Dotor, 28 September 2000
According to a Scottish Office letter written in 1960, "the Scottish Crown should replace St Edward's crown on flags flown at any establishment in Scotland or by any ships registered in a Scottish port." MT 45/580.
It didn't specifically say, "any flag", but the Ministry of Transport took it to mean that if they had had a ship registered in a Scottish port, the wheel and anchor should have been surmounted by a Scottish Crown.
David Prothero, 30 September 2000
The actual coronet for
the Honours of the Principality of Wales can be seen on the royal web site. The heraldic version is much more similar to the one made for Prince Edward (later Edward VIII, later Duke of Windsor) in 1911 (again from the royal web site).
Santiago Dotor, 28 September 2000
See also the page on the Royal Fowey Yacht Club for more details on the Heir Apparent's coronet.
![[Naval crown]](../images/g/gb~nc.jpg)
by David Prothero
The naval crown (made up of alternate sterns and topsails) can be traced back
to the Romans when a crown ornamented with a design of the 'rostra' or beak
heads was awarded for bravery and was known as the 'Rostral Crown'. It can be
seen on certain British Naval medals at the end of the sixteenth century. One of
the earliest examples of the Naval crown in, practically its present form, is
that which appears above the Arms of Greenwich Hospital dating from about 1700.
The decoration, however, is wholly of square sails without the interspersed
sterns. [National Maritime Museum web-site]
The British standard pattern was designed by Everard Green, Rouge Dragon, and
approved 27 July 1903. Design was revised in 1922, approved by Naval Law
Department NL 7350/22, and issued as Admiralty Fleet Order 3228/22.
[National Archives (PRO) ADM 1/11609]
Some of the current flags which include a naval crown:
The colours of the hollow base area below the crown is not firmly set.
I went and looked at the crowns on all 22 British type flags we have with the
St. Edwards crown.
16 have white bottoms, 6 of which are former government property.
2 have light blue bottoms, 1 which is former government property.
2 have cross hatched bottoms, 1 which is former government property.
1 has a black bottom.
1 doesn't show the inside bottom as it rests on top of a disk.
The one Tudor crowned ensign we have has a light blue bottomed crown.
Clay Moss, 6 February 2006
It is interesting that the color red is used to illustrate the "cloth" parts
of the St. Edwards crown on flags when the actual color is plum or perhaps
purple. Can anyone explain why this has historically happened?
Clay Moss, 7 February 2006
We actually use a range of reds for the cap. Most flags use Union Red, but
some use Dark Red, as can be seen in the Army Non-ceremonial Flag, where the
darker red shows up better against the red background, giving a richer
appearance. The caps also have pink highlights to emphasise the contours. The
real caps are purple velvet but I'm not sure why we have always tended to show
them in red. Maybe it was just a practical thing of not bothering to make purple
fabric when we use so much red anyway. If anyone know the real reason I would
love to know,
Graham Bartram, 7 February 2006
It seems to be an heraldic convention:
"It should be noted that whilst the cap of the real crown is of purple velvet,
the cap of the heraldic crown is always represented as of crimson"
From 667th Report of the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and
Medals, 21 August 1952.
An almost identical sentence appears on page 359 of Fox-Davies' 'Complete
Guide to Heraldry', Thomas Nelson reprint 1954, with "purple", "heraldic"
and "always" emphasised.
David Prothero, 8 February 2006
