Queen Victoria at her Golden Jubilee, 1887. Note the tiny crown atop her mourning veil.
In my previous post, “Queen Alexandra’s Royal Bosom,” I mention that Queen Victoria refused to wear a crown to the Thanksgiving service at Westminster Abbey that was part of her Golden Jubilee celebration in June, 1887. She did, however, consent to wear a crown for her official Jubilee photograph (shown here), which we may assume she wore to the banquet celebrating her 50 years on the British throne. Fifty European Kings and princes and the American author Samuel Clemens (AKA Mark Twain) attended.
After her husband Prince Albert’s death in 1861, the Queen had largely disappeared from public view. She had vowed to publicly mourn her husband until her death and wear nothing but black widow’s weeds and her white lace mourning veil. In 1870, under government pressure, Victoria began to appear in public again. But she refused to wear her Imperial State Crown again, for several reasons. Chiefly, it was too big and heavy and was impossible to wear with her mourning veil.
The Imperial State Crown of Great Britain worn by Queen Victoria at her coronation. It includes a base of four crosses pattée alternating with four fleurs-de-lis, above which are four half-arches surmounted by a cross. Inside is a velvet cap with an ermine border. The Imperial State Crown includes several precious gems, including: 2,868 diamonds, 273 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, and 5 rubies.
Queen Victoria shown wearing the Imperial State Crown at her Coronation, 1837
Consequently, a new crown, a small one, was designed for the Queen. It sat atop her mourning veil. The Queen was satisfied and so was the government. Wearing the tiny crown atop her veil allowed her to look like both a widow and a queen.
“The crown followed standard design for British crowns. It was made up of four half-arches, which met at a monde, on which sat a cross. Each half-arch ran from the monde down to a cross pattee along the band at the bottom. Between each cross pattee was a fleur-de-lis. However, because of its small size (9 centimeters across and 10 centimeters high) Victoria’s small diamond crown possesses no internal cloth cap. The crown was manufactured by R & S Garrard & Company.”
Queen Victoria's Small Diamond Crown created in 1870 measures 3.7 inches (9.9 cm) high and 3.4 inches (9 cm) in diameter. It was worn atop a widow's cap. The silver crown was made in 1870, using some 1,300 diamonds from a large necklace and other jewelry in the Queen's personal collection. Queen Victoria's Small Diamond Crown remains on show in the Jewel House in the Tower of London.
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