The Crown of Queen Mary (1911)

Weighing 1lb 7oz and including over 2000 diamonds, this crown was made by Garrard for Queen Mary in 1911 for her coronation as consort to King George V. Queen Mary presented it to the Crown Collection in 1914 with the intention of it being the crown of future Queen Consorts.

It had been the tradition since Plantaganet times for a Queen not to attend the coronation of her successor, but Queen Mary broke with this tradition in 1937, probably to show solidarity after the abdication of King Edward VIII, and wore the crown as a circlet without arches. This required a new crown to be made for Queen Elizabeth, Queen Consort of George VI (later to become Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother). Queen Mary's crown was originally set with the Koh-i-Noor diamond in the centre front cross, Cullinan III in the top cross and Cullinan IV in the front of the band. For the coronation in 1937 the Koh-i-Noor was removed to Queen Elizabeth's Crown, being replaced for the occasion by Cullinan V. After the coronation Cullinans III and IV were removed to form a brooch which is occasionally worn by Queen Elizabeth II. These three major stones have now been replaced with crystals.

The origins of the Koh-i-Noor, which means Mountain of Light, are obscure. It may well have been the diamond which Babur, the first Mogul ruler of India described in the early 16th century as worth 'half the daily expense of the world' and probably later belonged to Babur's descendant, Shah Jahan, builder of the Taj Mahal. Passing from ruler to ruler by conquest, misadventure and murder, the stone came into the possession of the Maharajah of the Punjab in the early 19th Century. In 1849, following the British annexation of the Punjab, the Treaty of Lahore stipulated that the Koh-i-Noor should be surrendered by the Maharajah of Lahore to the Queen of England, Victoria. Weighing over 186 carats and simply facetted the stone arrived in England and starred in the Great Exhibition of 1851.

It was decided to have the stone recut, an operation in which Prince Albert took a keen interest and which took 38 days to complete, transforming the stone into a cushion shaped brilliant weighing 105.6 carats.

On Queen Victoria's death in 1901 the stone became part of the Crown Jewels. Legend has it that the diamond will bring bad luck to any male wearer, and so it has been worn only by queens, consort and regnant.