King Of Kings

As a child, I was taken to the Tower of London, and saw the Crown Jewels. Amazing, glittering, beautifully made- gold and silver and precious stones. It was a breathtaking sight. Most of these items remain in their untouchable, bullet-proof, burglar-proof cases ...until some are removed for the Coronation. I understood about crowns, but the Orb fascinated me. My Dad explained it was a symbol of Godly power. A cross above a globe, it represents ‘Christ’s dominion over the world’, and the Monarch is God’s representative on Earth.

The bands of jewels dividing it up into three sections represent the three continents known in medieval times. Mounted with clusters of emeralds, rubies and sapphires surrounded by rose-cut diamonds, and single rows of pearls.  

A cross on the top is set with with rose-cut diamonds, with a sapphire in the centre on one side and an emerald on the other, and with pearls at the angles and at the end of each arm. This piece of the regalia was designed and made by Sir Robert Vyner for King Charles II in 1661, and cost over £1000 [the whole collection, commissioned by the King cost £12K] 

During the coronation service, the Orb is placed in the right hand of the monarch as he is invested with the symbols of sovereignty. The Archbishop of Canterbury will say : “Receive this orb set under the cross, and remember that the whole world is subject to the Power and Empire of Christ our Redeemer.” It is then placed on the altar before the moment of crowning.

The coronation is essentially a religious ceremony - a reminder to the new monarch that he too is subject to the Sovereignty of Almighty God, before whom all are equal.