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A crown is a Symbol ic form of Headgear worn by a Monarch or by a God , for whom the crown is traditionally one of the symbols of power and legitimacy (See Regalia for a broader treatment). TERMINOLOGY Three distinct categories of Crown s exist in those Monarchies that use crowns or state regalia. # Coronation Crown s - only worn by Monarch s at the point of Coronation , i.e. installaton by taking possession of the crown;
# Consort Crown s - crowns worn by Queens Consort ; these are however not signifying any power vested in her, just of protocollary rank that is, constitutionally, just a courtesy In Classical Antiquity the crown (''corona'') that was sometimes awarded to people other than rulers, such as triumphal Military General s or Athlete s, was actually a Wreath or chaplet, or ribbonlike Diadem . HISTORY of city walls personifies "Roma" on an Italian postage stamp, 1953.]] of Persia. Persian kings throughout Sassanid Empire wore more than 100 different Crowns.]] The precursor to the crown was the browband called the diadem (see Diadem ), which had been worn by the Achaemenid Persian Emperors , was adopted by Constantine The Great , and was worn by all subsequent rulers of the later Roman Empire. In the Christian tradition of . The ''corona radiata'', the "radiant crown" known best on the Statue Of Liberty , and perhaps worn by the Helios that was the Colossus Of Rhodes , was worn by pagan Roman emperors, part of the cult of Sol Invictus . It was referred to as "the chaplet studded with sunbeams” by Lucian , about 180 AD (in ''Alexander the false prophet'' ). manufactured for her father King George VI's coronation in 1937.]] Today, only the British Monarchy continues this tradition as the sole remaining anointed and crowned monarch, though many monarchies retain a crown as a national symbol in heraldry. The French Crown Jewels were sold in 1885 on the orders of the Third French Republic , with only a token number, with their precious stones replaced by glass, held on to for historic reasons and displayed by the Louvre . The Spanish Crown Jewels were destroyed in a major fire in the Eighteenth Century while the Irish Crown Jewels (actually merely the Sovereign's insignia of the Most Illustrious Order Of St Patrick ) were stolen from Dublin Castle in 1907. Special headgear to designate rulers dates back to pre-history, and is found in many separate civilizations around the globe. Commonly, rare and precious materials are incorporated into the crown, but that is only essential for the notion of crown jewels. Gold and precious Jewel s are common in western and oriental crowns. In the Native American civilizations of the Pre-Columbian New World , rare Feather s, such as that of the Quetzal , often decorated crowns; so too in Polynesia (e.g. Hawaii).
In other cultures no crown is used in the equivalent of coronation, but the head may still be otherwise symbolically adorned, as a royal Tikka in the Hindu tradition of India. AS AN EMBLEM A Crown is often an Emblem of the monarchy, a monarch's government, or items endorsed by it; see The Crown . A specific type of crown (or Coronet for lower ranks of peerage) is employed in Heraldry under strict rules. Indeed some monarchies never had a physical crown, just a heraldic representation, as in the constitutional kingdom of Belgium, where no coronation ever took place; the royal installation is done by a solemn oath in parliament, wearing a military uniform: the King is not acknowledged as by divine right, but assumes the only hereditary public office in the service of the law; so he in turn will swear in all members of "his" federal government.
The heraldic symbol of three crowns, referring to the three evangelical Magi (wise Men) , traditionally called kings, is believed thus to have become the symbol of the Swedish kingdom, but is also fits the historical (personal, dynastic) Kalmar Union (1397-1520) with Denmark (actually the senior partner) and Norway. SEE ALSO |
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