When Australians come into possession of something particularly valuable, we might call it our crown jewel.
But upon the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles III inherited the literal British crown jewels — a collection of precious gems so vast it is virtually priceless.
Collected over centuries from across the globe, the collection is also controversial, and questions remain if some gems were gifted to the British monarchy or stolen from former colonies.
What are the crown jewels?
The British crown jewels is a collection of more than 100 objects comprising 23,578 gemstones.
It's thought that Edward the Confessor, who reigned from 1042 to 1066, was the first to assemble a regalia of royal jewels. But most of the current collection are from 1660 and later.
The most familiar items in the collection are the English Coronation Regalia – the crowns and objects used during the ceremonies where a new monarch is formally accepted into power. It's expected we'll see many of these treasures when King Charles has his coronation, most likely to be held next year.
But the full collection includes plates, robes, trumpets, maces, tiaras and even a set of spurs.
The heavy hitters
During Queen Elizabeth II's funeral, the world marvelled at the elaborate items that graced her coffin.
Many of the items are a part of the coronation regalia. Some of these objects include:
- The Imperial State Crown, which is made of solid gold and 2,868 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, 269 pearls, and four rubies. Among the gems are the Black Prince's ruby (not actually a ruby but a semi-precious stone called a spinel), the Stewart Sapphire and the Cullinan II diamond.
- The Sovereign's Sceptre with Cross, which also adorned Queen Elizabeth's coffin, contains the Cullinan II's larger sibling, the Cullinan I – at 530.2 carets, it's the largest colourless cut diamond in the world. The ostentatious staff has been used in every coronation since 1661.
- The St Edward's Crown, considered the most important of all the crowns as it's only used at the moment of crowning during a coronation. It's a 2.23-kilogram solid gold frame set with 444 stones including rubies, sapphires and garnets.
- The Kohinoor diamond is not part of the coronation regalia but is perhaps the most famous diamond in the world. The 105-caret gem has an estimated worth of $591 million and sits in the Queen Mother's crown.
The weirder objects
While the crown jewels include a number of awe-inspiring pieces there are some others that can seem ordinary.
- The Coronation Spoon is thought to be the oldest item in the collection, dating back to the twelfth century and is used in the most sacred part of the coronation, when the incoming monarch is anointed with holy oil.
- A set of spurs is included in coronation regalia, which also contains the above crowns and sceptre. The spurs are solid gold with a velvet-covered strap and features a Tudor rose embellishment.
- The Sovereign's Orb sits within the modern coronation regalia but before that there was Queen Mary II's Orb. The pearl encrusted globe was created for coronation of 1689, which was unique because it was the first and only time two joint sovereigns have been crowed. This is due to Mary II marrying William, Prince of Orange — Mary's first cousin.
- A silver filigree baby rattle was gifted to King George III's children in the 18th century. It's stored in a leather case that's lined with red velvet.
Where are the crown jewels kept?
The crown jewels are kept under armed protection at the Tower of London, a stone castle on the River Thames in East London that was constructed by William the Conqueror in the 11th century.
The Tower of London is open to the public and a selection of the crown jewels, including the coronation regalia, are displayed there.
How much are the crown jewels worth?
Priceless, according to the official royal website.
Due to the extreme unlikeliness that the jewels will ever be sold, there is no official estimate for how much the collection is worth — although some jewel experts place the total value at up to $8 billion.
Who owns the crown jewels?
According to the royal family, the jewels are owned by the reigning monarch and will be passed down to the next ruler in perpetuity.
However, there have been calls to return certain jewels to their "rightful owners" that have amplified following Queen Elizabeth's death.
The Kohinoor diamond has long been the subject of the controversy.
The British say it was gifted to the monarchy as a part of a peace deal with 11-year-old Sikh maharajah Duleep Singh during Queen Victoria's reign in the 1800s.
However, many Indians say that the gem was not surrendered but stolen after Britain subjected the country to two bloody wars and thousands of deaths as it colonised the land.
In 2000, Indian parliamentarians signed a letter to Britain calling for the Kohinoor to be given back.
"Britain owes us," prominent Indian MP Shashi Tharoor has said.
"But, instead of returning the evidence of their rapacity to their rightful owners, the British are flaunting the Kohinoor on the Queen Mother's crown in the Tower of London.
"It is a stark reminder of what colonialism truly was: shameless subjugation, coercion, and misappropriation."
India is not the only country that lays claim to the diamond. Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran all say the Kohinoor should be returned to them.
But the Royal family claims it is its property, though it acknowledges the diamond "probably" originated in India.
