Dear Motley Officers, Crew & Friends, the British Crown Jewels belong to the British nation, held in trust for the monarch. The jewels can be seen at the Tower of London. But there are also the jewels, gems, furniture, and artwork, which is part of the huge Royal Collection. Click here to view the collection online.
Sadly, there is little in the Royal Collection prior to the 17th Century, as most of the collection was acquired in the Georgian era. I thought I would show you one item from the collection associated with each of the King Georges1.
King George I was the great-grandson of King James I & VI, and Elector of Hanover (a small Principality in Germany). Queen Anne had no living children2 when she died in 1714, so George was invited by the British government to move from Germany to take the British throne. George I never learnt good English, only speaking in German or French (the language of the Court).
George’s personal servants Mehemet & Mustapha were Turkish. They were resented because they controlled access to the King. Also, they wore traditional Turkish dress and were of Muslim faith, which caused public criticism. Mehemet was also in charge of the King’s personal accounts and court expenses, a further control disliked by the Court. Although George I was mostly interested in music (he commissioned Handel to write the Water Music Suite), he also commissioned paintings.
King George II was born and brought up in Germany. He was 31 when his father became King of Great Britain, and he accompanied him to their new country. He had a difficult relationship with his father and in turn he was not a good father; he seems to have disliked small children. Twelve years after arriving in England he became King George II and Elector of Hanover3. George I had a disastrous arranged marriage, so he allowed his son George II to choose his wife. George II met, admired, and married Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach, the daughter of the ruler of another small German Principality.
The marriage was a success and they had eight children. Caroline was intelligent and politically influential, advising her husband and working with Walpole, the leading government minister. She also acted as regent during her husband's long visits to Hanover. George II was devastated when Caroline died, aged 54, of a strangulated bowel. The King never re-married. He ordered a pair of matching coffins with removable sides, so that when he followed her to the tomb (23 years later), their remains could mingle. George II was the last monarch to be buried in Westminster Abbey.
King George III was the grandson of George II. His father Frederick died of a pulmonary embolism before he could become King (and ruin the Georgian era by having a different name). George III is the longest reigning male monarch so far, just short of 60 years. Though you could argue that he did not ‘reign’ for that long since George III suffered from a mental illness for many years. And of course, he is remembered for that little upset with America. George III was a patron of the arts, a great collector and he added many important items to the Royal Collection, including thousands of books that are now part of the British Library.
George III chose his bride Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, from a small duchy in Germany. They did not meet until the day of their marriage, six hours after Charlotte arrived in London, after a difficult, long journey from Germany. Luckily, they were well suited. They were married for 57 years and had 15 children, 13 of whom survived to adulthood.
Unlike Caroline, Charlotte was not interested in politics, she preferred to focus on her family. Charlotte was a patron of the arts, and an amateur botanist, who helped expand the gardens of Kew Palace, their summer home.
King George IV was 58 when he finally became king in 1820. In common with others in his family, he had a difficult relationship with his father. During his long years as Prince of Wales, George IV spent lavishly and was often in debt, though the Royal Collection benefited from his extravagances. As might be expected, George IV wanted a magnificent coronation. He commissioned a diamond diadem4 set with1,333 diamonds, with pearls around the bottom. The four sprays represent the national emblems of England’s rose, Ireland’s shamrock & Scotland’s thistle.
At the time it was not unusual to hire diamonds for a coronation, which is what George IV did. However, the cost of hiring the diamonds escalated when the coronation was delayed due to his marital problems.
George IV had been forced to marry his cousin Princess Caroline of Brunswick in 1795. The marriage was unhappy from the start, though they did have a daughter, Charlotte. They quickly separated, and Caroline lived in Italy for many years, where there were rumours of her indiscreet and promiscuous behaviour. For many years George IV unsuccessfully tried to get a divorce.
In 1820, when George IV became king, Caroline returned to Britain to claim her place as Queen Consort. George IV again attempted to divorce Caroline by showing evidence that ‘deeply affect[s] the honour of the queen, charging her majesty with an adulterous connection with a foreigner’. A Westminster parliamentary committee held a ‘trial’, for which Caroline was allowed to attend but not to speak. The government was unpopular, and Caroline became a symbol of the oppressed, a victim of a corrupt government and monarchy. After several months the bill was withdrawn, with no divorce being granted. The coronation went ahead.
On 19 July 1821 Caroline arrived at Westminster Abbey to attend the coronation but she was refused entry, though she tried several times. She fell ill shortly afterwards and died less than three weeks later, aged 53. Caroline asked for the inscription ‘Here lies Caroline, the Injured Queen of England’ to be placed on her tomb, but it was not done. She is buried in Brunswick Cathedral, Germany.
The diadem has since been worn by queens regnant & consorts, including Queen Elizabeth II at her coronation, and at the State Openings of Parliament. The loaned diadem diamonds were not returned, it is thought the bill was met by a discreet barter of old jewels from the Royal Collection.
King George V was the grandson of Queen Victoria. He was the ‘spare’ until his elder brother Prince Albert died of flu when he was 28 years old. George took his place in the accession, and also married his brother’s fiancé, Mary of Teck. George V gave few direct commissions, but his wife was a great collector and added many items to the Royal Collection. Mary was well known to visit grand houses, admire costly things and expect them to be given (or sometimes sold) to her. This led to aristocratic families hiding their most prized possessions from view during a royal visit. Mary also bought many jewels.
The Vladimir Tiara was made for the Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna5 in 1874, when she married the Grand Duke Vladimir, who was the uncle of Tsar Nicolas II. The couple were immensely rich, and famous hosts.
The Grand Duke died in 1909. In February 1920 Maria was the last of the Romanovs to escape Revolutionary Russia, managing to take many of her jewels with her. Sadly, Maria died in Switzerland six months later. All her children managed to escape. They later sold most of Maria’s jewels, as they needed the money.
George V’s wife Mary bought the Vladimir Tiara, which originally had pearl drops. Mary was very clever at modifying jewels, and she had the tiara adapted so the pearl drops could be replaced with emeralds she had inherited from her mother. The tiara can also be worn with no drops, as seen below.
King George VI was the son of George V, the father of Queen Elizabeth II, and the last of the Georges (until Prince William’s son becomes King). He was also a ‘spare’ and only became King after his brother Edward abdicated in 1936. Read Motley Talk about leaving the royal family for more about Edward. Prince Alfred, a son of Queen Victoria, started collecting stamps, then George V took over, and then their most enthusiastic collector, George VI. The Royal Philatelic Collection is the most comprehensive collection of items related to the philately of the United Kingdom & the British Commonwealth, with many unique stamps. In 2020 the estimated value of the collection was £100 million.
Of course, this being royalty, there were keepers who managed and grew the collection. The first of these was John Tilleard, who was appointed Philatelist to the King.
The stamp collection is in storage and not available to view. Though in 1952 a catalogue of the Royal Philatelic Collection was published6. Sadly, there is no longer a keeper of the collection and none of the current royal family seems to have the stamp collecting bug.
As always, any links are provided to give the reader more information. I do not make any money from these links. Where possible permissions have been sought for the use of images and text, unless they are in the Public Domain. If there is an issue with copyright, please contact me. I am an amateur historian covering a wide range of subjects. I do careful research using secondary sources (books, articles, videos and a little bit of Wikipedia). If there are any mistakes I apologise, and please let me know.
The Georgian era was from King George I to IV. But I have included all the Georges.
Queen Anne had at least 17 pregnancies, although only five children lived. Four died before the age of two, and her beloved, precious son Prince William died aged 11.
When Queen Victoria succeeded to the British throne in 1837, the 123-year personal union of Great Britain and Hanover ended (because she was female and could not inherit in Germany).
A diadem refers to a circular jewelled piece with an ‘open’ top, worn on the head to symbolise status and power. The name originates from the Greek diadein, ‘to bind around’; early diadems were laurel wreaths. Crowns are also diadems, though rarely called such.
A crown is a full circle headpiece with an emblematic function associated with sovereignty. Crowns are made of precious metals, and often encrusted with jewels and ‘closed’, with arches over the top of the crown. A coronet is a small crown generally worn by dukes and earls at coronations. Since it is 70 years since the last coronation, I imagine jewellers are inundated with coronets that need repair and cleaning ready for the May coronation.
A tiara is an open semi-circular headpiece that usually does not encircle the head, but perches on the top. It is worn by royal women at a formal evening event. Traditionally it is only worn by a bride or a married woman.
Maria of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, who became the wife of Grand Duke Vladimir, was German. She followed in the long tradition of small German states providing spouses for the royal families of Europe.
The Royal Philatelic Collection by Sir John Wilson is only available when someone sells an original copy at auction. There is an interesting article and old news video on this site.