How Does Queen Elizabeth’s Crown Differ From King’s Crowns From Previous Decades?

Queen Elizabeth II currently owns and wears a crown as the head of the monarchy. Her headpiece is not very different from the headpieces of the kings that came before her.

On the online forum site Quora, royal fans compared the two headpieces and even shared photos to differentiate one from the other. Bradley Betts, a graduate from the University of Portsmouth in the United Kingdom, said that there is not much difference because the reigning monarch could still wear St. Edward’s Crown, as well as the Imperial State Crown, depending on the occasion.

Both crowns may be worn regardless of gender. St. Edward’s Crown was named after Edward the Confessor, the last Anglo-Saxon King of England. The crown is used during the coronation of new monarchs. It is also the crown that the British people are most familiar with because it features the Royal Cipher.

Robert White added to Betts’ answer by saying that the King’s Crown and the Queen’s Crown are both known as the Royal Cipher, which is also used on things such as letterboxes for the royal mail, military badges, and buttons.

And the only difference between the two has to do with the shape and angles of the arch below the cross.

But Chrissie Nyssen, a former repairperson, said that the similarities and differences between the King’s Crown and the Queen’s Crown would also depend on the country being discussed.

“If it’s a Queen Consort, for example, the late Queen Mother, they get their own crown made. The late Queen Mom’s one is the only one to be made of platinum and not gold,” she said.

Prince Philip, who is only a Prince Consort and not a King, doesn’t wear a crown. Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, wears sort of a cut-down crown called the Coronet. But when becomes King, he will most likely give up his Coronet and replace it with the King’s crown.