How heavy is King Charles’s crown?

Uneasy lies the head

In a 2018 BBC documentary Elizabeth II commented on the weight of the crown at her coronation, complaining that if you wore it for too long ‘your neck would break off’. What will be the burden on Charles III’s head?

– At the moment of the coronation Charles will wear St Edward’s Crown, made for Charles II in 1661. That weighs 2.07kg. Prior to 1911 it weighed 2.6kg – although both Victoria and Edward VII were spared having to wear it.

– However, for his departure from Westminster Abbey that crown will be removed and he will wear the Imperial State Crown instead, which weighs 1.06kg.

– By contrast, most full-face motorcycle helmets (just about the heaviest thing people wear on their heads in day-to-day life) weigh between 1.3kg and 1.7kg.

Screen queen

The coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953 is recorded as being watched on TV by 20 million Britons – although how much they could each see is questionable. There were only 2.14 million television licences at the time, and many sets had tiny screens. Is it true, as is often claimed, that the coronation sparked mass TV ownership in Britain? Number of TV licences and percentage increase on a year earlier:

1947 14,500

1948 45,500 (214%)

1949 127,000 (179%)