King George V was the only British monarch to go on to attend his coronation Durbar in Delhi too King George V was the only British monarch to go on to attend his coronation Durbar in Delhi too King George V was the only British monarch to go on to attend his coronation Durbar in Delhi too Delhi Durbars, crowns, tiaras, and of course, the much-discussed Kohinoor, the Indian connection shimmers through the pages of colonial history as the stage is all set for King Charles III's coronation in London today.
King Charles III will be formally crowned in Westminster Abbey in London, 112 years after his great-grandfather King George V had the same ceremony there. King George V was the only British monarch to go on to attend his coronation Durbar in Delhi too.
The Kohinoor, the diamond with a controversial past, and some of the crown jewels owned by the British royal family have generated headlines ahead of this coronation ceremony.
King Charles III will be wearing the St Edward's Crown, while Queen Camila will wear the Queen Mary's Crown (from the 1911 coronation) without the Kohinoor at the grand coronation ceremony.
According to a description of the 'Queen Mary's Crown 1911' on the website, the crown had three large diamonds, including the Koh-i-noor, Cullinan III and IV (also known as the Lesser Stars of Africa), which were later replaced with quartz crystal replicas so that the jewels could be used in alternative settings.
The images from the previous ceremonies will be displayed at the event and more so of the 1911 coronation of King George V and Queen Mary, who had a profound link with India.
The crown for her June 1911 coronation was commissioned by Queen Mary from the Crown Jewellers, Garrard & Co., as per the website of the Royal Collection Trust.
Six months after the 1911 coronation, the royal couple arrived in India and attended a spectacular Delhi Durbar, where they were proclaimed Emperor and Empress of India.
The 1911 Durbar was historic for two reasons. It was the only one attended by the Emperor himself, and this was where the shifting of the imperial capital from Calcutta to Delhi was announced.
According to the website of the Royal Collection Trust, as it was against the law to remove any royal regalia from England, it was decided that a new crown would be created for the Delhi Durbar. Garrard designed this.
For King George V, the Imperial Crown of India was commissioned, while for Queen Mary, the Delhi Durbar tiara.
One of the Delhi Durbar official portraits in the Trust's archives shows King George V wearing ermine robes and the Imperial Crown of India and Queen Mary wearing the tiara mounted with the Cambridge emeralds and the Delhi Durbar necklace with the Cullinan VII pendant, as reported by PTI.
The Imperial Crown of India has a silver frame laminated with gold and is set with 6,100 diamonds as well as emeralds, sapphires and rubies, says the Trust's website, adding the Delhi Durbar tiara was originally surmounted by 10 large emeralds to match the suite of diamond and emerald jewellery.
The sprawling grounds where the 1911 coronation Durbar and the previous two editions were held is today called the Coronation Park. An obelisk marks the site of the grand ceremony.
"Here on the 12th Day of December 1911, His Imperial Majesty King George V Emperor of India Accompanied by the Queen Empress in Solemn Durbar Announced in Person to the Governors Princes and Peoples of India His Coronation Celebrated in England on the 22nd of June 1911 And Received From Them Their Dutiful Homage and Allegiance," reads a plaque installed at the base of the obelisk.