DID YOU KNOW?

● In 1831, William IV was so weighed down by his coronation crown when it was set with all its precious stones that he suffered violent toothache. After the ceremony, he rushed back to Buckingham Palace to have the offending tooth removed.

● The world-famous Koh-i-Nûr ('Mountain of Light’ in Persian) diamond was presented to Queen Victoria in 1850, and has only been worn by queens regnant and consort due to a legend that it brings bad luck if worn by a man. It is currently set in the Crown of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (1937).

● Following the death of Prince Albert in 1861, Queen Victoria adopted 'widow’s weeds' and on official occasions declined to wear the Imperial State Crown with its coloured gems, so in 1870 Queen Victoria’s Small Diamond Crown, under four inches (10cm) tall and featuring hundreds of colourless diamonds, was created to fit on top of her widow’s cap.