King Charles’ coronation this weekend shows how different the British Royal Family is from other European monarchies.
While the British put crowns on their king and queen, other countries simply proclaim their monarchs. In Spain and other countries, the crown remains to the side.
Spain doesn’t actually have a royal crown — at least not a physical one. The crown King Felipe used for his proclamation is similar to the heraldic crown use in Spanish coats of arms. It dates to the 1700s and is currently on display at the Madrid Royal Palace.
But before 2014, however, that crown stayed locked away. It was used for King Juan Carlos’ proclamation in the 1970s, but was not given as much importance as other crown jewels around the world. Looking at it closely, it’s not an updated representation of Spain’s constituent realms. That crown is also very large — larger than it seems.
The Spanish Royal Family have several tiaras and numerous pieces of jewelry that have been handed down. But through civil war, two republics, a dictatorship and other strife, few crown jewels remain and almost none are regularly on display.
LOS BORBONES 