When one thinks of grand British royal pageantry, there is nothing quite like the excitement of a coronation.

And it's rare we even get to see one, a new monarch, a new future, and new possibility.

When Queen Elizabeth II was crowned on June 2nd, 1953, over 20 million people

in Britain alone were able to attend the ceremony by watching it on that relatively new invention,

the television. Those, lucky enough to be inside Westminster Abbey, the site of every coronation since 1066,

craned their necks not only to watch the moment that the Archbishop of Canterbury

placed St. Edward's crown on the sovereign's head, but to get a better look at the brilliant

and ancient jewels in the crown, as well as in the orb and scepter she was given that couldn't help

but catch the eye. As she rode through the streets of London back to Buckingham Palace,

it was a chance to see not only her from close range, but the magnificent jewels that she wore.

The British crown jewels are legendary, and indeed there are legends, stories and fascinating

bits of history surrounding them. But just what exactly are the crown jewels? When can

they actually be worn and just what will we see very soon as Britain crowns a new monarch,

King Charles III.

My guest today shares the histories and the mysteries of perhaps the most famous jewel collection in the world.

If you need a field guide to the British crown jewels

as well as a look at the private jewel collection

of members of the royal family,

this episode will bring you into the very heart of the story.

Thank you. I'm Carl Raymond, the host of the Gilded Gentleman History podcast, where we delve into world's light and dark of America's Gilded Age,

Francis Bellepuck, and England's late Victorian and Edwardian eras.

Music Belipoc and England's late Victorian and Edwardian eras. Of all the historic sites that I so love in London, I think the Tower of London is really my favorite.

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