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Privacy Notice King Charles and Queen Camilla are set to attend the State Opening of Parliament today (Wednesday, 17 July) – the first since Sir Keir Starmer took over as Prime Minister. The event will see a dazzling display of items from the Crown Jewels, including the Imperial State Crown which King Charles wore as he left Westminster Abbey after his Coronation last year. The Crown, with its intriguing history, is securely housed in the Jewel House at The Tower of London, safeguarded by bomb-proof glass and over 100 concealed security cameras. However, there was a time when it resided elsewhere, much to the astonishment of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The Imperial State Crown will be brought to the State Opening of Parliament
(Image: Robin Utrecht/dana press/REX/Shutterstock)
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The King’s Crown Jewels, some of the most renowned and invaluable artefacts in the country, were relocated during World War Two for better protection against potential enemy seizure. Royal expert Alistair Bruce stumbled upon a shocking revelation about the whereabouts of the Crown Jewels during World War Two, a story which was unknown to the late Queen. Bruce discovered an “electric set of letters” penned by Royal librarian Sir Owen Morshead to Queen Mary, expressing his worries about the safety of the precious jewels and planned their protection from falling into enemy hands.
The late Queen was told the extraordinary story
(Image: BBC)
He detailed how King George VI commanded the creation of a “deep hole” within Windsor Castle’s grounds, “beneath a sally port, one of the secure entries to the castle, and two chambers constructed with steel doors.” He added: “They dug out this fresh, very virgin white chalk and they had to hide it with tarpaulins so when the aircraft flew over at night no clue was given to the German Luftwaffe that anything was going on.” The tale gets even more fascinating with the revelation that the most precious gems – the Black Prince’s Ruby and St Edward’s Sapphire – were extracted from the Imperial State Crown and stored separately in a biscuit tin “in case of emergency.” Bruce shared that unveiling this astonishing narrative to the Queen was an extraordinary moment. He recounted: “What was so lovely was that the Queen had no knowledge of it. Telling her seemed strangely odd.”
Queen Elizabeth had no idea what happened to the Imperial State Crown during the War and found out in 2017
(Image: Print Collector/Getty Images)
Reflecting on her coronation on June 2, 1953, the late Queen offered many frank insights about the crown, remarking: “It weighs a ton”. She further described the crown as “unwieldy”, explaining: “You can’t look down to read the speech, you have to take the speech up because if you did, your neck would break – it would fall off,” she chuckled. “So there are some disadvantages to crowns, but otherwise they’re quite important things.” In a later part of the documentary, Bruce comments: “It’s difficult to always remember that diamonds are stones and so they’re very heavy.” To which the Queen gently responds: “Yes, fortunately, my father and I have about the same sort of shaped head. But once you put it on it stays. I mean it just remains on.”Story SavedYou can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnKing Charles IIIQueen CamillaRoyal FamilyBuckingham PalaceQueen Elizabeth IIKing George VIKeir Starmer
