King Charles III officially ascended the British throne on Sept. 10, two days after Queen Elizabeth died.
Two days after Queen Elizabeth II died at age 96, her eldest son, King Charles III, officially ascended the British throne and was declared sovereign. While his coronation ceremony has yet to take place, there are things that will have to be done prior to that happening, one being getting his crowns resized.
The St. Edward's Crown will be worn by Charles during the ceremony when he is crowned King. It was last worn by Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 at her coronation, therefore it will need to be resized to fit the new king's head. The St, Edward's Crown is similar in appearance to the Imperial State Crown, but it is bigger and heavier and is only worn once during the reign of a monarch. This crown weighs nearly five pounds, according to the Historic Royal Palaces website.
The Imperial State Crown will be worn by King Charles as he leaves Westminster Abbey after the coronation, and will continue to be worn on other State occasions, including the annual State Opening of Parliament, during his reign. This crown is made of gold and set with 2,868 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, 269 pearls, and four rubies.
According to the Economic Times, there are two other significant crowns: The Crown of Scotland, which was created in 1540, and the Crown of Queen Elizabeth, which King Charles' wife, Camilla, the Queen Consort, is expected to wear at his coronation.
The Imperial State Crown was displayed atop the queen's casket as it made it's way from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall. This crown will also be resized for King Charles. Along with the crown, the Sovereign's Sceptre and Sovereign's Orb were also present on her casket and taken off prior to her coffin being lowered into the royal vault.
Following the funeral, royal expert Katie Nicholl spoke to ET about the significance of each item.
"The sceptre, the orb, and the Imperial Crown have been on display obviously during the queen's lying in state, and I think they're probably the most important symbols of monarchy," she explained. "It's what you see if you go to the Tower of London. They are the crown jewels, the cross inscribed on both the scepter and on the orb reflects the monarchy and the god given right to monarchy."
"[They contain] stones and diamonds and priceless gems from around the world that span centuries," she added. "It's impossible to put a value on them, but they are synonymous with monarchy."
Nicholl went on to share that "the next time we see them will of course be at the coronation for King Charles III."
During the services on Monday, The Lord Chamberlain -- Lord Parker of Minsmere -- stood in front of mourners and broke a wand, signifying the end of the monarch's reign.
"The breaking of the rod is that moment where the rod of office is broken because the queen's reign has come to an end," Nicholl shared. "So it's a very significant actual breaking of that rod of authority of monarchy in terms of the queen's reign being broken and that will be buried with the coffin."
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