Don Pedro of Seville According to tradition, the history of the Black Prince's Ruby dates back to the middle of the 14th century as the possession of Abū Sa'īd, the
Arab Muslim Prince of the
Kingdom of Granada. At that time, the rule of Castile was being centralized to
Seville and the Moorish Kingdom of Granada was being systematically attacked and reverted to Castilian rule as a part of the
Christian Reconquest of the
Iberian Peninsula. Abū Sa'īd in particular was confronted by the belligerency of nascent Castile under the rule of
Peter of Castile, also known to history as either Don Pedro the Cruel, or Don Pedro the Just. According to historical accounts, Abū Sa'īd wished to surrender to Don Pedro, but the conditions he offered were unclear. What is clear is that Don Pedro welcomed his coming to Seville. It is recorded that he greatly desired Abū Sa'īd's wealth. When Abū Sa'īd met with Don Pedro, the King had Abū Sa'īd's servants killed and may have personally stabbed Sa'īd to death himself. When Sa'īd's corpse was searched, the spinel was found and added to Don Pedro's possessions. In 1366, Don Pedro's illegitimate brother,
Henry of Trastámara, led a revolt against Don Pedro. Lacking the power to put down the revolt unaided, Don Pedro made an alliance with the
Black Prince, the son of
Edward III of England. The Black Prince took part in the
Battle of Nájera, and apparently demanded the ruby in exchange for the services he had rendered. He had problems obtaining cash from Pedro, but returned to England with gemstones and Pedro's two daughters,
Dona Constanza of Castile and
Dona Isabel of Castile. Marriages were contracted for them to the Prince's brothers. It is assumed that the Black Prince took the Ruby back to England at that time, although it disappears from historical records until 1415, when it was worn by
Henry V of England.
A wartime adornment During his campaign in France,
Henry V of England wore a gem-encrusted helmet that included the Black Prince's Ruby. In the
Battle of Agincourt on 25 October 1415, the French
Duke of Alençon struck Henry on the head with a battleaxe, and Henry nearly lost both the helmet and his life. The battle was won by Henry's forces and the Black Prince's Ruby was saved.
Richard III is supposed to have worn the gemstone in his helmet at the
Battle of Bosworth in 1485, in which he was killed.
Crown Jewels Henry VIII's inventory of 1521 mentions "a great balas ruby" set in the
Tudor Crown, thought to be the Black Prince's Ruby. It remained there until the monarchy was temporarily abolished in the 17th century. The
Commonwealth had the royal crowns disassembled and gems sold, and the gold was melted down and struck into coins. How the stone found its way back into the Royal Collection after the Interregnum is unclear, but a substantial "ruby" was acquired for the Crown Jewels in 1661 at a cost of £400, and this may well have been the spinel. At the
coronation of Queen Victoria in 1838, she was crowned with a new
Imperial State Crown made for her by
Rundell and Bridge, with 3,093 gems, including the spinel at the front. The Queen can be clearly seen wearing the jewel in the Imperial State Crown in her official coronation portrait by Sir
George Hayter. This was remade in 1937 into the current, lighter, crown. A
plaquette on the reverse of the gemstone commemorates the crown's history. ==See also==