Its history is older than any other gemstone in the
Royal Collection. The sapphire is thought to have been set in the coronation ring of
King Edward, known later as St Edward the Confessor, who ascended the English throne in 1042, twenty-four years before the
Norman conquest. Edward, one of the last
Anglo-Saxon kings of England, was buried with the ring at
Westminster Abbey in 1066. '', c. 1395–1399 It was reputedly taken from the ring when Edward's body was re-interred at Westminster Abbey in 1163. According to an inventory of royal
regalia drawn up in 1649,
St Edward's Crown, the traditional
coronation crown of English monarchs, contained, among other precious stones, a sapphire valued at £60, which may well have been St Edward's Sapphire. How it survived the
abolition of the monarchy during the
English Civil War in the 17th century is not clear, but it was most likely re-cut into its present form for
Charles II after the
restoration of the monarchy. The Imperial State Crown is on public display with the other Crown Jewels in the
Jewel House at the
Tower of London. ==See also==