By The Big Magazine Staff
On Wednesday, the coffin of the late Queen Elizabeth II processed through central London from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, where the late monarch will lie in state for four days until her funeral on Monday. The Queen died on September 8 at age 96 in Scotland.
Senior members of the royal family took participated in the procession, which is about a mile (about a 40-minute walk) from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall. The lineup inlcuded the new monarch King Charles III, Princess Anne, Prince Edward and Prince Andrew. William, Prince of Wales and Harry, Duke of Sussex marched in a row behind the queen's children.
It would be the last time that Queen Elizabeth's jewled crown leaves Buckingham Palace with her. Her coffin was draped with the Royal Standard, on which the Imperial State Crown (which was worn by the Queen for her coronation and at State Openings of Parliament) was placed on a velvet cushion along with a wreath of flowers. The wreath includes white roses, spray white roses, white dahlias as well as foliage that included pine from the gardens of Balmoral, and pittosporum, lavender and rosemary from the gardens at Windsor.
According to the Historical Royal Palace's website, the Imperial State Crown was originally made for Queen Victoria's coronation in 1838, and was remade for King Edward II's coronation in 1937.
The value of the crown has been estimated to cost billions of dollars, housing the world's fourth-largest polished diamond.
The 317.4-carat stone in the "brow" of the crown was created from the Cullinan Diamond, a 3,601-carat stone found in Africa in 1905. The stone was later cut into several pieces, with the "Cullinan II" earning a spot in the Imperial State Crown. Additionally, the crown is decorated with four rubies, 11 emeralds, 17 sapphires, 269 pearls and more than 2,500 smaller diamonds.
The imperial crown contains some of the most famous jewels in the royal collection including the Black Prince's Ruby, the Stuart Sapphire, and the Cullinan II diamond.
The crown is normally kept under guard at the Tower of London, where it is stays housed alongside the Crown Jewels exhibit.
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