.....And it's gone!

[Cursitor Doom]

AFAIA It *has* to be the real thing as dictated by 1000 years of tradition.

[alan_m]

It's real one is less than 90 years old and the replica on display considerably younger so no great tradition.

Much of the " tradition" that we are about to witness is not that old and even then changed when it suited the authorities to do so.

[Rod Speed]

alan_m [e-mail]> wrote

It's the tradition that it has to be the real one, not a fake.

Not that that particular crown is that old.

Not true of the tradition that it has to be the real crown.

[Andrew]

The bearer party carrying Winston Churchills lead-lined coffin almost dropped it going up the steps of St Pauls according to the memoirs of one of the bearers.

[Andrew]

I bet a Golden Eagle could fly off with that crown.

[Andrew]

The real Scottish one is really old and original.

[zall]

Not when it is properly attached to the coffin so that it needs to take both.

Bet the crowns have hooks so it can be wired to the coffin so it doesnt fall off when they go up the steps to where it will be displayed for days or a week or so. Tho there obviously needs to be some quick release device so the crown doesn't end up in the crypt or where ever it ends up.

[Colin Bignell]

Oliver Cromwell had our Crown Jewels melted down and turned into coins.

[alan_m]

I see they are transporting that bit of rock (stone of scone) back from Scotland for the coronation.

Perhaps that is what is in the coffin?

[charles]

Not the jewels,,though. They were just sold, The Scots managed to hide theirs which is why the Scottish crown is older than the English one.

[Dan Green]

Nope. The combined weight of the lead, the Stone and the wax dummy would make the coffin too heavy for even half a dozen fit and strong soldiers to lift.

[Colin Bignell]

The coffin alone weighs about a quarter of a tonne, so it could be empty and nobody would notice.

[Andy Burns]

Well, the hot-snot glue or whatever on the orb seems to have lasted the week ...

[Cursitor Doom]

Yes, but did you notice the crown itself wasn't secured at all! The Crown Jeweller just lifted it up and that was it. They'd formed a lump in the middle of the cushion to prevent it slipping off, but there was nothing to stop it being lifted from above.

[Andy Burns]

Somebody did sneak up to it mid-ceremony and unscrewed a couple of (wing nuts?)

[charles]

You obviously missed the event earlier where he 'fiddled' with all the jewels. My thought was that he was unlocking them

[Harry Bloomfield Esq]

Nah - there is a big rare earth magnet just under the coffin lid.

[Cursitor Doom]

Gold ain't magnetic.

[Tricky Dicky]

I wondered how the orb managed to stay in place throughout all the lifting and placing, there appeared a spike underneath that stuck into the coffin lid you just caught a glance as the guy removed it before masking it with his hand. However, when placing on the altar the spike did not seem to fit the receptacle in the cushion and it was left elevated with the top of the spike visible. I got the impression the spike had a cradle on the top that gripped the orb by its central band. As for the crown there seemed a rigid centre on the cushion that fitted into the rim of the crown and there were two brass features on top presumably to allow it to be secured in place.

Richard

[Tim+]

I wondered exactly the same and also saw that it wasn’t “plugged” into its new base properly after the transfer. Kept expecting it to fall off the altar!

Tim