Imperial Crown of Castadilla

Imperial Crown of Castedilia
Replica of the imperial crown using real gems and white gold
Heraldic depictions
Details
Country	Castedilia
Made	1815
Owner	Maximilian I in right of the Imperial Office
Weight	1.994 kg (4.4 lb)
Arches	2
Cap	Red velvet
Notable stones	4,936 diamonds 74 pearls 1 red spinel

The Imperial Crown of Castedilia (Latin: Corona Imperialis Castraediliae; Pelaxian: Corona Imperial de Castedilia; Reform Tainean: Kaurauna Emperiala des Kastetilia), also known as the Great Imperial Crown (Latin: Magna Corona Imperialis; Pelaxian: Gran Corona Imperial; Reform Tainean: Granta Kaurauna Emperiala), is the centrepiece of the Crown Jewels of Castedilia and symbolises the sovereignty of the Castedilian Emperor. It has existed in various forms since the 16th Century. The 1647 and 1815 versions have been in use by the Viceroyalty of Los Rumas to represent the Pelaxian monarch in Vallos, and thus colonial administrators would have sworn an oath to the crown itself, in effect making it the original King in Vallos (which now is a title given to the Emperor-elect). The 1815 crown has been used to crown Castedilian emperors at their coronations since the 1970s.

The original crown was a holy relic kept at the Abbey of Los Rumas, one of the first consecrated cathedrals during the colonial era, until the regalia was melted to be used in the creation of new royal regalia after the Union of Alahuela in 1632 which established the Carto-Pelaxian Commonwealth. This second crown was made in 1647. It was 22-carat gold, 30 centimetres (12 in) tall, weighing 2.23 kilograms (4.9 lb), and is decorated with 444 precious and fine gemstones.

Owing to its weight, the second crown was never worn by any Pelaxian monarch throughout its entire existence, and thus was exclusively used to swear in colonial administrators. After the fall of the Carto-Pelaxian Commonwealth in the late 18th Century, a new crown was needed, the 1647 crown being deemed too reminiscent of a bygone era and thus became a museum piece. The process of determining the design of the crown took over 20 years due to an interregnum period known as the First Pelaxian Republic. Because of the first republic, it was not until 1815 that the newest viceregal crown was made.

Background

The first viceregal crown in a 1631 portrait

The Viceroyalty of Los Rumas was the focal point of the Pelaxian colonial empire, being the largest and most populated colony as well as being home to where Mauricio Delepas first landed on mainland Vallos. In recognition of its status, it was decided that the viceroyalty would have its own regalia to represent the Pelaxian monarch in Vallos. This crown was to have two full arches, five crosses pattée and five fleurs-de-lis, and was to be decorated with the finest emeralds, sapphires, rubies, pearls, diamonds, and a large spinel that surmounted the arches. In the centre petals of the fleurs-de-lis were to be gold and enamel figurines of the Virgin Mary, Santiago, and three images of Christ. This crown was made in the early 1530s and was bequeathed to the Abbey of Los Rumas in 1563 as a holy relic, only being worn whenever the Pelaxian monarch was coronated (to lessen the risk of the monarch dying en route, the crown was sent to Pelaxia for coronations). The crown remained in the possession of the Abbey until the early 1640s when the viceroy purchased the crown, intending to melt it for a new viceregal crown in light of the union between Pelaxia and Cartadania. He did, however, had the gold and enamel figurines removed and gifted them to the Abbey in perpetuity.

The second viceregal crown on display

The second viceregal crown was designed to recall a more medieval look with a heavy gold base and clusters of semi-precious stones, but with decidedly Baroque arches, incorporating the metal from the original viceregal crown. This crown is 22-carat gold, with a circumference of 66cm (26 in), measures 30 cm (12 in) tall, and weighs 2.23 kg (4.9 lb). It has four fleurs-de-lis alternating with four crosses pattée, each of them supporting two dipped arches topped by a monde and cross pattée. Its purple velvet cap is trimmed with ermine. The crown features 444 precious and fine gemstones including 345 rose-cut aquamarines, 37 white topazes, 27 tourmalines, 12 rubies, 7 amethysts, 6 sapphires, 2 jargoons, 1 garnet, 1 spinel, 1 carbuncle, and 1 peridot. Due to its weight, this crown saw very little usage beyond being the crown that colonial administrators swore an oath to, effectively making it an early example of a King in Vallos.

As time went on, the depictions of the second crown have found their way on official documents and on buildings to indicate their high importance or to denote that it is a government building. This would lead to this crown becoming a long-standing and ubiquitous national symbol for years to come, even after it was replaced in 1815. Unlike the first viceregal crown, this crown was not melted for recycling purposes, it would have sparked mass public outrage, and hence it was instead put into a museum for display, but even that proved to be controversial as a great many people wanted it to remain as the viceregal crown. This change happened alongside the introduction of a new set of regalia.

Manufacture

1976 image of the crown (at bottom)

The court jewellers of the viceroy made what would become the great imperial crown to celebrate the Girojón restoration the year prior. The immaculate crown is a reflection of the skilled worksmanship put into it by the jewellers involved. It is adorned with 4936 diamonds arranged in splendid patterns across the entire surface of the crown. Bordering the edges of the "mitre" are a number of fine, large white pearls. The crown is also decorated with one of the seven historic stones of the viceregal crown jewels: a large precious red spinel weighing 398.72 carats (79.744 g), which was brought to Los Rumas from Audonia in 1660.

To reflect the rise in what would become Delepasian exceptionalism, the viceroyalty also sought inspiration from the great realms of the world. One of the most notable inspirations was in the Imperial State Crown of Urcea, in which a circlet with eight fleurs-de-lis surrounding a mitre with a high arch extending from the front to the back fleur-de-lis. Already in Urcea some baroque representations of this type of crown found on statues of the saints had transformed the two halves of the mitre into two half-spheres, and this is the type of crown that inspired the great imperial crown.

In the great imperial crown which the viceregal jewellers made in 1815, these hemispheres are in open metalwork resembling basketwork with the edges of both the hemispheres bordered with a row of 37 very fine, large, white pearls. They rest on a circlet of nineteen diamonds, all averaging over 5 carats (1.0 g) in weight, the largest being the large Indian pear-shaped stone of 12⅝ cts in front, set between two bands of diamonds above and below. The jewellers have shown their creative genius by replacing the eight fleur-de-lis with four pairs of crossed palm branches, while the arch between them is made up of oaks leaves and acorns in small diamonds surrounding a number of large diamonds of various shapes and tints running from the front pair of crossed palms to the back pair of crossed palms, while the basketwork pattern of the two hemispheres are divided by two strips of similar oak leaves and acorns from the two side pairs of palm branches stretching up to the rows of large pearls on their borders. At the center and apex of the central arch is a diamond rosette of twelve petals from which rises a large red spinel, weighing 398.72 carats (79.744 grams), one of the seven historic stones of the viceregal crown jewels. It is believed to be the second largest spinel in the world. This spinel, in turn, is surmounted by a cross of five diamonds, representing the Christian faith of the Pelaxian Sovereign the God-given power of the monarchy and the supremacy of the divine order over earthly power. Except for the two rows of large white pearls the entire surface of the crown is covered with 4936 diamonds and is quite heavy, weighing approximately nine pounds (by contrast, the second viceregal crown weighs only less than five pounds). The speed of its completion was nothing short of a miracle given the time period and yet it managed to be one of the finest crowns ever made.

There is also what is now known as the lesser imperial crown, very similar in style and workmanship to the great imperial crown, only smaller and entirely set with diamonds, made for the Pelaxian queen consort, and is used to crown empress consorts to this day.

Delepasian Kingdom, and subsequent polities

In 1852, the Pelaxian monarchy was abolished permanently, and members of the nobility, fearing a loss of their own status, fled to the viceroyalty where they declared a Pelaxian government-in-exile with the intent to establish a real union between Pelaxia and the former viceroyalty; this was the Delepasian Kingdom. The third viceregal crown was intended to be used to crown the first Delepasian monarch, only for the coronation to never happen due to the kingdom's collapse three months later. After the collapse, the third viceregal crown and the rest of the regalia became museum pieces where they remained as such for over 124 years.

With the advent of the Pact of Eighteen in 1976 and the formation of the Delepasian Commonwealth, there rose an intense debate over which of the two surviving viceregal crowns was to become the new nation's imperial crown. A sizeable amount of people wanted to bring back the second viceregal crown on the basis that it looked less sterile and was lighter than the third viceregal crown. Others have argued that the third viceregal crown was much more appropriate for an emperor, and that the second crown, although iconic, has outgrown any ideas of it being actually worn. With a very slim majority, the third imperial crown, along with its regalia, was chosen as the new imperial crown.

Coronation

Main article: Coronation of the Castedilian Emperor

Heraldic depiction of the crown of the King in Vallos

Despite being the emperor of a strongly Catholic nation, the Castedilian Emperor places the crown upon his own head, signifying that his position was not decided by God, but rather by the will of the people who elected him. The statement "Sirs and Dames, I hereby present unto you Emperor/Empress (name), undoubtedly your Emperor/Empress if it please you: wherefore all of you who are here on this day to do your homage and service, are you willing to do the same?" confirms the popular supremacy. Prior to the coronation, the Emperor-elect is styled as the King in Vallos and may wear a lesser crown to represent his status as being elected as the nation's next head of state and that he needs one last step before he could officially be deemed the head of state.

Heraldic use

Heraldic illustration

The imperial crown appears on the Imperial coat of arms of Castedilia. The greater, medium, and lesser coats of arms all have a depiction of the imperial crown as among its elements. It appears above the Imperial Cypher (monogram), but only after the coronation. Between ascending the throne and the coronation, the Imperial Cypher would bear the crown of the King in Vallos, but not the imperial crown.

Lesser crowns have been used by members of the Castedilian Imperial Family both senior and junior.

See also

• Castedilian Emperor
• Castedilian heraldry