The Secret Object Hidden Atop King Charles’ Prince of Wales Coronet
Before his 2023 coronation as the United Kingdom’s king, Charles already had a smaller-scale investiture 54 years prior. At the age of just 20, Charles was crowned Prince of Wales. His mother, Queen Elizabeth, planned for her son to take the title in a grand ceremony held in the country he would rule over. However, the royal crown makers, in their haste to finish the Prince of Wales’ coronet on time, hid a secret object atop Charles’ crown.
What secret object was hidden at King Charles’ Prince of Wales coronet?
Believe it or not, there was no official Prince of Wales coronet when Queen Elizabeth had one made for her eldest son. Therefore a royal crown maker was commissioned to create a new modern topper for Charles.
Louis Osman designed the crown. It marked a radical departure from the traditional royal headwear.
The Prince of Wales coronet featured golden arches surrounded by fleurs-de-lis and crosses. The gold inlays came from a Welsh nugget.
Rather than being traditionally hammered, elements of the crown were electroplated onto an epoxy resin cast. A purple velvet cap banded with ermine completed the look.
A sphere topped Charles’ coronet and contained a hidden secret. It appeared to be made of gold, but it was not.
The circular object prominently displayed atop the crown was a ping-pong ball coated with gold filigree. It was surrounded by a floating constellation of diamonds arranged in the shape of Charles’s star sign, Scorpio.
The ping-pong ball topper was a last-minute addition to Charles’ coronet
Reportedly, Louis Osman began the process of shaping Charles’ coronet by making a wax mold of the new headgear. The mold was sent to a crown maker specializing in precious metals. However, every time a mold was made, it was so delicate it would break.
Finally, after several attempts, the crown was created, but the orb was incorrect. Therefore, a technician who worked with Osman proposed electroplating a ping-pong ball to beat the time crunch to finish the crown ahead of the coronation.
Charles wore the finished crown at his investiture in Wales. The event was televised, and over 500 million people watched the ceremony.
Charles won over the Welsh people in this manner at his investiture ceremony
Twenty-year-old Prince Charles studied at Wales’s Aberystwyth College in 1969 before his investiture ceremony. This was to learn about the Welsh people by living among them and the complex language as well.
“Every day, I had to go down to the town where I attended these lectures. Most days, there seemed to be a demonstration going on against me,” Charles recalled in an ITV documentary.
After nine weeks of studying, Charles was supposed to give the investiture speech in the Welsh language. Not only did the future king of the United Kingdom give an address in seamless Welsh—but he also added some pro-Welsh sentiments into his speech, knowing his family would not understand it.
Ahead of his crowning as king in 2023 alongside Camilla Parker Bowles as Queen Consort, Charles proclaimed his son, Prince William, as Prince of Wales. However, there was no lavish ceremony upon William’s ascension to that royal rank.
Instead, the BBC reported a statement by Kensington Palace. It said Prince Williams aims to “deepen his understand of the issues and opportunities of greatest importance to the Welsh people.”
Elements of this story were first reported by Town & Country, The Guardian, and The Washington Post.
