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King Charles III, the first new British monarch in 70 years, was crowned at Westminster Abbey in London overnight.
By now you’ll likely have heard all about the £100 million (NZ$201m) price tag for the event and the 74,000 extra tourists the UK capital has had to deal with, the gazillions of diamonds on heads and at throats, but there are so many more juicy numbers to crunch.
For example, did you know that at 74, Charles is the oldest new king in British history? (The youngest was Mary Queen of Scots who was proclaimed monarch at just 6-days-old.) Or that a surprisingly small number of eggs is needed to make a coronation quiche?
To celebrate the coronation, here’s a look at some of the important numbers from King Charles II’s big day:
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Jacob King
Camilla’s cron usually has one of the world’s largest diamonds in it. That was replaced with a more demure (and less controversial) sparkler for the coronation.
The number of controversial diamonds on the Queen Consorts’ crown. The 105.6-carat Koh-i-Noor, one of the largest diamonds in the world, was left at home this time. It was last seen out and about on Queen Elizabeth’s crown in 1953. Although it was acquired by Queen Victoria in 1849 as a spoil of war in the Punjab, its ownership is disputed by India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
1
The number of Australian musical legends inexplicably in attendance at the coronation. Nick Cave told the Daily Beast he attended because he’s not so “ideologically captured” that he would have refused to attend “the strangest, the weirdest… historical event in the UK of our age.” We just want to know if it’s Camilla or Charles who have The Good Son on high repeat.
Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images
Nick Cave attends the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
2 medium eggs
That’s the number and size of eggs in Royal Chef Mark Flanagan’s Coronation Quiche, chosen by the King and Queen Consort Camilla to be the event’s signature dish. The recipe feeds six, and can be eaten “hot or cold with a green salad and boiled new potatoes – perfect for a Coronation Big Lunch!”.
Buckingham Palace
The “coronation quiche” features spinach, broad beans, cheese and tarragon.
2.2 kilos
That’s how much St Edwards crown, which was placed on King Charles’ head during the ceremony, weighs. Created in 1661 for King Charles II, it was resized specifically for Charles III in December. Cast in soild gold, it is covered in more than 400 precious and semi-precious gems, including rubies, sapphires, garnets, topazes, tourmalines and amethysts, and is estimated to be worth about £4b.
4 commoners
There were 28 royals and royal-adjacents on the Buckingham Palace balcony with King Charles as he greeted his loyal subjects after the coronation. Amongst them were four commoners: pages Nicholas Barclay and Ralph Tollermache, Sir Timothy Laurence, Princess Anne’s husband and Annabel Elliot, Camilla’s sister.
Handout
Britain’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla wave from the balcony of Buckingham Palace after their coronation.
40
That’s the number of monarchs who have been crowned in the location of Westminster Abbey since 1066, starting with William the Conqueror.
105 “loose diamonds”
Adorned Catherine, Princess of Wales’ neck during the ceremony. A tribute to Queen Elizabeth, who wore the piece often, The Princess of Wales wore the George VI festoon necklace, which was made up from diamonds that once belonged to Prince William’s great, great-grandmother, Queen Mary.
Leon Neal/Getty Images
Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince William, with the Prince of Wales and Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
317-carats
The St Edward isn’t the only crown Charles got to wear during the ceremony. After the coronation, he left the Abbey wearing his everyday, knock about Imperial State Crown, which is slightly more blingin’ than the dusty old St Ed. It’s covered in 2,868 diamonds (including the chonky 317-carat Cullinan II diamond), 273 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, and five rubies. This crown weighs about 1kg, estimated to be worth about £5b.
2200
That’s the number of diamonds on the crown Queen Consort Camilla will wear, Queen Mary’s Crown, which is also estimated to be worth about £5b. Charles is going to be hard-pressed to top that anniversary gift next year.
Jonathan Brady
Queen Camilla is crowned with Queen Mary’s Crown.
2200
Is also the number of guests invited to the coronation, and the abbey’s capacity. It’s about a quarter of the number of guests Queen Elizabeth II shoehorned into the venue for her 1953 coronation, 8251, who had about 45cms of space each in order to fit them all in.
£5 billion
That’s how much Bloomberg estimates Camilla’s diamond encrusted crown to be worth – which nicely offsets the £2 billion having an extra bank holiday Bloomberg Economic estimates will suck out of the UK Economy.
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