WHO PINCHED THE IRISH CROWN JEWELS?

Every nation has its treasures, but the Irish Crown Jewels met a mysterious fate.

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by Michael Nash

Almost every nation has its State treasures. They may be symbols of national pride, such as Crown Jewels, or documents that encapsulate national history, as with the American Declaration of Independence. Some of these treasures now reside in museums. Others, most especially crowns and other royal regalia, are regularly worn by heads of State. The regalia variously referred to as the Irish Crown Jewels or the State Jewels of Ireland, however, met a more unusual and mysterious fate.

Properly called the jewels belonging to the Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick, they were created to be presented to the National Order of Chivalry of Ireland, the Order of Saint Patrick, for use by the Viceroy or visiting Sovereigns. In 1830 the Crown Jewellers, Rundell & Bridge, created the regalia from jewels that had belonged to Queen Charlotte, the consort of George III. These diamonds, rubies, and other stones possibly included the rose diamond given to the Queen by the Sultan of Turkey and the jewels she received from Mogul Emperor Shah Alam.

The Honours of St. Patrick consisted of two principal pieces–the star and the badge. The eight-pointed star consisted mostly of Brazilian diamonds. In the centre, a shamrock (or trefoil) of emeralds shone from the heart of a ruby cross which lay upon a background of blue enamel. Encircling this central motif was the motto of the order, Quis Separabit? (who can separate us?) and the date MDCCLXXIII (1783) all in rose diamonds.

The badge was of similar splendour, with its trefoil of emeralds on a ruby cross surrounded by a blue enamel band bearing the motto and date in rose diamonds, which was itself enclosed in an outer circle of large Brazilian diamonds, the whole being surrounded by a harp and loop framed in diamonds.

These creations joined some more traditional Irish regalia–two silver maces and the Irish Sword of State–which were carried before the Viceroy on State occasions. All of these, with separate individual collars and badges of members of the Order, were kept in the strongroom of Dublin Castle under the custody of the Ulster King of Arms, the Principal Herald of Ireland, and his assistants.

British monarchs did not travel all that frequently to Ireland. After King John, Richard II took an interest in the Emerald Isle, visiting it twice. Then, apart from the battles of the great rivals, uncle and nephew James II and William III, the next State Visit was that of George IV in 1821. The first monarch to avail herself of the jewels created by Rundell & Bridge was Queen Victoria, who came with Prince Albert in 1849 and 1861. Thereafter, nearly 40 years passed before the next royal visit–again by Victoria in 1900.

The jewels were also used on the occasion of the investiture of the Prince of Wales, later to become Edward VII, in the Order of St. Patrick in 1868. The very next year the Church of Ireland was established, and the religious ceremonies associated with such investitures were thereafter curtailed. In 1903 King Edward and Queen Alexandra made a formal visit to Ireland, during which the jewels were used, and they returned again informally in April 1904. During the 1903 visit the Ulster King of Arms, Sir Arthur Vicars, was invested a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order. He remained Ulster King of Arms (the principal Herald in Ireland) from 1893 until 1908.

The routine, if relatively infrequent, appearances of the Honours of St. Patrick came to an abrupt end, however, in 1907, during a visit by King Edward and Queen Alexandra. Prior to their arrival, for the purpose of investing Lord Castletown with the Order of St. Patrick, it was discovered that the jewels had been stolen. The King became apoplectic with rage when he found out that not only had they been stolen, but they had apparently been missing for at least a month.

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