The BLACK PRINCE’S RUBY is one of the most famous royal gemstones in the English Crown Jewels collection. It also has one of the most fascinating stories. Supposedly given to Edward of Woodstock (aka the Black Prince) who was the eldest son of Edward III and the father of Richard II, it is apparently from a mine in Badakhshan in Afghanistan and was reputedly a gift from King Pedro I of Castile. These stories cannot be proven though and its later provenance is also a little murky in places. Legend claims though that it was worn by Henry V at the Battle of Agincourt, perhaps by Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth and it is likely one of the few gems to both survive the destruction of the Crown Jewels in 1649 by Oliver Cromwell’s forces and come back into royal hands after the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660. Its documented history only really begins in the 1680s though. Interestingly, the stone is actually a fake ruby as it is in reality a spinel. It is now set into the 1937 Imperial State Crown and has perhaps adorned the heads of more monarchs than any other stone in English history. It has sat on their coffins too, including most recently the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II.
In this royal jewels documentary from History Calling, we look at the history of this stone and at the purpose of crown jewels more broadly. I’ll explain too why the Black Prince’s Ruby has a noticeable hole at the top (plugged with an actual ruby) and tell you about its current home in the Tower of London jewel house.
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