The Black Prince's Ruby set in the cross pattée in the front of the Imperial State Crown of the United Kingdom.

The Black Prince's Ruby is actually a bead-shaped spinel weighing roughly 170 carats (34 g) that is the size of a chicken egg. The spinels are any of a class of Minerals of general formulation XY2 O 4 which Crystallize in the cubic (isometric The carat is a unit of Mass used for measuring gems and Pearls Currently a carat is defined as exactly 200  mg (0 It is currently set in the cross pattée above the 317. 40 carat (63. 48 g) Cullinan II in the front of the Imperial State Crown. The Cullinan diamond is the largest rough gem-quality Diamond ever found at 3106 The Imperial State Crown is one of the British Crown Jewels. The Crown is of a design similar to St Edward's Crown: it includes a base of four crosses The Black Prince's Ruby is one of the oldest of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, with a known history dating back to the middle of the 14th century and having been in the possession of the British kings since it was given in 1367 to its namesake, Edward of Woodstock (the "Black Prince"). The collective term Crown Jewels denotes the regalia and vestments worn by the sovereign of the United Kingdom during the Coronation ceremony and at various other Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales, KG (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376 popularly known as The Black Prince, was the eldest son of King Edward

Spinel

Until fairly modern times, all red gemstones were referred to as "rubies". It was only relatively recently that the rarer spinel has been differentiated from the more common ruby. A Ruby is a pink to blood-red Gemstone, a variety of the Mineral Corundum ( Aluminium oxide) The two gemstones can be distinguished on the basis of hardness and density, namely that a ruby is slightly harder and denser than a spinel. A gemstone or gem, also called a precious or semi-precious stone, is a piece of attractive Mineral, which &mdash when cut and polished &mdash The two stones can also be told apart by their optical properties: a true ruby is dichroic while a spinel is singly refractive. Dichroic redirects here For the filter see Dichroic filter. For the glass see Dichroic glass. Refraction is the change in direction of a Wave due to a change in its Speed.

History

Don Pedro of Seville

The Black Prince's Ruby enters the "stage of history" in middle of the 14th century as the possession of Abu Said, the Moorish Prince of Granada. Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous region of Andalusia, Spain. At that time, the rule of Castillian Spain was being centralized to Seville and the Moorish Kingdom of Granada was being systematically attacked and reverted to Spanish rule as a part of the Christian Reconquest of Spain. Seville ( Spanish: Sevilla, see also different names) is the artistic cultural and financial capital of southern Spain. A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth The Reconquista (a Spanish and Portuguese word for "Reconquest" Arabic: الاسترداد, "Recapturing" was a period Abu Said in particular was confronted by the belligerency of nascent Castile under the rule of Pedro of Castile, also known to history as Don Pedro the Cruel. Peter (or Pedro; August 30, 1334 &ndash March 23, 1369) sometimes called the Cruel ( el Cruel) or According to historical accounts, Abu Said wished to surrender to Don Pedro, but the conditions he offered were unclear. What is clear is that Don Pedro welcomed his coming to Seville. It is recorded that he greatly desired Abu Said's wealth. When Abu Said met with Don Pedro, the Don had Said's servants killed and may have personally stabbed Said to death himself. Upon searching Said's corpse, the spinel was found and added to Don Pedro's possessions.

In 1366, Don Pedro's illegitimate brother led a revolt against Don Pedro. Lacking the power to put down the revolt unaided, Don Pedro made an alliance with the Black Prince. The revolt was successfully put down and the Black Prince demanded Abu Said's ruby in exchange for the services he had rendered. While historians speculate that this was contrary to Don Pedro's desires, he had just suffered a costly civil war and was in no position to decline. It can be assumed that The Black Prince took the Ruby back to England, although it is absent from historical records until 1415.

A wartime adornment

During Henry V of England's campaign in France, he wore a gem-encrusted helmet that included the Black Prince's Ruby. Henry V (16 September 1386 &ndash 31 August 1422 was one of the most significant English warrior kings of the 15th century On October 25, 1415, in the Battle of Agincourt, Henry was struck by a blow to the head by the French Duke of Alençon's battleaxe and nearly lost the helmet, along with his life. Events 1147 - The Portuguese, under Afonso I, and Crusaders from England and Flanders conquer Lisbon after a The Battle of Agincourt was an English victory against a larger French army in the Hundred Years' War. John I of Alençon, called the Sage (1385 Château d'Essay &ndash October 25, 1415, Azincourt) was the son of Peter II of Alençon However, the Battle of Agincourt was won by Henry's forces, Henry did not die, and the helmet was preserved along with the Black Prince's Ruby. Richard III is reported to have also worn the Black Prince's Ruby in his helmet at the Battle of Bosworth Field where he died. Richard III ( 2 October 1452 &ndash 22 August 1485) was King of England from 1483 until his death The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field ( 22 August, 1485) was Lancastrian Henry Tudor's defeat of Yorkist Richard

Crown jewel

James I had the Black Prince's Ruby set into the state crown near the turn of the 16th century, where it remained until the time of Oliver Cromwell. James VI and I (19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625 was King of Scotland as James VI, and King of England and King of Ireland as James Oliver Cromwell (25 April 1599 Old Style &ndash 3 September 1658 Old Style) was an English military and political leader best known With the exception of The Coronation Chair, Cromwell had all of the Crown Jewels disassembled and sold, having the metal melted down and made into coin. King Edward's Chair, sometimes known as St Edward's Chair or The Coronation Chair, is the throne on which the British monarch sits for the coronation A British jeweller bought the Black Prince's Ruby in the days of the Commonwealth, but sold it back to the crown (Charles II) when the monarchy was restored in 1660. The Commonwealth of England was the Republican government which ruled first England (including Wales) and then Ireland and Scotland Charles II (Charles Stuart 29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685 was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland.

References

• International Art Treasures Web Magazine : October 2003. "England's Crown Jewels". Retrieved April 17, 2005.
• Ryan Thompson's Famous Diamonds Page. "The Cullinan Diamonds". Retrieved April 17, 2005.
• Gemcal: Gems from the Far East. "Spinel Story". Retrieved April 17, 2005.
• The World of Famous Diamonds. "The Black Prince's Ruby on the front of the Imperial State Crown", bottom of page.
• Elizabeth Orpen; "Famous Rubies" "The Black Prince's Ruby 27 pages long history.