'Regalia of Charles II', 1670s. 'Still life' showing the Crown of State, the Royal Sceptre with its finial cross, the orb, the Garter, the Garter riband with the 'lesser George' and the Garter collar with the 'George' all resting on a cushion and a loosely folded ermine-lined crimson parliamentary robe with red and gold cords ending in large tassels. The order to destroy the royal regalia after the execution of Charles I was possibly not carried out, and St Edward's Crown may have been made from surviving fragments of the medieval crown. The regalia and the Order of the Garter together convey the message that the head of state is, once more, an anointed monarch entitled by rank and inheritance to be head of one of the oldest orders of chivalry in Europe. Such trappings of ceremonial monarchy were important in the period immediately following Charles II's restoration.
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