Regalia, the ensigns of royalty, including more particularly the apparatus of a coronation. The crowns are described at Vol. III. p. 589. The regalia, strictly so called, of England consist of the crown, the sceptre with the cross, the verge or rod with the dove, the so-called staff of Edward the Confessor (made in reality for Charles II.), the orbs of king and queen, the blunt sword of mercy called Curtana, the two sharp swords of justice, spiritual and temporal, the ampulla or receptacle for the coronation oil, the anointing spoon (probably the only existing relic of the old regalia), the armillæ or bracelets, the spurs of chivalry, and various royal vestments. All these, with the exception of the vestments, are now exhibited in the Jewel-room in the Tower of London. Their total value is estimated at £3,000,000. See BLOOD (THOMAS); and W. Jones's Crowns and Coronations: History of Regalia in all Countries (1883).
The proper regalia of Scotland consist of the crown, the sceptre, and the sword of state. For the crown, see Vol. III. p. 589. The sceptre is of the time of James V.; the sword was a present from Pope Julius II. to James IV. in 1507. During the Civil War the regalia were removed by the Earl Marischal for safe custody from the Crown-room of Edinburgh Castle, their usual place of deposit, to his castle of Dunnotar (q.v.); and from the Restoration to the Union the regalia continued to be kept in the Crown-room as formerly. From the Union till 1818 the regalia remained locked in a chest in the Crown-room away from public gaze; but in 1818, an order being obtained from the Prince-regent, the chest in the Crown-room was broken open, and the crown, sword, and sceptre were found as they had been deposited at the Union, along with a silver rod of office, supposed to be that of the Lord High Treasurer. They are now in the charge of the officers of state for Scotland, and are exhibited in the Crown-room. See Sir Walter Scott's Account of the Regalia of Scotland (1819).