Half-arch (crown)

Many crowns of continental European monarchs traditionally contain eight half-arches; examples from extant monarchies include the royal crowns of Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden.

Unlike the princely crowns of 1902 and 1969 however, where the single arch rises, in the Crown of Frederick, Prince of Wales (1728) the single arch dips in the centre, with the globe located in the centre of the dip.

However, in the case of the State Crown of George I, while the crown as originally designed had dipping arches, they were pulled up to a right angle for the coronation of King George II and have remained in that position.

Alexandra of Denmark, Mary of Teck and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (British queens consort Alexandra, Mary and Elizabeth) all at various stages wore their own crowns as circlets, particularly after the deaths of the husbands, when one of their children was on the throne and they were the queen mother.

The Danish Crown of Christian IV that was used for the coronation of elected monarchs prior to the introduction of absolutism in 1660 has no covering at all but exists in circlet form, while the Papal Tiara rises as one solid silver (or in one occasion gold) unit.