The late Queen Elizabeth II was always known for being one of the hardest-working royals in British history, with an unwavering and unmatched dedication to her duties.
One of the most frequent and important roles that the mother of King Charles played was presiding over the State Opening of Parliament.
© Getty ImagesDuring her reign of more than 70 years, Queen Elizabeth presided over every State Opening, except for three, facing the challenge of reading the Government's legislative programme, without stuttering or making any mistakes, while wearing the Imperial State Crown.
At 2.3 lb, just over a kilogram, it's no easy feat, especially for a person of the late Queen's age towards the end of her reign – so how did she do it?
According to royal biographer Robert Hardman, who explained in his book Charles III: New King. New Court, Her Majesty would request that the crown be delivered to her the day before opening, the Daily Mail reports.
That way, the grandmother of Prince William and Prince Harry could practise wearing the magnificent headpiece to minimise the risk of any unfortunate mishaps on the day of the reading.
The Imperial State Crown
It's no mean feat to wear a piece as glorious, enormous and undeniably heavy as the Imperial State Crown, let alone into your mid-90s.
The headpiece is encrusted with 2,868 diamonds and features 269 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds and four rubies, unsurprisingly meaning it's a rather hefty one to have on your head for so long.
Katie Daly, HELLO!'s Lifestyle Writer, commented on how Queen Elizabeth's commitment to wearing the piece was a sign of the type of monarch she aimed to be.
© Getty ImagesShe said: "Always one to respect tradition, the late Queen wore the Imperial State Crown to open Parliament all but three times.
"Elizabeth would have understood the impact of the regal beauty and history attached to the crown, despite the immense weight of the piece making it a total impracticality to wear when reading legislative documents."
Katie continued: "Hardly a surprise for those who followed the Queen throughout her life, she always put protocol before her own needs, and this is a perfect example to illustrate her unwavering sense of duty."
Queen Elizabeth II broke tradition three times
When she opened Parliament in 2019, Queen Elizabeth broke tradition for the third time in her reign and decided against wearing the Imperial State Crown, instead opting for her smaller George IV State Diadem, which she wore alongside her diamond Coronation necklace.
© Getty ImagesHer Majesty opened up about what it was like to wear the incredibly heavy jewels in the 2018 BBC documentary, The Coronation: "You can't look down to read the speech, you have to take the speech up, because if you did, your neck would break, it would fall off.
"So there are some disadvantages to crowns, but otherwise they're quite important things."
