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he crown of Queen Marie was ordered by the Romanian Parliament on the occasion of Alba-Iulia coronation ceremony, to Falize
jewellers firm. It is made from gold mined in Transylvania, thus
giving it a special significance in the context of achieving the national
union in the aftermath of the Great War. Its design style is Byzantine,
featuring vegetable motifs, being the master-work of Costin Petrescu, inspired from the crown of the medieval Princess Despina Milia, in accordance with Queen Marie's wish to give it a medieval appearance. A
less usual feature is represented by the two lateral pendants, specific to
Byzantine imperial diadems.
The two pendants each are embellished with heraldic shields, the right
hand one representing the coat of arms of the Romanian Kingdom, while
the other shows the heraldry symbols of Queen Marie's ascendancy, the
House of Edinburgh and of Saxe Coburg and Gotha. The association of
those heraldry symbols with the general Byzantine design of the crown
suggests the link of continuity between the modern state with the glory
of the medieval Romanian principalities. The artefact is a unique gathering of royal symbols, being also an expression of the Romanian national