Late Queen's secret to wearing 'totally impractical' 1kg crown in her 90s

The late Queen Elizabeth II was deeply devoted to tradition and upheld royal custom throughout her historic 70-year reign. She became renowned across the world for her poise, dignity and ability to quite literally carry the weight of the monarchy.

Even into her 90s, the Queen managed to hold her head high while bearing the weight of the near 1kg crown during significant royal occasions. From her coronation in 1953 through to her later years, she continued to wear the Imperial State Crown, a dazzling but notoriously heavy piece of regalia.

Her Majesty once described the crown as being impractical due to the immense weight combined with it's staggering value.

She made it no secret that the headpiece was challenging to wear as it was impressive to behold.

The crown is renowned to be heavy after consiting of being made from solid gold and set with 444 precious and semi-precious stones, weighing more than two pounds.

While dazzling in appearance, it is notoriously heavy and challenging to balance, making it an extraordinary task for any monarch, let alone one who was 90-years-old back in 2016.

During a rare BBC documentary in 2018, the Queen spoke candidly about the difficulty of wearing the crown, joking that "you can't look down to read the speech, you have to lift the speech up, because if you did your neck would break."

She revealed that practice and discipline were key to managing its weight, adding that her years of service had given her the strength to carry it with apparent ease.

Experts say her ability to wear the crown comfortably was down to years of training, posture and stamina.

The Queen herself admitted that both her father, King George VI, and her grandfather, George V, had encouraged her to rehearse with crowns and heavy headpieces from a young age to prepare her for the realities of state occasions.

Her appearances in later years, when she wore lighter crowns or the Imperial State Crown, still carried the same aura of regality.

Queen Elizabeth's mastery of the crown, both symbolically and physically, reflected her lifelong dedication to duty - a testament to her enduring reign and unshakable composure.