Steel Crown of Romania

The Steel Crown of King Carol I of Romania was forged at the Army Arsenal (Arsenalul Armatei) in Bucharest of the steel of a cannon captured by the Romanian Army from the Ottomans during the War of Independence (1877-1878). Carol I chose steel, and not gold, to symbolize the bravery of the Romanian soldiers. He received it during the ceremonies of his coronation and of the proclamation of Romania as a kingdom in 1881. It is the same Crown used in 1922 at the coronation of King Ferdinand I and Queen Maria as sovereigns of Romania, which took place in Alba-Iulia. The Crown was used also during the coronation and anointing as King of Michael I by the Orthodox Patriarch of Romania, Nicodim Munteanu, in the Patriarchal Cathedral of Bucharest, on the very day of his second accession, September 6, 1940.