The Steel CrownofKing Carol I of the Romanians was forged at the Army Arsenal (Arsenalul Armatei) in Bucharest from the steel of a cannon captured by the Romanian Army from the Ottomans during its War of Independence.
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 coronationofKing Ferdinand I and Queen Maria as sovereigns of Romania, which took place in Alba-Iulia. The Crown was used also during the coronation[1] and anointing as King of Michael I by the Orthodox Patriarch of Romania, Nicodim Munteanu, in the Patriarchal CathedralofBucharest, on the very day of his second accession, September 6, 1940.[2]
The coat of arms of Romania was augmented on 11 July 2016 to add a representation of the Steel Crown.[3]
A copy of the crown was placed on the coffin of the last king of Romania, Michael I, during his funeral in December 2017.[4]
