Editing Black Prince's Ruby (section)

{{Short description|Large uncut gemstone set in the UK's Imperial State Crown}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
[[File:Imperial State Crown.png|thumb|The gemstone at the front of the [[Imperial State Crown]]]]
The '''Black Prince's Ruby''' is a large, irregular [[cabochon]] red [[spinel]] weighing {{convert|170|carat|g}} set in the [[cross pattée]] above the [[Cullinan II]] diamond at the front of the [[Imperial State Crown]] of the United Kingdom.<ref name="royalcollection">{{Royal Collection|31701|The Imperial State Crown}}</ref>

The spinel is one of the oldest gems in the [[Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom]], with a history dating back to the mid-14th&nbsp;century. According to a legend originating from the 1760s, the stone has been in the possession of the English and later British monarchy since it was given in 1367 by the Spanish king [[Peter of Castile]] to the then [[Prince of Wales]], [[Edward the Black Prince|Edward of Woodstock]], known as the "Black Prince".<ref name="Butler1989">{{cite book|first=Sir Thomas|last=Butler|title=The Crown Jewels and Coronation Ceremony|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=brbvmKAQ5PEC|year=1989|publisher=Pitkin|isbn=978-0-85372-467-4|page=6}}</ref> [[Henry V of England|Henry&nbsp;V]] is said to have worn it at the [[Battle of Agincourt]] in 1415<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-08-16 |title=The Black Prince's Ruby |url=https://www.thecourtjeweller.com/2021/08/the-black-princes-ruby.html |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=The Court Jeweller |language=en-US}}</ref>. The stone is believed to have been mined in [[Badakhshan]] in present day [[Afghanistan]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Spinel History and Lore|url=https://www.gia.edu/spinel-history-lore|url-status=live|access-date=2021-05-18|website=[[Gemological Institute of America]]|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130802170713/http://www.gia.edu/spinel-history-lore|archive-date=2013-08-02}}</ref> the principal source of large spinel gems in the [[Middle Ages]].