When Queen Elizabeth’s coffin was taken to St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh on Monday for a 24-hour lying-in-state, it was adorned with the Crown of Scotland, the first of four crowns that will play a prominent ceremonial role in both the funeral arrangements and the Coronation of King Charles.

In London, the Imperial State Crown will be placed on the coffin, and at the Coronation the Archbishop of Canterbury will place St Edward’s Crown on the King’s head.

The Queen Consort will wear the newest of the four crowns, the Crown of Queen Elizabeth, which was made for the late Queen mother in 1937.

All of them will need to be resized, particularly the three which will be worn by the King, as he has a larger head than his late mother. This may involve considerable work increasing the size of the crown’s circlets and adding extra stones, the reverse of the process that was carried out to make them smaller for the late Queen.

Any adjustment work would be expected to be carried out by Mark Appleby of Mappin & Webb, the current crown jeweller.

It is possible that the Imperial State Crown may need to be further reworked, as the arches of it were made smaller for the late Queen to give it a more feminine appearance.

The Crown of Scotland

The oldest of all the royal regalia, which is worn by the monarch at the State Opening of the Scottish Parliament, was placed on Queen Elizabeth’s coffin when it arrived at St Giles’ Cathedral from the Palace of Holyroodhouse earlier this week.

Made of solid gold, it pre-dates the Union and in its current form it was made in 1540 after King James V of Scotland ordered it to be refashioned from the previous crown, which was starting to fall apart.

After the precious stones were removed it was melted down and an extra 41 ounces of Scottish gold were added, before the 22 gemstones and 68 pearls were mounted. Originally lined with a purple bonnet, it has had a red bonnet since the days of James II (James VII of Scotland) and weighs a hefty 3lbs 10oz (1.64kg). It is kept in Edinburgh Castle as part of the Honours of Scotland.

The Imperial State Crown

The most familiar of all the crowns, worn by the monarch at the State Opening of Parliament, will be placed on the late Queen’s coffin when it leaves Buckingham Palace on its way to Westminster Hall on Wednesday.