Export Ban Placed on $6.5 Million Queen Victoria Crown
- August 29, 2016 14:51
The BBC reports:
A temporary export ban has been placed on a sapphire and diamond coronet that belonged to Queen Victoria, preventing it from being sold abroad.
The coronet, designed by Prince Albert for their wedding in 1840, is at risk of being exported unless a UK buyer matches the £5m asking price.
Culture minister Matt Hancock, who imposed the ban, said it symbolised one of the UK's "most famous love stories".
[After Victoria's death,] the coronet was given by King George V and Queen Mary to Princess Mary on her marriage to Viscount Lascelles in 1922. It was later sold to a dealer in London, who then sold it to the export licence applicant.
