Whatever the truth about this amazing ruby, it must be (still is?) one heck of a precious stone. It belonged to a French king, and leapt from his ring to attach itself to the tomb of Thomas Becket, who was born 900 years ago today, in Canterbury. The ruby then ended up belonging to Henry VIII (who had it removed from the tomb and put in a thumb ring for himself). George IV then had Henry’s tomb opened up, in the belief the ruby would be inside, but it wasn’t. So where did it go?
[…] folks, even in 1170 it seems they were hell-bent on giving out improbable […]
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Everybody can see the “Regale of France” ruby, which in reality is a red spinel, at the Tower of London, mounted on the Imperial State Crown.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_State_Crown
The identification of this huge red stone with the Regale of France is much more convincing, to the Royal House scorn, than with the Black Prince’s Ruby.
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As a lifelong lover of “great” unsolved mysteries, I wonder why it is I never heard of this Regale Ruby. And I have spent most of my adult life devouring everything I could read about the Tudor dynasty, Elizabeth I being my main focus.
I certainly can see this fascinating and elegant mystery as an hour-long documentary as to the origins, travels and possible locations of the gem today.
The New Murrey and Blue blog 
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