Almost every British military badge carries a crown. Which crown tells you roughly when it was made, and it takes about two seconds once you know what you are looking at.
The two crowns
The Tudor Crown — also called the Imperial or King's Crown. Domed, arched, distinctly rounded at the top.
St Edward's Crown — the Queen's Crown. Its arches dip inwards, giving a slightly flattened, scooped profile.
Side by side the difference is obvious. The Tudor Crown bulges; St Edward's Crown curves in.
The dating
- Tudor Crown — used until 1953, under Kings Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII and George VI.
- St Edward's Crown — 1953 to 2022, the whole of Elizabeth II's reign.
- Tudor Crown again — from 2022, under Charles III.
WO Warrant Officer Shirt Slides Queens Crown Dieu ET Mon Droit Epaulette Sli
The trap
Because the Tudor Crown returned in 2022, it no longer means "pre-1953" on its own. A Tudor Crown badge is either pre-1953 or post-2022, and those are very different objects.
Condition, backing material and manufacturing method usually settle it. A genuinely pre-1953 badge shows its age in the metal; a 2023 issue does not.
Vintage Mil-spec Old Pattern St Edwards Crown Khaki Buff Ring Backed Buttons
Shop King's Crown vintage insignia →
Why it matters for price
A pre-1953 King's Crown badge is obsolete pattern with seventy-plus years behind it. A post-2022 King's Crown badge is current issue.
They can look nearly identical in a photograph and be worlds apart in value. If a listing does not make clear which it is, ask — and be cautious of any that avoids the question.
RAF Royal Air Force Hat Badge Braided OFC Officer Queens Crown Service Dress
Telling them apart when the badge is worn
On a mint badge the difference is obvious. On one that has been polished for thirty years it is not, because the arches are exactly what wears down first.
Two things survive wear better than the profile. First, the orb and cross at the top: St Edward's Crown carries a noticeably taller, more slender cross. Second, the base band: the Tudor Crown's is usually deeper with more pronounced jewelling.
If both are gone, look at what the badge is made of instead. Anodised aluminium — "staybrite" — only arrived in the early 1950s. A badge in staybrite cannot be pre-1953 whatever its crown looks like.
Where else the date hides
- Fixings. Slider fittings became standard after the war; earlier badges more often used loops and split pins.
- The regiment itself. If the regiment was amalgamated out of existence in 1958, 1968, 1992, 2006 or 2007, the badge cannot post-date that — regardless of crown.
- Backing cloth. Where a badge is still mounted, the felt or melton backing is often a better dating clue than the badge.
Scotland is the exception
Worth knowing before you correct someone: Scottish regiments use the Crown of Scotland rather than either English crown, and it did not change in 1953 or in 2022. A Scottish badge cannot be dated this way at all.
Why 2022 matters more than people realise
The change to the Tudor Crown under Charles III means every current-issue badge is being remade. For collectors that has two effects: Queen's Crown badges became a closed set overnight, and the market is now seeing brand-new Tudor Crown badges that look, in a photograph, much like pre-1953 ones.
Anyone selling in good faith will tell you which. If a listing shows a Tudor Crown and avoids saying whether it is pre-1953 or post-2022, treat that as the answer.
What a crown change actually meant in practice
It is worth understanding that badges were not all swapped overnight. When the crown changed, existing stock was worn out first — sometimes for years. Units held stores of the old pattern and used them, and individuals kept wearing what they had.
So the crown gives you the earliest possible date for a badge's design, not the date it was worn. A Queen's crown badge photographed in 2024 is not an anomaly; it is somebody wearing the badge they already had.
That cuts both ways for a collector. A King's crown badge cannot predate the change, which makes it a hard floor on the date. A Queen's crown badge could have been worn at any point from the early 1950s until stocks ran out.
Crowns on things that are not badges
Once you start looking, the crown is everywhere, and every one of them dates the item:
- Buttons — the most overlooked. A tunic's buttons often date more precisely than the tunic.
- Belt buckles and plates, particularly on ceremonial items.
- Rank insignia — the crown above a Warrant Officer's or Colour Sergeant's badge.
- Stamps and marks inside equipment, which is where the crown appears alongside a broad arrow.