Anyone who puts it on their head without authorization will die within a year – G.cz

The Curse of the Crown Jewels

The crown of St. Wenceslas is the most important part of the Czech crown jewels. Together with the coronation scepter and the apple, it is kept in the crown chamber above the chapel of St. Vitus Cathedral. It is exposed to the public only during important state events.
The St. Wenceslas crown was made in 1346, when Charles IV. had it made for his coronation. This gem has always had a public status, which means that it has never been part of the King’s personal property. Instead, it symbolized Czech statehood and the connection between the king and his country. Like today, in the past it was only used on special occasions, for example during coronations.

The sanctity of the crown was enhanced by the fact that a thorn from Christ’s crown of thorns was allegedly inserted into the cross on top of it. This was to symbolize that the Czech monarch was crowned like Jesus. Anyone who violated the strict protocol of wearing the crown would end up as an apostate from the church, as the punishment was excommunication. Seven keys are needed to open the crown jewels, which open the crown chamber. In 1941, President Emil Hácha had to hand over the keys to the representative Reich Protector Reinhard Heydrich, who allegedly put the crown on his head. The word “allegedly” is important because there is no photo to confirm this.

It is also said that the curse was placed on the crown by Charles IV because he felt that the papal protection of the crown jewels was insufficient. However, many believe that this legend originated only during the Second World War. So was the death of Heydrich and his son, who was also to be crowned, just accidental?

The assassination of Reich Protector Heydrich was carried out by paratroopers from Operation Anthropoid – Josef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš, who were specially trained in Great Britain. On May 27, 1942, Gabčík tried to kill Heydrich, but his machine gun jammed. Kubiš reacted quickly and threw a grenade at Heydrich’s car, which exploded under the right rear wheel. Shrapnel and pieces of bodywork seriously injured Heydrich, who died less than two months later. Six months later, Heydrich’s nine-year-old son Klaus died in an accident with a truck.

After Klaus’s death, there were no repressions like in the case of Lidice and Ležák, which occurred after his father’s death. Was the death of both Heydrichs an inevitable result of events? Would the elder Heydrich have been assassinated even if he had not worn the crown? What about Klaus? Was his death just a result of his carelessness?

Sources of information:

https://www.prague.eu/cs/blog/ceske-korunovacni-klenoty-19323

https://www.kudyznudy.cz/ceska-nej/historicke/ceske-korunovacni-klenoty

https://www.hrad.cz/cs/prazsky-hrad-pro-navstevniky/ostatni/korunovacni-klenoty-10202