Queen Camilla Is Bringing a Controversial Ancient Gift to King Charles's Coronation

• At King Charles's coronation, Queen Camilla will carry a controversial ivory scepter.

• This is seemingly at odds with the Royal Family's stated stance against elephant ivory.

• The scepter was originally crafted as a gift for Mary of Modena in 1685.

Any country that has existed for more than a few centuries surely has regrettable relics of its past that still linger. That's doubly true for a country as infamous in its former aggressiveness—and at times, callousness—as the British Empire was. In recent years, the U.K. and its Royal Family have tried to shed much of the baggage related to the brutality on which the nation was built, trying to keep as many remnants of it out of the public eye as possible.

But a gift to a former Queen consort from 1685 is set to receive the spotlight at the upcoming coronation of King Charles, and it's leaving many baffled.

The Associated Press reported much of the plans for King Charles's coronation on May 6, and noted that the ceremony will contain some elements of a traditional coronation, with some modern alterations as well, for the sake of brevity and embracing modernity. AP notes:

Still, one "traditional" element of the coronation is causing quite a stir, possibly even within the Royal Family itself. "Camilla [the queen consort], who will wear Queen Mary’s Crown, will hold a controversial scepter made of ivory," the Associated Press reported. "Britain has a near-total ban on dealing elephant ivory products and Prince William, heir to the throne, has campaigned against illegal animal part trafficking."

Queen Camilla's scepter has been in the possession of the Royal Family for centuries, having been crafted as a gift for Mary of Modena in 1685. Serving as Queen consort of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1685 to 1688, she was married to James II of England, heir to (fittingly) King Charles II, and would-be mother to James Francis Edward Stuart.

Now, even setting aside the controversy of the ivory from which it's made, you can argue that a remnant of Mary of Modena's time is not necessarily bringing good omens to King Charles's coronation ceremony. After all, in modern day, Mary of Modena is best remembered for the rumors around the birth of James Francis Edward, of whom it was suggested was not actually sired by James II nor birthed by Mary, but smuggled into the birthing chamber to give James II a male (and notably, Roman Catholic) heir.

This act seemed to James II's previous heir presumptive, Mary II (who was married to the Protestant William of Orange), as an obvious attempt to take away her birthright through fraudulent birth, in order to maintain a Catholic dynasty. As a result, in 1688, the Glorious Revolution took place, a simultaneous Dutch invasion of England and internal coup amongst the people that led to Mary and William taking the throne, and the creation of the English Bill of Rights. During this Revolution, Mary of Modena disguised herself as a commoner and fled with young James Francis Edward to France.

So ... basically, no part of this thing's backstory, from the animal slaughter that yielded its materials to the reign it was gifted to honor, has anything about it that really screams, "Yes! Bring out that scepter again! It's a must!" And yet, here we are.

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