Crown vs. King — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman — Updated on December 25, 2023
A crown is a symbolic headpiece worn by a monarch, while a king is a male ruler of a monarchy.
Difference Between Crown and King
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
The crown symbolizes authority and sovereignty in a monarchy, often adorned with jewels. A king, on the other hand, is a male sovereign, holding the highest authority in a monarchical system.
A crown is a physical object, usually made of precious metals and stones, representing royal power. A king is a person who embodies the governance and leadership of a nation or territory.
The act of crowning is a ceremonial process in which a crown is placed on the monarch's head. A king exercises political power and often has a significant role in the cultural identity of his realm.
Crowns vary in design, reflecting different royal traditions and histories. Kings, across different cultures, have varied roles and responsibilities, shaped by historical and cultural contexts.
The crown serves as a symbol of the continuity of a monarchy, beyond the life of a single king. Kings, as individuals, can impact the course of history through their decisions and leadership.
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Comparison Chart
Nature
Symbolic headpiece
Male monarch
Material/Persona
Made of precious metals and stones
A human holding the highest authority
Role in Ceremony
Used in coronation ceremonies
The central figure in monarchical ceremonies
Variation
Varies in design across cultures
Roles and responsibilities vary culturally
Symbolism/Impact
Symbolizes continuity of monarchy
Personal impact on history and governance
Compare with Definitions
Crown
Crown is a ceremonial headpiece worn by royalty.
The queen's crown was adorned with diamonds and rubies.
King
King is a male ruler of a monarchy.
The king decreed a new law for the kingdom.
Crown
Crown is used in coronation ceremonies.
During the coronation, the crown is placed on the monarch's head.
King
King symbolizes leadership and governance.
The king played a crucial role in the nation's development.
Crown
Crown symbolizes royal authority and sovereignty.
The crown represents the power of the monarchy.
King
King can refer to someone or something preeminent in its class.
He is regarded as the king of jazz music.
Crown
Crown also signifies achievement or honor.
Winning the championship was the crown of his career.
King
King can be a title given to someone of high status or excellence.
He was named the king of the carnival.
Crown
Crown can refer to the top or peak of something.
The mountain's crown was covered in snow.
King
King in chess is the most important piece.
Protecting the king is essential in a game of chess.
Crown
A circular ornamental headdress worn by a monarch as a symbol of authority, usually made of or decorated with precious metals and jewels.
King
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
Crown
The top or highest part of something
The crown of the hill
King
A male sovereign.
Crown
The part of a tooth projecting from the gum
A thin layer of enamel covers the crown
King
One that is supreme or preeminent in a particular group, category, or sphere
"In many countries, soccer is the king of sports" (Cameron W. Barr).
Crown
A British coin with a face value of five shillings or 25 pence, now minted only for commemorative purposes.
King
A man chosen as the winner of a contest or the honorary head of an event
A homecoming king.
Crown
A paper size, 384 × 504 mm.
King
Abbr. K A playing card bearing the figure of a king, ranking above a queen.
Crown
Ceremonially place a crown on the head of (someone) in order to invest them as a monarch
He went to Rome to be crowned
She was crowned queen in 1953
King
Abbr. K The principal chess piece, which can move one square in any direction and must be protected against checkmate.
Crown
Rest on or form the top of
The distant knoll was crowned with trees
King
A piece in checkers that has been moved to the last row on the opponent's side of the board and been crowned, thus becoming free to move both forward and backward.
Crown
Be the triumphant culmination of (an effort or endeavour, especially a prolonged one)
Years of struggle were crowned by a state visit to Paris
King
Kings(used with a sing. verb) See Table at Bible.
Crown
Fit a crown to (a tooth)
Simple fillings no longer suffice and the tooth has to be crowned
King
A king-size bed.
Crown
Hit on the head
She contained the urge to crown him
King
Principal or chief, as in size or importance.
Crown
(of a baby's head during labour) fully appear in the vaginal opening prior to emerging
I was able to see our baby's head crowning
King
Of or relating to a king-size bed
King sheets.
A king bed skirt.
Crown
An ornamental circlet or head covering, often made of precious metal set with jewels and worn as a symbol of sovereignty.
King
To make (a piece in checkers) into a king; crown.
Crown
The power, position, or empire of a monarch or of a state governed by constitutional monarchy.
King
A male monarch; a man who heads a monarchy. If it is an absolute monarchy, then he is the supreme ruler of his nation.
Henry VIII was the king of England from 1509 to 1547.
Crown
The monarch as head of state.
King
A powerful or majorly influential person.
Howard Stern styled himself as the "king of all media".
Crown
A distinction or reward for achievement, especially a title signifying championship in a sport.
King
Something that has a preeminent position.
In times of financial panic, cash is king.
Crown
Something resembling a diadem in shape.
King
A component of certain games.
Crown
A coin stamped with a crown or crowned head on one side.
King
(chess) The principal chess piece, that players seek to threaten with unavoidable capture to result in a victory by checkmate. It is often the tallest piece, with a symbolic crown with a cross at the top.
Crown
Abbr. cr. A silver coin formerly used in Great Britain and worth five shillings.
King
(card games) A playing card with the letter "K" and the image of a king on it, the thirteenth card in a given suit.
Crown
Any one of several coins, such as the koruna, the krona, or the krone, having a name that means “crown.”
King
A checker (a piece of checkers/draughts) that reached the farthest row forward, thus becoming crowned (either by turning it upside-down, or by stacking another checker on it) and gaining more freedom of movement.
Crown
The top or highest part of the head.
King
The central pin or skittle in bowling games.
Crown
The head itself.
King
A king skin.
Oi mate, have you got kings?
Crown
The top or upper part of a hat.
King
A male dragonfly; a drake.
Crown
The highest point or summit.
King
A king-sized bed.
Crown
The highest, primary, or most valuable part, attribute, or state
Considered the rare Turkish stamp the crown of their collection.
King
(graph theory) A vertex in a directed graph which can reach every other vertex via a path with a length of at most 2.
Crown
The part of a tooth that is covered by enamel and projects beyond the gum line.
King
To crown king, to make (a person) king.
Crown
An artificial substitute for the natural crown of a tooth.
King
To rule over as king.
Crown
(Nautical) The lowest part of an anchor, where the arms are joined to the shank.
King
To perform the duties of a king.
Crown
(Architecture) The highest portion of an arch, including the keystone.
King
To assume or pretend preeminence (over); to lord it over.
Crown
The upper, spreading part of a tree or shrub.
King
To promote a piece of draughts/checkers that has traversed the board to the opposite side, that piece subsequently being permitted to move backwards as well as forwards.
Crown
The part of a plant, usually at ground level, where the stem and roots merge.
King
To dress and perform as a drag king.
Crown
The persistent, mostly underground base of a perennial herb.
King
A Chinese musical instrument, consisting of resonant stones or metal plates, arranged according to their tones in a frame of wood, and struck with a hammer.
Crown
See corona.
King
A chief ruler; a sovereign; one invested with supreme authority over a nation, country, or tribe, usually by hereditary succession; a monarch; a prince.
Kings will be tyrants from policy, when subjects are rebels from principle.
There was a State without king or nobles.
But yonder comes the powerful King of Day,Rejoicing in the east
Crown
The crest of an animal, especially of a bird.
King
One who, or that which, holds a supreme position or rank; a chief among competitors; as, a railroad king; a money king; the king of the lobby; the king of beasts.
Crown
The portion of a cut gem above the girdle.
King
A playing card having the picture of a king{1}; as, the king of diamonds.
Crown
To put a crown or garland on the head of.
King
The chief piece in the game of chess.
Crown
To invest with regal power; enthrone.
King
A crowned man in the game of draughts.
Crown
To confer honor, dignity, or reward upon.
King
The title of two historical books in the Old Testament.
Crown
To surmount or be the highest part of.
King
To supply with a king; to make a king of; to raise to royalty.
Those traitorous captains of Israel who kinged themselves by slaying their masters and reigning in their stead.
Crown
To form the crown, top, or chief ornament of.
King
A male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
Crown
To bring to completion or successful conclusion; consummate
Crowned the event with a lavish reception.
King
A competitor who holds a preeminent position
Crown
(Dentistry) To put a crown on (a tooth).
King
A very wealthy or powerful businessman;
An oil baron
Crown
(Games) To make (a piece in checkers that has reached the last row) into a king by placing another piece upon it.
King
Preeminence in a particular category or group or field;
The lion is the king of beasts
Crown
(Informal) To hit on the head.
King
United States woman tennis player (born in 1943)
Crown
To reach a stage in labor when a large segment of the fetal scalp is visible at the vaginal orifice. Used of a fetus.
King
United States guitar player and singer of the blues (born in 1925)
Crown
A royal, imperial or princely headdress; a diadem.
King
United States charismatic civil rights leader and Baptist minister who campaigned against the segregation of Blacks (1929-1968)
Crown
A wreath or band for the head, especially one given as reward of victory or a mark of honor.
King
A checker that has been moved to the opponent's first row where it is promoted to a piece that is free to move either forward or backward
Crown
(by extension) Any reward of victory or mark of honor.
The martyr’s crown
King
One of the four playing cards in a deck bearing the picture of a king
Crown
Imperial or regal power, or those who wield it.
King
(chess) the weakest but the most important piece
Crown
(metonym) The sovereign (in a monarchy), as head of state.
Crown
The state, the government (headed by a monarch).
Treasure recovered from shipwrecks automatically becomes property of the Crown.
Crown
The top part of something:
Crown
The topmost part of the head.
Crown
The highest part of a hill.
Crown
The top section of a hat, above the brim.
Crown
The raised centre of a road.
Crown
The highest part of an arch.
Crown
The upper range of facets in a rose diamond.
Crown
The dome of a furnace.
Crown
The upper part of certain fruits, as the pineapple or strawberry, that is removed before eating.
Crown
(architecture) A kind of spire or lantern formed by converging flying buttresses.
Crown
Splendor; culmination; acme.
Crown
Any currency (originally) issued by the crown (regal power) and often bearing a crown (headdress); (translation) various currencies known by similar names in their native languages, such as the koruna, kruna, krone, korona.
Crown
(historical) A former pre-decimalization British coin worth five shillings.
Crown
(botany) The part of a plant where the root and stem meet.
Crown
(forestry) The top of a tree.
Crown
The part of a tooth above the gums.
Crown
(dentistry) A prosthetic covering for a tooth.
Crown
(nautical) A knot formed in the end of a rope by tucking in the strands to prevent them from unravelling
Crown
(nautical) The part of an anchor where the arms and the shank meet
Crown
(nautical) The rounding, or rounded part, of the deck from a level line.
Crown
(paper) In England, a standard size of printing paper measuring 20 × 15 inches.
Crown
(paper) In American, a standard size of writing paper measuring 19 × 15 inches.
Crown
(chemistry) A monocyclic ligand having three or more binding sites, capable of holding a guest in a central location
Crown
(medical) During childbirth, the appearance of the baby's head from the mother's vagina
Crown
(firearms) A rounding or smoothing of the barrel opening
Crown
(geometry) The area enclosed between two concentric perimeters.
Crown
(religion) A round spot shaved clean on the top of the head, as a mark of the clerical state; the tonsure.
Crown
A whole bird with the legs and wings removed to produce a joint of white meat.
Crown
A formal hat worn by women to Sunday church services; a church crown.
Crown
The knurled knob or dial, on the outside of a watch case, used to wind it or adjust the hands.
Crown
Of, related to, or pertaining to a crown.
Crown prince
Crown
Of, related to, pertaining to the top of a tree or trees.
A crown fire
Crown
To place a crown on the head of.
Crown
To formally declare (someone) a king, queen, emperor, etc.
Crown
To bestow something upon as a mark of honour, dignity, or recompense; to adorn; to dignify.
Crown
To form the topmost or finishing part of; to complete; to consummate; to perfect.
Crown
To declare (someone) a winner.
Crown
(medicine) Of a baby, during the birthing process; for the surface of the baby's head to appear in the vaginal opening.
The mother was in the second stage of labor and the fetus had just crowned, prompting a round of encouragement from the midwives.
Crown
(transitive) To cause to round upward; to make anything higher at the middle than at the edges, such as the face of a machine pulley.
Crown
To hit on the head.
Crown
(video games) To shoot an opponent in the back of the head with a shotgun in a first-person shooter video game.
Crown
(board games) In checkers, to stack two checkers to indicate that the piece has become a king.
“Crown me!” I said, as I moved my checker to the back row.
Crown
(firearms) To widen the opening of the barrel.
Crown
(military) To effect a lodgment upon, as upon the crest of the glacis, or the summit of the breach.
Crown
(nautical) To lay the ends of the strands of (a knot) over and under each other.
Crown
(slang) being about to take a poop (usually trying to hold it in, derived from obstetric use: metaphor of "giving birth" to solid poo)
Crown
(archaic) crow
Crown
A wreath or garland, or any ornamental fillet encircling the head, especially as a reward of victory or mark of honorable distinction; hence, anything given on account of, or obtained by, faithful or successful effort; a reward.
They do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.
Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
Crown
A royal headdress or cap of sovereignty, worn by emperors, kings, princes, etc.
Crown
The person entitled to wear a regal or imperial crown; the sovereign; - with the definite article.
Parliament may be dissolved by the demise of the crown.
Large arrears of pay were due to the civil and military servants of the crown.
Crown
Imperial or regal power or dominion; sovereignty.
There is a power behind the crown greater than the crown itself.
Crown
Anything which imparts beauty, splendor, honor, dignity, or finish.
The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.
A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband.
Crown
Highest state; acme; consummation; perfection.
Mutual love, the crown of all our bliss.
Crown
The topmost part of anything; the summit.
The steepy crown of the bare mountains.
Crown
The topmost part of the head (see Illust. of Bird.); that part of the head from which the hair descends toward the sides and back; also, the head or brain.
From toe to crown he'll fill our skin with pinches.
Twenty things which I set down:This done, I twenty more-had in my crown.
Crown
The part of a hat above the brim.
Crown
The part of a tooth which projects above the gum; also, the top or grinding surface of a tooth.
Crown
The vertex or top of an arch; - applied generally to about one third of the curve, but in a pointed arch to the apex only.
Crown
Same as Corona.
Crown
That part of an anchor where the arms are joined to the shank.
Crown
The upper range of facets in a rose diamond.
Crown
The dome of a furnace.
Crown
The area inclosed between two concentric perimeters.
Crown
A round spot shaved clean on the top of the head, as a mark of the clerical state; the tonsure.
Crown
A size of writing paper. See under Paper.
Crown
A coin stamped with the image of a crown; hence,a denomination of money; as, the English crown, a silver coin of the value of five shillings sterling, or a little more than $1.20; the Danish or Norwegian crown, a money of account, etc., worth nearly twenty-seven cents.
Crown
An ornaments or decoration representing a crown; as, the paper is stamped with a crown.
Crown
To cover, decorate, or invest with a crown; hence, to invest with royal dignity and power.
Her who fairest does appear,Crown her queen of all the year.
Crown him, and say, "Long live our emperor."
Crown
To bestow something upon as a mark of honor, dignity, or recompense; to adorn; to dignify.
Thou . . . hast crowned him with glory and honor.
Crown
To form the topmost or finishing part of; to complete; to consummate; to perfect.
Amidst the grove that crowns yon tufted hill.
One day shall crown the alliance.
To crown the whole, came a proposition.
Crown
To cause to round upward; to make anything higher at the middle than at the edges, as the face of a machine pulley.
Crown
To effect a lodgment upon, as upon the crest of the glacis, or the summit of the breach.
Crown
The Crown (or the reigning monarch) as the symbol of the power and authority of a monarchy;
The colonies revolted against the Crown
Crown
The enamel covered part of a tooth above the gum
Crown
A wreath or garland worn on the head to signify victory
Crown
An ornamental jewelled headdress signifying sovereignty
Crown
The part of a hat (the vertex) covering the crown of the head
Crown
An English coin worth 5 shillings
Crown
The upper branches and leaves of a tree
Crown
The top point of a mountain or hill;
The view from the peak was magnificent
They clambered to the summit of Monadnock
Crown
The award given to the champion
Crown
The top of the head
Crown
The center of a cambered road
Crown
Invest with regal power; enthrone;
The prince was crowned in Westminster Abbey
Crown
Be the culminating event;
The speech crowned the meeting
Crown
Form the topmost part of;
A weather vane crowns the building
Crown
Put an enamel cover on;
Crown my teeth
Common Curiosities
Can a crown be inherited?
Yes, crowns are often passed down through generations in a royal family.
How is a king chosen?
A king is typically chosen through hereditary succession, though historical methods vary.
What does the crown symbolize?
The crown symbolizes royal power, authority, and the continuity of the monarchy.
What is a crown?
A crown is a ceremonial headpiece symbolizing royal authority, often worn by monarchs.
What are the responsibilities of a king?
A king's responsibilities include governance, leadership, and upholding cultural traditions.
Is the title of king always hereditary?
While often hereditary, some kings have been elected or appointed in different historical contexts.
Who is a king?
A king is a male ruler of a monarchy, holding the highest authority in the kingdom.
Are all crowns made of gold?
Not all crowns are made of gold; materials and designs vary across cultures.
Can a king also be a religious leader?
In some historical and cultural contexts, kings have also served as religious leaders.
What is the difference between a crown and a tiara?
A crown symbolizes royal authority, while a tiara is a decorative headpiece without sovereignty implications.
Do all countries have crowns?
Not all countries have crowns, as they are specific to monarchies.
What happens during a coronation ceremony?
During a coronation, the crown is placed on the monarch's head, symbolizing the official assumption of royal power.
What is the significance of the crown jewels?
Crown jewels represent the heritage and prestige of a monarchy, often including the crown.
Can a king make laws?
In some monarchies, kings have legislative powers, while in others, their role is more ceremonial.
Has there ever been a king without a crown?
Historically, there have been kings who did not use a physical crown.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
