[Question:]{.underline} Did the iron crown of Constantine ever exist?
[Answer:]{.underline} The iron crown of the Kings of Lombardy is kept in the cathedral of Monza, near Milan, where it is venerated as a relic of the Passion. Tradition tells us that it was fabricated in part from a thin strip of metal forged from one of the nails of the Crucifixion, that Helena gave to Constantine the Great. However, this cannot be verified. Some legends claim that Princess Theodolinda had the crown made from a nail given to her by St. Gregory the Great for her role in the conversion of her people, and that it was then used for the crowning of Charlemagne as King of the Lombards. However, historians cannot trace it back before the 9^th^ century.
It was used throughout the Middle Ages for the crowning of the Kings of Lombardy, originally in Pavia and then in Milan. It was used by Napoleon for the ceremony of crowning of King of Italy in 1805. The last time it was used was for the crowning of Emperor Ferdinand I as King of Lombardy and Venice in 1838.
Answered by Father Peter Scott, SSPX.