Lined with red velvet, the crown features glass stones in various colours that alternate the headband with studs. The top of the band is decorated with fleurons. Four clasps extend from the band, decorated with a square cross at the bottom, stones, and studs. At the intersection of the clasps is a globe with a square cross inlaid with glass. The crown is lined with red velvet. Commissioned by the English Company of Royal Adventurers Trading to Africa, which was deeply involved in the transatlantic slave trade. The crown, made of cheap materials, was intended as a diplomatic gift to the king of Ardra, a kingdom in West Africa, to establish favourable relations for trade, including the deeply exploitative trade in enslaved Africans, but it never reached the king. Dutch Admiral Michiel de Ruyter intercepted it, amongst other diplomatic gifts, during a campaign to expel the English from their African fortresses. The offerings included a formal letter: dated 22 July 1664, written by the Duke of York, describing the crown as 'the Badge of the highest Authority', emphasising its role in securing trade relations. The nature and extent of human trafficking and slavery in West Africa changed with the arrival of the Dutch West India Company.