In British heraldry, a coronet is any crown whose bearer is less than sovereign or royal in rank, irrespective of the crown's appearance. In other languages, this distinction is not made, and usually the same word for crown is used irrespective of rank (German: Krone, Dutch: Kroon, Swedish: Krona, French: Couronne, Italian: Corona, etc.) In this use, the English coronet is a purely technical term for all heraldic images of crowns not used by a sovereign, and implies nothing about the actual shape of the crown depicted. A Coronet is another type of crown, but is reserved for the lower ranks of nobility like Marquesses and Marchionesses, Earls and Countesses, Barons and Baronesses, and some Lords and Ladies. The specific design and attributes of the crown or coronet signifies the hierarchy and ranking of its owner.
Certain physical coronets are worn by the British peerage on rare ceremonial occasions, such as the coronation of the monarch. These are also sometimes depicted in heraldry, and called coronets of rank in heraldic usage. Their shape varies depending on the wearer's rank in the peerage, according to models laid down in the 16th century. Similar depictions of crowns of rank (German: Rangkronen) are used in continental heraldry, but physical headgear has never been made to imitate them.
Due to the extreme rarity of occasions in which peers' coronets are worn (sometimes more than fifty years pass before a new coronation and occasion to wear physical coronets), practical use of the term coronet today is almost exclusively confined to pictorial crowns and rank symbols in heraldry, adorning someone's coat of arms (indeed, many people entitled to a coronet never have a physical one made). Depiction of ordinary crowns or coronets in heraldry, rather than coronets of rank, including a variety of crest coronets sometimes placed under the crest, are not confined to peers, and are often shown in British heraldry outside the peerage.
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