Armidale man Richard Vyner said he has "no hang ups" despite his ancestor not being paid for the St Edward crown that was placed atop the head of King Charles III during his coronation.
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"I have no hang ups [about it]," Mr Vyner said from his home in Armidale, NSW.
Mr Vyner is a direct descendant of Sir Robert Vyner who was a merchant banker, the London Lord Mayor, and appointed the UK Royal Goldsmith in 1660, up until his death in 1688.
But about 360 years after his passing, his family still hasn't been paid for the efforts of their approximately 15 times great grandfather who painstakingly oversaw the process of putting together the penultimate piece in the coronation.
And neither were the many goldsmiths, jewellers and silversmiths he hired at the time to craft the 2.23 kg crown in 1661.
That is the same crown, made of solid gold and set with rubies, sapphires, amethysts, garnet, topazes and tourmalines complete with velvet cap and ermine band, that was placed on King Charles III's head.
It is also the same crown his mother Queen Elizabeth II wore at her 1953 coronation, as did George VI in 1937, George V in 1911, William in 1689, James II in 1685, and Charles II for whom it was first made in 1661.
At the time, the team of craftspeople were owed a whopping £12,184 7s. 6d, which equates to quite a lot when converted into today's Australian dollars, post inflationary figures and Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) rate rises.
To make matters worse, the outstanding bill also includes other items among the royal regalia that were presented before King Charles III, such as the orb and two sceptres.
So, it was a heavy price to pay for Sir Robert Vyner who declared himself to the-then King Charles II in 1673 that he was almost bankrupt due to the royal's tardy repayment scheme.
Mr Vyner described his ancestor's overseer Charles II as "a spendthrift".
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In an attempt to "put the record straight", hundreds of years later Mr Vyner's great grandfather, a practising solicitor in London, tried to pursue the unpaid funds as a "family matter" through the courts.
"But it opened a can of worms," Mr Vyner said.
"The family weren't too happy about the way things turned out."
Mr Vyner said he has known for as long as he can remember that he is related to Sir Vyner, who was knighted in 1665 and made a baronet in 1666.
His grandfather, a practicing veterinarian, emigrated from London to the regional NSW city of Armidale where Mr Vyner was later born.
But on the walls of their family home hangs the portrait of his great ancestor Sir Robert Vyner, postured in a way that makes him almost seem like he's still waiting to be paid.
Mr Vyner said he holds no ill will towards the British monarchy but neither is he a "staunch royalist", though he was watching the coronation on television when King Charles was crowned.
"I've never been emotionally concerned," Mr Vyners said of the British royal family.
"It's just a matter of interest and it's more of interest to us because we're direct family descendants [from the Royal Goldsmith]."
