The coronation crown that fits in eye of a needle

The model crown, which sits in the eye of a needle, took about 600 hours to make

An artist famed for making sculptures so tiny they can fit in the eye of a needle has revealed his latest piece to mark the King's coronation.

Dr Willard Wigan has created a micro crown ahead of Saturday's occasion.

A 24-carat gold frame was hand-woven around a carved grain of sand to make the body of the piece.

It was then encrusted with real jewels before being painted with a brush made from one of the artist's eyelashes.

It was one of the "hardest and most detailed" sculptures he had undertaken to date, he said. "It drove me mad to make this."

'It drove me mad to make this,' the artist said of his latest work

Dr Wigan, from Wolverhampton, said it took 600 hours of work across seven weeks to create the crown.

It replicates the St Edward's Crown that will be placed on the head of the monarch during the Westminster Abbey ceremony on Saturday.

Dr Wigan explained he planned to exhibit the crown rather than give it to the King as a gift.

The artist has worked on a model of Queen Elizabeth as a young woman

The artist has previously created a replica of the Queen's Coronation carriage and a tiny figure of Queen Elizabeth II as a young woman.

The sculptor, who was honoured with an MBE for services to art in 2007, also created a tiny 24-carat gold crown for the Queen's 2012 Diamond Jubilee, describing it as his "proudest moment" at the time.

The artist employs a special breathing technique when working through the night and early mornings so as to avoid vibrations and air disturbances.