Coronation Style

A profound respect for history and tradition, with modern touches, was the message conveyed by the garments King Charles and Queen Camilla wore on 6 May. A few days before the ceremony, it was confirmed that The King would wear the traditional ceremonial robes for the most central and sacred part of the ritual.

For the investiture, the gold supertunica, originally worn by his great-grandfather, George V, was put on over the colobium sindonis (‘shroud tunic’), a simple white shift. Then, prior to being crowned, he was assisted into the magnificent Imperial Mantle, made for the coronation of George IV in 1821, and embellished with fleurs-de-lis, imperial eagles and national flower emblems.

For the investiture, the gold supertunica, originally worn by his great-grandfather, George V, was put on over the colobium sindonis (‘shroud tunic’), a simple white shift. Then, prior to being crowned, he was assisted into the magnificent Imperial Mantle, made for the coronation of George IV in 1821, and embellished with fleurs-de-lis, imperial eagles and national flower emblems.

A further item, the Stole Royal, one of the few new components of The King’s robes, was presented by Girdlers’ Livery Company. All the other garments, vintage and antique, were carefully conserved through the combined efforts of the Royal School of Needlework and Ede & Ravenscroft, providers of ceremonial garments since the time of William and Mary (also responsible for the Nutcracker-style red tunics with gold frogging worn by the King’s pages, including nine-year-old Prince George).

How these individual components would work in harmony with the rest of The King’s outfit remained unclear. The last British male monarch to be crowned, George VI, wore a tunic, silk stockings and breeches beneath his coronation robes. For King Charles to replicate this, as a septuagenarian in the 21st century, seemed unlikely and there was the expectation that he would wear naval dress uniform. In the end, there was a compromise, with a military accent underneath his choice of garments, in keeping with his roles and experience.

The King arrived at the Abbey in the crimson Robe of State, last worn by his grandfather, and underneath this, a shirt of silk, spun in England, and designed and created by his favourite shirtmaker, Turnbull & Asser, together with a tunic in Order of the Bath crimson satin based on those worn by George V and George VI. And, instead of breeches, the more dignified choice of trousers, part of his Royal Navy full ceremonial tailcoat. The effect, as The King entered the Abbey, was as if he had stepped out of one of the gilt-framed ancestral oil paintings hanging in Buckingham Palace. 

After the ceremony, a change into the purple Robe of Estate and a purple tunic trimmed with gold lace together with the Imperial State Crown offered a completely coordinated vision of royal splendour for the coronation procession and subsequent appearance on the Palace balcony.

Additional accessories paid further tribute to The King’s forebears; the Lesser George, an enamel medallion depicting St. George, worn suspended from his Collar of the Order of the Garter, was originally made for George II. The historic Garter Star worn by The King on his tunic was first presented to George V when Duke of York by the Royal Navy, Royal Marines and Royal Naval Reserve on the occasion of his marriage in 1893.

Queen Camilla’s gown was designed by royal fashion favourite Bruce Oldfield and at 11am the world was able to see the results. Oldfield began designing clothes for the then Duchess of Cornwall 15 years ago and for this, the ultimate commission, had created a coat dress the colour of whipped cream, with underskirt in the simple, skimming, princess-line silhouette that has become The Queen’s signature style. Rendered in peau de soie silk woven in Suffolk, the underskirt was embroidered with gold and silver thread picking out stylised wildflowers entwined with delicate bunting. 

Also spotted among the embroidery was the charming addition of the figures of the royal couple’s two rescue Jack Russell terriers, Bluebell and Beth. At her neck was the dazzling diamond coronation necklace, created by Garrard for Queen Victoria in 1858 and worn by the Queen or Queen Consort at each coronation since 1902. Her Robe of Estate, put on after the ceremony, was a new piece, the purple silk velvet exquisitely worked with an intricate border of insects and 24 different flowers.

Among those depicted were lily of the valley, the Queen’s favourite, used in her wedding bouquet; myrtle, representing hope; and delphiniums, loved by The King and the flower of the Queen’s birthday month, July. The addition of scabiosa, known as pincushion flowers, referenced the Queen’s strong links with the Royal School of Needlework; she has been its patron since 2017.

Seventy years ago, the congregation in Westminster Abbey included a large contingent of the peerage, dressed as tradition dictated, in long white gowns for ladies, breeches for men, robes and coronets. The guests at King Charles’s coronation presented a different and more varied, but no less spectacular scene, with national colours, indigenous dress, military uniform, religious vestments and ceremonial ensembles representing not only the variety of faith and culture, but the individual and their connection to crown, country or community. 

There was also plenty for followers of fashion to appreciate. The sumptuous Stéphane Rolland butterfly-collared gown in sunshine yellow worn by South African soprano Pretty Yende made an early splash. Hats were optional, and mostly tasteful and chic rather than ostentatious, although flamboyant choices in the form of Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s oversized tulle fascinator, or the vertiginous, petal-studded creation worn by Julie Bishop, former Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, received mixed responses on social media. 

Sophie Trudeau, wife of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, opted for an elegant saucer style, as did Samantha Cameron, wife of former Prime Minister David Cameron. Her scarlet hat by Jess Collett was worn with a dress from Cefinn, her own label. Queen Letizia of Spain looked effortlessly soigné in a wide, parasol-shaped hat and Carolina Herrera peplum skirt suit. Nineteen-year-old Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, in a wide-brimmed hat of hyacinth blue to match her Kumiko silk dress, brought spring into the Abbey on a wet and rainy day. 

British fashion was well represented. Singer Katy Perry arrived in lilac pink Vivienne Westwood, while Penny Mordaunt, front and central to the ceremony as Lord President of the Privy Council and bearer of the Sword of State, wore a Jane Taylor hat to match the quiet drama of her caped teal midi dress by Safiyaa hand embroidered with golden fern motifs. 

The Duchess of Edinburgh chose her favourite label, Suzannah. The Princess of Wales, who fashion watchers were most excited to see, chose an ivory silk crepe dress by Alexander McQueen, remaining loyal to the couture house that created her wedding gown in 2011. Next to her was Princess Charlotte in a mini-me version of her mother’s dress, also by McQueen. 

It is understood that The King and The Queen asked their daughter-in-law not to wear a tiara, and it was rumoured before the ceremony that she would wear flowers in her hair. These rumours were scotched when she appeared in a silver bullion and crystal headdress designed by Jess Follett in collaboration with McQueen. This spectacular alternative to more traditional choices was neither tiara nor flower wreath but something appropriately in between, and elegantly unstuffy. It felt particularly apt that Follett’s fledgling business had been supported by the Prince’s Trust.

Senior female royals, including the Princess of Wales, wore mantles of the Royal Victorian Order in vivid royal blue, red and white over their dresses. The Prince of Wales, in ceremonial dress uniform of the Welsh Guards, wore the Garter mantle in dark blue velvet (the Dukes of Edinburgh, Kent and Gloucester were also in their Garter Mantles).

This was a royal occasion where the garments that signify the wearer’s loyalty, service and role within the monarchy were given a starring role. Arguably the member of the royal family who has demonstrated this most fully is the Princess Royal. In the role of the Gold Stick, The King’s sister cut a dash in the uniform of the Blues and Royals, with a plumed bicorn hat and a mantle in the green velvet of the Order of the Thistle.

Tradition and theatricality; flamboyance and formality — the 2023 coronation blended ancient and modern, and welcomed a congregation clad in an array of outfits reflecting perhaps more than anything the diversity of modern Britain and the world beyond. And at its centre was a King who, on the day, wore it all rather well.

The Illustrated King Charles III by Illustrated London News is published on 12 May in major supermarkets, WH Smith at British Coronation.