Less than a week before the event, the outfits of Charles III and Camilla have been announced. The royal couple will reuse clothes worn by Elizabeth II during her coronation in 1953. Here they are in pictures.
A few days before the ceremony in Westminster Abbey, the British Crown continues to release information about the coronation of Charles III and Camilla. For both, the royal palace opted for historical clothes already worn for the previous coronations of the kingdom.
Charles III will notably wear an “Imperial Mantle” designed in 1821, as a coat even if the royal family concedes on its official website that it “looks more like a dress”. It was made in honor of George IV and then worn in turn by George V, George VI and Elizabeth II. “The imperial cloak is made of cloth of gold, thread of gold, silver and silk, silk, fringes of gold bullion and a clasp of gold. Cloth of gold is woven of roses, thistles, clovers, crowns, eagles and lilies” according to the Crown. Tailor John Meyer is the creator of this historic suit.
The king will wear a second coat with the “Supertunica”: a golden garment with long sleeves. This one was created in 1911 for the coronation of George V, by Wilkinson and Son, Robe-makers and Tailors. These outfits are inspired by outfits used in the Middle Ages. To close this coat, the king will be adorned with “The Sword Belt”: a belt made in 1937. For his departure from Westminster, the king will wear a purple velvet and silk outfit, created by Ede for George VI.
Camilla will wear the same dress that Elizabeth II wore at her own coronation in 1953. Monarchical tradition dictates that the King and Queen wear two outfits at the coronation: the “Robe of State”, worn when arriving at the Westminster Abbey and the “Robe of Estate” on the way to Buckingham Palace. The first is crimson red. Alterations have been made to match Camilla’s morphology.
The queen consort’s second outfit is a creation of the Royal School of Needlework, the royal school of embroidery. Ravenscroft and Ede, two of London’s oldest tailors, were commissioned to make it. It will also be purple in color to match the outfit of Charles III. The outfit will not be fully revealed until the coronation.
