Queen Camilla Will Wear Queen Elizabeth II's Robes to the Coronation
When it comes to major royal moments, nothing is left to chance, and just as you might expect, the May 6 coronation of King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla has been meticulously planned to the last detail. From ceremonial swords to spoons, everything in the ceremony will have its own special meaning, and the new queen's wardrobe is certainly no exception.
As per tradition, Charles and Camilla will wear two sets of robes each for the ceremony—one set, the Robes of State, for their arrival at Westminster Abbey, and another, the Robes of Estate, for their departure when the service ends.
While all of the robes will have profound connections to the royal family and its history, in Camilla's case there's an extra special connection to her Robes of State—they will, in fact, be the same ones worn by her late mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth II, for her coronation in 1953. The crimson velvet robes have been conserved, with alterations made by robemakers at Ede and Ravenscroft, who have made garments for every British coronation since King William and Queen Mary were crowned in 1689.
While her arrival robes will nod to the past, Camilla's Robes of Estate will have a more personalized touch. The new purple velvet robe (the color was chosen to match Charles's) was created by Ede and Ravenscroft, and designed and hand embroidered by workers at the Royal School of Needlework, of which Camilla has been a royal patron since 2017. According to a release from Buckingham Palace, the robe's embroidered train "draws on the themes of nature and the environment, featuring the national emblems of the United Kingdom, as well as paying tribute to His Majesty The King." The design will also incorporate Camilla's cypher, as well as bees and beetles, marking the first time insects have been included in the design of a coronation robe.
Among the plants featured on the Robes of Estate will be several with personal meaning for the queen, including lily of the valley, which was part of her wedding bouquet and was also a favorite of Queen Elizabeth II's and delphinium, which is the flower of Camilla's birth month, July, as well as one of Charles's favorites. Other flowers bringing symbolic meaning to the piece will include myrtle, to represents hope, alchemilla mollis or Lady’s Mantle, which symbolizes love and comfort, maidenhair fern for purity, and cornflowers, which represent love and tenderness, and are also known to attract pollinators—a nod to Camilla and Charles's love of nature and dedication to the environment.
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