King Charles III arrived at London’s Westminster Abbey on Saturday to be crowned in Britain’s biggest ceremonial event for seven decades, a sumptuous display of pageantry dating back 1,000 years.
Charles succeeded his mother Queen Elizabeth when she died last September and at 74, he will become the oldest British monarch to have the 360-year-old St Edward’s Crown placed on his head as he sits upon a 14th-century throne at London’s Westminster Abbey. Here’s what the senior Royals wore to the big day.
Charles III, King of Britain
For the crowning, King Charles donned a long shimmering gold-sleeved coat to wear called the Supertunica. The robe was created for George V in 1911 and has been worn at successive coronations including by the late Queen Elizabeth II. It weighed about 2kg (4.4lb), is made of cloth of gold – silk thread wrapped in thin pieces of gold or silver gilt metal – and is embroidered with stylised arabesques and floral motifs.
Layered on top of the Supertunica, there was a floor-length cloak called the Imperial Mantle, or Robe Royal, which was made for George IV in 1821 – it weighs 3-4kg (6.6-8.8lb).
Camilla, Queen Consort
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Queen Consort Camilla opted for a Bruce Oldfield couture dress for the coronation of her husband, King Charles III. Camilla wore an ivory gown with gold details to match Chales’ white robes, reported CNN. She wore the same necklace that Queen Elizabeth II wore for her own coronation in 1953. The necklace was made by Garrard and presented to Queen Victoria in 1858.
“I am honored to have been asked to design such a historic gown for Her Majesty. This really is the most important commission of my life. Very exciting and very special,” Bruce Oldfield told WWD. While elaborating on Camilla’s ensemble, Oldfield added, “An interesting element of the gown is that it reflects a more fluid and modern representation of the king and the queen consort’s affection for nature and the British countryside. I think it is always a good idea to look back at history — not just to the late Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation gown, but to those before her as well, which I did.”
William, Prince of Wales
Prince William, 40, wore the ceremonial dress uniform of the Welsh Guards. As the Prince of Wales, the traditional title for the heir to the throne, King Charles made him the ceremonial Colonel of the Welsh Guards in December.
Catherine, Princess of Wales
All eyes were on the future queen of the UK and of course, Kate didn’t disappoint, the future queen was as regal as ever in a striking embroidered ivory silk crepe gown designed by Alexander McQueen. The dress features silver bullion and threadwork embroidery featuring rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock motifs.
She took style cues from the late Queen Elizabeth II, whose own gown also featured national flowers for her own coronation. Just like the Queen she entrusted her same wedding dress designer to create the gown she would wear at the coronation. Her silver bullion, crystal and silver thread work three-dimensional leaf embroidery headpiece was by Jess Collett and Alexander McQueen.
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