There were a couple of surprises here, sartorially speaking. The Duchess of Gloucester, Princess Alexandra, the Duchess of Edinburgh, and the Princess of Wales presented a coherent sartorial front, wearing cobalt blue and red Royal Victorian Order mantles, or robes, over white or cream gowns. Catherine and Sophie wore floral headpieces (yes, that particular bit of intel was correct, although executed in a different manner from what I expected.)
Princess Anne
Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence and Princess Anne were an impressive sight, weren’t they? The Princess Royal is a Colonel of the Blues and Royals, and as she was serving the role of the “Gold Stick,” she wore her regimental uniform with the dark green Thistle Mantle and the Thistle Collar. She also sported her Garter Sash, Garter Star, Thistle Star, GCVO Star, full-sized medals, KCVO Star and Companion of the Order of the Bath neck decoration.
Prince Harry
Prince Harry wore a Dior suit with his medals and Royal Victorian order.
Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and Family
Well, we guessed correctly around here. The Duchess of Edinburgh wore a Suzannah gown (you can see the designer’s Instagram reel here.) From both front and back, it was spectacular. She added a Jane Taylor headpiece.
Many have wondered what the ladies gowns looked like under the robes. We are lucky and Suzannah the designer of The Duchess of Edinburghs gown has released a reel of the building process of Sophie’s gown on Instagram. Here’s a few shots 🥰 It’s a beautiful piece of art !… pic.twitter.com/vsrMsW6cL2
— Lady Marie of Denmark 👸🏼👠👗💃 (@dagmar_Marie77) May 6, 2023
Lady Louise went off to St. Andrews for a year and came back a glamorous woman. She looked wonderful in her Kumiko Iris Silk dress by Suzannah and Jane Taylor hat. I was thrilled to see her in some good jewels, from Cartier, the “Coeur” earrings and necklace.
We can’t forget the men, so here is the whole family! The Duke is in his garter robes, as were other senior royal men.
Thank you to fishingfrog for mentioning that James, the Earl of Wessex, was spotted in a top hat in the carriage! Go James!
Prince and Princess of Wales and Family
The Wales were probably the most anticipated couple at the event, other than the King and Queen themselves. Unsurprisingly, the Princess of Wales chose Alexander McQueen for her gown and headpiece. The gown is reportedly embellished with silver bullion and thread work embroidery featuring rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock motifs to represent each of the four nations. I certainly hope to see it at another event. The headpiece is decorated with silver bullion, crystal and silver thread work three-dimensional leaf embroidery.
The Princess wore the late Princess Diana’s South Sea Pearl earrings.
Princess Charlotte, like Lady Louise, wore the same designer as her mother. Her Alexander McQueen headpiece was a scaled down version of the one worn by the Princess of Wales, and it all popped nicely against her hair. Her white cape and dress were age appropriate and elegant, a hard thing to balance.
Final note: great updos on both mother and daughter.
The Prince of Wales and Prince George were solemn throughout the actual ceremony which makes sense as they held important roles. The Prince of Wales wore his garter robes and Prince George wore the pages uniform, a red jacket over black trousers. Everyone perked up during the carriage ride and once they hit the balcony, everyone was relaxed. Prince Louis, of course, was always Mr. Relaxation.
King Charles and Queen Camilla
We knew that Bruce Oldfield had been chosen to design the Queen’s gown, but I was still surprised at how beautifully it turned out. The regal white coat dress covered an embroidered underskirt underneath. The dress featured long sleeves and was made from silk fabric with a dull luster finish. The dress featured gold and silver embroidery of flowers like daisy chains, forget-me-nots, celandine, and scarlet pimpernel, representing the king and queen consort’s love of nature. The hem of the underskirt and cuffs were decorated with flower emblems from the United Kingdom’s four nations, including a rose, a thistle, a daffodil, and a shamrock.
Also, people noticed both her grandchildren’s names and two small dogs, meant to represent her rescue dogs, among the embroidery at the hem.
The shoulders contained a strap arrangement that held her robes on, which was a very clever way of handling what would have been a difficult task.
The grand coronation necklace was displayed in the open neckline.
We spent a lot of time on the various robes and garments the King wore during the ceremony in previous posts, so we’ll just leave you with a final photo of the man of the hour.
Windsor Castle Concert
Everyone must have gotten a good night’s sleep since they were all a’ dancing at the concert.
Highlights were a speech from the Prince of Wales, drone light displays, and musical entertainment. Obviously, it was family friendly since the Windsors were out en masse.
The Duke of Gloucester had a prime seat next to the Princess of Wales, who was in repeated red suit.
Princess Charlotte had “fun with flags” and Prince George and Prince William found plenty to amuse themselves.
Rock on with your bad selves, Your Majesties.
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God save the King!
