King Charles III and Queen Camilla were joined on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the coronation by a core group of working royals. Let’s have a look at their jewels, shall we?
Right now, the King and Queen are supported by a small group of working royals, all of whom attended the coronation: the Prince and Princess of Wales (with their children), the Princess Royal and Sir Timothy Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh (with their children), the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent, and Princess Alexandra.
As the heir to the throne, Prince William had an important supporting role in the coronation, and he and Princess Catherine were seated front and center with their children. As had sadly been long predicted, there were no tiaras at this coronation, but the working royals were grandly attired in the robes of their chivalric orders, with military uniforms for the men and gowns and headpieces for the ladies.
With the robes of the Royal Victorian Order, Kate wore a long ivory silk crepe gown by Alexander McQueen.
The dress was embroidered with national floral symbols—the English rose, the Scottish thistle, the Welsh daffodil, and the Northern Irish shamrock—at the neckline, cuffs, and hem. Crystal beads were also included in the detailed silverthe threadwork.
Here’s a closer look at the embroidered section at the hem of the gown.
Kate wore a three-dimensional floral headpiece that matched the gown’s decorations, made as a collaboration between McQueen and the milliner Jess Collett. For me, this was the most successful headpiece of the day, probably because its shape and size so closely recalls a traditional tiara.
Kate added extra sparkle to her ensemble with the diamond horseshoe and laurel earrings that belonged to the late Diana, Princess of Wales. Kate wears them with pearl drops that also come from Diana’s jewelry collection. She also usually wears them the other way around, with the opening of the horseshoe section facing her back. (I prefer them that way.)
Other than her usual rings, that was the sum total of Kate’s visible jewelry. Monique Jessen at People reports that Kate also wore Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Festoon Necklace, which was commissioned by King George VI in the early 1950s, but the necklace was not visible during the coronation itself.
Here’s a look at the classic necklace on the late Queen in 2007.
The necklace is visible on Kate in the official group portrait from the coronation. (The neckline of her gown looks different here as well.) Given that the diamonds used to make the necklace are Heirlooms of the Crown, I think we can say that this is one of the most important jewelry loans offered to Kate up to this point.
William and Kate were joined by all three of their children—Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis—at Saturday’s coronation ceremony. Charlotte and Louis arrived at the Abbey with their parents ahead of the service.
Princess Charlotte was charming in an Alexander McQueen ensemble that coordinated with her mother’s gown. She also wore a tiny bracelet of seed pearls on her right wrist.
Charlotte even had a smaller version of her mother’s floral headpiece for the ceremony.
Little Prince Louis looked sharp in a navy blue and black suit with military-inspired details.
He behaved admirably during the long ceremony, stepping out briefly for a short break, but otherwise watching alongside his sister and his mother.
The big brother of the family, Prince George, had an important role during the ceremony of his own: helping to carry the his grandfather’s robes as one of the King’s pages.
He was reunited with his parents and his siblings for a carriage ride during the procession back to Buckingham Palace after the service.
The Princess Royal arrived for the coronation wearing the mantle of the Order of the Thistle.
Underneath her robes, she wore the uniform of the Blues and Royals. She rode in the procession after the ceremony in the role of Gold Stick, a position traditional held by one of the monarch’s personal bodyguards. King Charles III asked his sister to fulfill the important role on the day.
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh arrived at the Abbey with their daughter, Lady Louise, and their son, James (who is now the Earl of Wessex).
Edward wore the robes of the Order of the Garter, while Sophie wore the mantle of the Royal Victorian Order. Under her robes, she wore a white gown from Suzannah London with floral embroidered details at the neckline. She also added a custom headpiece from Jane Taylor.
With her ensemble, Sophie wore one of her sparkliest pairs of earrings: her Graff diamond and sapphire chandelier earrings, which are set in white gold. We saw her wear them most recently at last December’s Royal Variety Performance. She also wore a sapphire and diamond bracelet on her left wrist.
Lady Louise also wore Suzannah London for the coronation: a white dress with a lovely blue iris print.
She added a necklace and earrings with an interlocking heart design. (UFO No More identifies these as part of the “Mini Couer” range from Cartier.)
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester also wore his-and-hers mantles: the Order of the Garter for him and the Royal Victorian Order for her.
Birgitte wore an elegant white gown beneath her robes and a feathered headpiece (that almost blended in to her hair). She pinned a set of her diamond floral brooches down the front of the dress. The group portrait shows that she also used her diamond buckle brooch to secure her order sash.
She also wore the gorgeous diamond earrings and diamond necklaces (worn with a cross pendant) that belonged to her late mother-in-law, Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester.
Rounding out the working royal party were the Duke of Kent (in Garter robes) and Princess Alexandra (in the mantle of the Royal Victorian Order). Both Alexandra and Anne are also Ladies of the Garter, and I’m not sure why they didn’t wear Garter robes for the coronation service.
Princess Alexandra followed the playbook and wore a white gown with her robes, accessorizing with her diamond and pearl drop earrings, her pearl choker necklace with the geometric clasp, and a pearl bracelet.
Stay tuned: even more British royal coronation sparkle is coming your way in our next article…
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