The coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla was celebrated today at Westminster Abbey in London.
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The king arrived at Westminster Abbey in the bright red velvet surcoat worn by his grandfather, King George VI, at his coronation in 1937. The velvet has been conserved by the Royal School of Needlework, with lining and gold lace conserved by Savile Row tailors, Ede and Ravenscroft.
Over the surcoat, King Charles wore the Robe of State (also referred to as the Parliament Robe) with long, deep crimson velvet train adorned in Canadian ermine and gold lace. From shoulder to shoulder was the collar and badge of the Order of the Garter. In addition, he wore an embroidered white shirt, military uniform trousers and gleaming shoes with gold buckles.
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For the anointing, the robe and surcoat were removed and replaced with the Colobium Sindonis (“shroud tunic” in Latin) anointing gown – a simply cut, unembellished open tunic in white linen. Over this was added the Imperial mantle Supertunica, a long, Byzantine-inspired gold silk coat with Girdle belt.
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For the investiture and crowning, the Imperial Mantle Robe Royal was further added. This ornately embroidered gold robe is oldest robe in the royal collection, made for King George IV’s coronation in 1821. The robe is decorated with foliage, flowers, and crowns and joins at the front with a gold eagle clasp.
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King Charles was crowned with the St. Edward’s Crown. With a 22-carat gold frame that dates to 1661 , the St. Edward’s Crown is twelve inches tall and set with 444 precious and semi-precious gemstones including amethysts, aquamarines, garnets, peridots, rubies, sapphires, spinels, tourmalines, topazes, and zircons set in clusters surrounded by white enamel mounds shaped as acanthus leaves (and weighs a whopping five pounds!). The crown’s base is trimmed in ermine and made more comfortable with a velvet cap sewn inside. Today’s coronation is the only time the St. Edward’s Crown will be worn by the king.
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For the recessional, King Charles removed the gold Robe Royal and Supertunica along with the white linen Colobium Sindonis, replacing them with a purple and gold surcoat and the Robe of Estate of purple silk velvet and ermine with gold embroidery worn by King George VI at his 1937 coronation. This robe was also conserved and prepared by Ede and Ravescroft.
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Additionally, the king swapped out his Garter badge for a more ornate one and donned the more familiar Imperial State Crown. Originally made by Rundell and Bridge in 1838 for the coronation of Queen Victoria, its design was based on earlier crowns dating back to the sixteenth century. Worn for occasions including the State Opening of Parliament, this crown is set with 2,868 diamonds and hundreds of pearls and other gemstones that give it serious sparkle.
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The uncut red spinel on the front, the Black Prince’s Ruby, has been part of the English royal gem collection since the 1360s and was allegedly worn by King Henry V at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. Below the spinel is the Cullinan II Diamond, a 317 carat stone cut from the great Cullinan Diamond and added to this crown in 1909. Read an excellent history of this crown here.
Queen Camilla’s coronation gown was made by Bruce Oldfield. Cut from creamy white peau de soie, a silk with a matte lustre finish, the fabric was woven by Stephen Walters in Suffolk, England. The dress features a v-neck, three quarter length sleeves and Oldfield’s signature paneling through the bodice, with a modest sweep train.
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The focus of the gown is its embroidery; it is entirely covered in a festival of delicate silver and gold embroidered wildflowers including “daisy chains, forget-me-nots, celandine and scarlet pimpernel, representing the King and Queen Consorts affection for nature and the British countryside,” read a statement from Buckingham Palace. The gown’s cuffs, hem and robe straps (brilliantly cut to resemble a bolero jacket) are covered in gold embroidered roses, thistles, daffodils and shamrocks, the flowers of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland that have featured on this coronation’s official emblem.
A deeply personal touch, the front of the skirt is embroidered in Camilla’s cypher, her dogs Bluebell and Beth, and the names of her two children and five grandchildren. Her shoes were made by British designer Elliot Zed and covered in the same silk as her gown.
For her arrival at Westminster Abbey, Queen Camilla wore the scarlet velvet Robe of State previously worn by Queen Elizabeth II.
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Queen Camilla was crowned with Queen Mary’s Coronation Crown which recently underwent alternation in preparation for this event; four arches were removed and three of the Cullinan Diamonds were added.
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Original version of Queen Mary’s Coronation Crown (l) compared to current version
Made in 1911, the crown includes more than two thousand diamonds atop a silver and gold frame.
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The renovation of Queen Mary’s Coronation Crown creates a lighter, more delicate consort’s crown that pairs perfectly with the Imperial State Crown. It’s a slightly modern, streamlined take on a traditional crown that seems an apt metaphor for the kind of monarch King Charles III has said he wishes to be.
All three crowns today- the St. Edward’s Crown, the Imperial State crown and Queen Mary’s Coronation crown – were fitted by Philip Treacy, whose team also made new velvet caps of maintenance, custom fit to their new wearers.
Queen Camilla’s diamond necklace, by Garrard, was the same one worn by Queen Elizabeth at her coronation in 1953.
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For the recessional, Queen Camilla wore her own new Robe of Estate. Made by Ede and Ravenscroft in rich purple silk velvet, it was embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework based at Hampton Court Palace in west London, of which Camilla is patron. The design includes 24 different varieties of flowers and plants embroidered in gold thread including lily-of-the valley (a favorite flower of Queen Elizabeth II), lady’s mantle, myrtle, maidenhair fern, cornflowers and delphiniums, a favourite flower of the King and the flower for the month of July, the birth month of the Queen Consort. The national emblems of the rose, thistle and shamrock are included along with bees, butterflies, beetles and a caterpillar in keeping with the wildflower theme. The robe is simply magnificent.
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The king and queen returned to Buckingham Palace in the Gold State Coach, built in 1760 and used at every Coronation since that of William IV in 1831.
The coronation ceremony was filled with incredible music, thoughtful gestures, intentional acts of inclusion and diversity and an palpable sense of tradition and reverence. Do watch it when you have a moment.
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Over the next days, we’ll look at all the hats and headpieces worn my royal family members and royal guests at this event.
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Royal Hats 
I would also add to the other commentators in terms of congratulating you, HQ, on putting together such a comprehensive & fascinating summary with a fantastic selection of photos; I, too, learned a lot despite (as a Brit) watching the ceremony live and reading lots of articles about it afterwards.
It was wonderful to see the 3 crowns being worn in all their splendour and particularly interesting to discover that they had been fitted by Philip Treacy: I had wondered how that problem had been resolved.
Personally, I found the ceremony rather fragmented in its laudable effort to allow a walk-on role to all ethnicities and religions and, apart from the big, classical musical pieces, much of the rest was rather uninspiring and, in many instances more redolent of a Broadway musical. All told, however, a marvellous event.
Thank you for such a wonderful overview, HatQueen. The robes and crowns are really spectacular, and it was great to see some new creations as well as the re-use of old robes. Both the King and Queen looked regal.
I thought it was a splendid ceremony, and the music was truly magnificent.
Lovely and informative post, thank you. The crowns and robes are simply magnificent. While watching Charles and Camilla moving so carefully under the weight of them, it really seemed to me to signify the burden of their roles as well as the honour.
Camilla’s refurbished crown is elegant and very beautiful. My only quibble is that it seems markedly larger than Charles’s second crown, as seen on their balcony appearance. The proportions seemed off to me, not that it matters, I suppose.
Well done everybody associated with the Coronation!
The Imperial State Crown was reduced in height for wearing by Queen Elizabeth II. When they said it was being refitted for King Charles, I thought it might be made taller again, as it was in his grandfather King George VI’s day – but obviously it was decided against doing that. Hence the disparity between it and Queen Mary’s Crown.
I don’t imagine we will see the Queen in this crown again – if she wears one at all for the State Opening of Parliament, I imagine it will be the George IV Diadem.
Absolutely fascinating. Thank you Hat Queen. Looking forward to hats and headpieces.
What an extraordinary day! The entire service was moving and joyful. I loved the historical aspects blended with modern day. Thank you for this in depth, wonderful post. The crowns are stunning and the King and Queen were resplendent. God save The King!
The entire ceremony was all that I hoped it could be, majestic and solemn at the same time. The Prince of Wales pledging allegence to his father was especially touching. The embroderiers deserve all the praise in the world for their spectacular work on both The Queen’s dress, shoes, and cape. Just stunning!
Thanks Hat Queen for your very detailed post that contains information and photos that I had not seen previously. I was expecting the Coronation ceremony to be full of symbolism and historic traditions which it was but I was not expected it to be so solemn, but on reflection I guess that this was not surprising as it reflects the Kings reverence for his role as Monarch and his continued sadness at the passing of his beloved mother Queen Elizabeth II. I cant wait to see your posts on hats worn by both members of the British royal family and international royal guests. I was very disappointed in the TV coverage of the arrival of international royal guests particularly and there was only fleeting shots of them seated in the Abbey.