What is the king’s costume?
At his coronation, King Charles III will wear the heavy gold robes worn by his ancestors, inspired by religious dress and evoking the divinity of royalty. Most of the dresses have already been worn by Charles’ grandfather, King George VI, at his coronation in 1937 and by the monarch’s great-grandfather, King George V, in 1911.
While some of these historic garments are still worn, the monarch will use others from previous coronations. “Towards Sustainability and Efficiency”Buckingham Palace explained.
The clothes worn by King Charles for the occasion, in order of appearance.
The Clothing of States – long embroidered velvet capes – worn by monarchs when visiting Westminster Abbey. Charles will wear what George VI had in crimson velvet. The lining and lace of the coat of arms was retained until the coronation in 1689 by London’s oldest tailors, Eade and Ravenscroft, who made dresses for all coronations from King William III and Queen Mary II.
The Sovereign wears a simple white linen shirt for anointing with holy oil, Holy Chrism.
“Columbium sindonis”
“Columbium Sintonis” is the vestment worn after anointing. This white linen tunic, sleeveless, has a simple collar closed with a button. It was worn by King George VI.
The “supertunica” is a long sleeved robe of gold shimmering silk worn after the abhishekam ceremony.
The dress was made for King George V and worn by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. Its weight is about 2 kg.
Its style has changed little since the Middle Ages and is inspired by religious clothing. The silk is covered with fine pieces of gold.
Coronation sash
And since 1937, the Coronation sword strap Made of gold embroidered fabric and has a gold fastener. It is placed on the “supertunica” around the king’s waist.
The belt buckle is stamped with national emblems. Its connection is used to repair “Sacred Sword”Meant to protect good and punish evil.
A long, narrow silk embroidered with gold is worn on the king’s shoulders. It is similar to the stoles worn by priests or bishops.
Along with the “supertunica”, the imperial robe is the other impressive coronation dress.
A long floor-length dress worn over a super tunic. It was created for the coronation of King George IV in 1821 and is the oldest dress used in Saturday’s ceremony.
It is made of gold cloth woven with colored threads. It is closed at chest level by a golden clasp representing an eagle.
The coat patterns represent red roses, blue thistles, green clovers, fleur-de-lis and eagles. Its weight ranges from three to four kilos.
William, the eldest son of King Charles and heir to the throne, will help his father with the coat.
The King wears this distinctive white leather glove on his right hand, along with which he holds the sovereign’s scepter and cross during the ceremony.
This glove was made for King George VI. The cuff is embroidered with national symbols like roses, clovers, thistles and acorns in gold metallic threads.
The ceremonial robes worn when leaving the abbey are more personalized than the state robes worn when entering the church.
The King will wear his grandfather George VI’s suit of purple silk velvet trimmed with gold.
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