REPORT: EMILY NASH
T he Queen Consort will leave Westminster Abbey after her coronation in a new Robe of Estate embroidered with insects, favourite flowers and the UK’s national emblems.
Her Majesty will change into the rich purple velvet robe, matching the King’s, for the procession back to Buckingham Palace after the coronation ceremony on 6 May.
The embroidered train of the Ede & Ravenscroft garment will incorporate her personal cypher, along with bees and a beetle to reflect the royal couple’s love of nature and the environment.
FLORAL DELIGHT
Experts at the Royal School of Needlework, of which the Queen Consort is patron, used the goldwork technique to hand-embroider plants including lily of the valley, which featured in Camilla’s wedding bouquet and was also a favourite of the Queen’s, and myrtle, to represent hope.
There are also delphinium, a favourite of the King and the birth flower of July, when Camilla was born, and one of her own favourite plants, lady’s mantle, which symbolises love and comfort.
In addition, maidenhair fern, for purity, and cornflowers, a symbol of love and tenderness and which help attract and encourage wildlife such as bees and butterflies, feature along with the national plants of the UK.
The King and Queen Consort will arrive at Westminster Abbey wearing Robes of State but depart in Robes of Estate, which are traditionally more personalised in design.
Her Majesty’s crimson velvet Robe of State was originally made for the Queen in 1953 and has been adjusted for her by the robemakers at Ede & Ravenscroft.
ANCIENT CONNECTIONS
The historic tailors, who have made garments for every British coronation since William and Mary in 1689, have also prepared and conserved the gold lace and the lining of the King’s Robe of State, while staff at the Royal School of Needlework worked on its crimson velvet.
Both this robe and His Majesty’s purple silk velvet Robe of Estate were worn by the King’s grandfather George VI during his coronation in 1937.
As the Duchess of Cornwall, the Queen Consort was named patron of the Royal School of Needlework in January 2017, taking ove
