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May 12, 2023
So let's do a roundup of the coronation. Since most of us have never seen a coronation, or at least if we have it was a very faint memory....
 
I was a mere tyke at the time and can't even remember a memory that didn't have Elizabeth II as monarch of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth realms.
Part of the excitement and wonder of all of this is that no one does pageantry better than the British. After all a lot of us remember marching out of high school graduation to the familiar Pomp and Circumstance March by Sir Edward Elgar, a very English composer.
More than anything the costumes and art work are filled with unbelievable historical significance.
 This emblem is Scottish Thistle, the Welch Daffodil, the Irish Shamrock with the English Rose. Why roses? The War of the Roses between the
 House of Lancaster (Red Rose) and
the House of York
(White Rose) that joined to become  the House of Tudor with the clever white and red rose in the center. There's a series of deftly written books
on the War of Roses!
With the new royal cipher from Elizabeth II to Charles III
 
This just begins the mix of history, art and of course pageantry that the English do so well. OK, granted that the participants are probably not the most stellar examples of what we would think of royalty, and maybe that's part of the fun in all this. With all their foils and such, they still manage to exist. I really believe the English Royal family has enjoyed so much popularity is because the late queen understood her responsibility and her duty and she performed
it every day, even to the very last she had a schedule of responsibilities that she kept to.
Their dress is no different and there are long - very long - held traditions. The Order of the Garter is one, which is probably the oldest and certainly the most venerable of royal groups or organizations which are called "orders" in England. Being the oldest and most venerable, its top boss is the reigning monarch and second in charge is the Prince/Princess of Wales.
As the top class of orders, this would be the reason the robes of the order of the Garter are worn on coronations considered the most formal even of all English ceremonies. There can be male and female members and yet Harry (who is no longer referred to as a prince or even titled since he gave up his "royal duties"), was in a suit, because he is no longer a royal.
One of the most interestingly dressed people there was Princess Anne, who was dressed in military uniform as she is fulfilling a special role in the coronation as the "Golden Stick In Waiting." This is an historical dating back to the 15 Century, when there would be a gold stick and silver stick on either side of the royal being crowned as a protection. Princess Anne is the "in waiting" version of that stick. But it is a prominent role.
What's most interesting is that she is in military dress and the only royal to ride a horse to the coronation. This is the royal with the heaviest schedule of all the royals. She's a regular hard working lady!
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The royal dress includes various garments that signify the station and rank of the royals. In this case, Princess Anne is wearing a mantle that is held up at the collar with the white bows. Actually my guess is that these ceremonial robes were probably pretty comfy as it looked like a colder rainy day in London.
According to all the fashionistas, Princess Kate once again the best dressed and very appropriate for her position. She seems to innately understand her role as a public figure and as a royal to turn out for events and occasions, and to look responsible, but adds a bit of freshness to her look. I'm not sure if this is due to William or what, but it works, and
it's laudable to see the upcoming generation of royals not slouching around on a technical device.
Here she is in her ceremonial robes. Notice that Princess Anne's are different because she's in a different order.
Kate's order is the Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order. The crest is embroidered on the left of her robes with the cross hanging by the white bows. Almost all the royals had their "robes" of the order they belong to held in place by the white bows.
Under all those royal robes was her Alexander McQueen gown. Kate likes to support local designers, and McQueen seems to be her favorite. Made of silk with embroidery of thistles, shamrocks, daffodils and roses, all representing the United Kingdom's flowers. You can see Prince Edward's wife in another beautiful white gown.
So why all the white? Well, this is the color for royals for formal occasions, weddings, coronations, baptisms, but not for funerals. And white is almost always in order for any royal state dinner.
But I've saved the best for last, because one of my favs to feature here is Camiller! Yes, Camiller got a crown - we now have Queen Camiller and she will be dressed to her finest.
But here's the thing about the new queen, she has a figure that a lot - A LOT - of other people have and she uses the very best designers that are available. And that means that she has pros working to solve her figure problems. They aren't into criticizing the Queen cause they don't get a warrant. A Warrant is a public acknowledgement that a company or service has received the blessing and support of the person who owns the warrant, in this case the warrant
of the Queen Camilla.
So looking at the queen's fashion, she did an outstanding job.
 For any of these photos of
Queen Camilla's dress, click on the photo. They are really large and you can see them up close on your browser. The line here is really outstanding. The cape/train is held in place by shoulder straps which means she carries this mostly on her shoulders not her waist or hip or anything
else. The cape may weigh as much as 20 pounds with the velvet and embroidery on it.
There was some really lovely things about this dress that the queen had embroidered into her gown. The names of her children and grandchildren with an homage to Charles & Camilla's dogs.
This is the best shot of her without the long train, but you can see this is a pretty good take off of her wedding gown which was a complete home run - out of the park - type dress.
The big difference is the 3/4 sleeve length which is a HUGE bold but very proportionally correct move. The neckline you can tell is exactly the right space for the "coronation necklace" of Queen Elizabeth II.
So starting at the top, we have great shoulders which as we all know are key to starting a great and flattering fit.
Next I've darkened this up a bit so we can see more detail of the gown. The very first thing I saw when I darkened this up was the beading which is all hand done because look at how it doesn't cross the front - the center front of the gown. The cuffs and shoulder straps here are probably hand beaded/embroidered as well.
But what you can see in this photo is a princess seam coming across her bust to her waist to her hip. And here's the thing. This is one of the most flattering and problem-solving seams you can make. The other one is from the shoulder down across the bust to the hem.
Finally the gown flares gently out from the waist and hip. This is a masterful, graceful line from the waist (actually the upper waist) to the floor. She's got on all that regalia, but the line of the dress is fairly classic.
 Also note that it attaches (snaps, probably a hidden zipper in there, I never once saw a gap in the front of the gown) in front and then at the waist it starts to flare out, so that when she walks the dress flares out at
the hem, making the queen's waist and upper body look even smaller
This is a marvelous line and technique for making a gown that is flattering on almost any figure.
Now imagine a tunic like this with a pair of pants under it, in linen or a light-weight cotton, with light weight pants under this and it would really make a stunning outfit.
All of this is from the classic lines and styles of the coronation. Making my point once again that royals and people with lots of $$$ will almost always go to a classic line and look that makes the garment not only flattering to wear, but wearable time and time and time again. Honestly. Look at that picture above. If she were to do this in a pink linen, with white pants, it would be a fabulous look. If she were to do this in a black silk with hot pink skirt,
it would be fabulous. The point is that this style will look good on her no matter what. Like her wedding gown, this is a take off of the same style and it works for her. Watch her in the future, and my bet is that you will see her in variations of this over and over.
This will be her core pattern, and the one that she can vary in many different ways. It's amazing what can happen when you vary the fabric, the color and in the queen's body her skirt or pants. She seems to wear both equally well when she wears a top like what she has now.
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