Queen Camilla will leave Westminster Abbey after her coronation in a new Robe of Estate embroidered with insects, favourite flowers and the national emblems of the United Kingdom.
Her Majesty will change into the rich purple velvet robe, chosen to match the King’s, for their procession back to Buckingham Palace after they have been anointed and crowned on 6 May.
The train of the garment, made by Ede and Ravenscroft, has been embroidered to incorporate her personal cypher, along with bees and a beetle, to reflect the royal couple’s love of nature and the environment.
Experts at The Royal School of Needlework have used the goldwork technique to hand embroider plants including Lily of the Valley, which featured in Camilla's wedding bouquet and was a favourite of the late Queen Elizabeth II, Myrtle, which represents hope, Delphinium, a favourite of the King and the birth flower of July, when Camilla was born, and one of her own favourite plants ‘Alchemilla Mollis’, known as Lady’s Mantle, which symbolises love and comfort.
© Royal School of NeedleworkMaidenhair Fern, which symbolises purity, and cornflowers, which represent love and tenderness and help to attract and encourage wildlife such as bees and butterflies, are also represented, along with the shamrock, thistle and rose.
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The King and Queen Consort will arrive at Westminster Abbey wearing the Robes of State and will depart in the Robes of Estate, which are traditionally more personalised in design.
© Kirsty O'ConnorHer Majesty will travel to the ceremony in the crimson velvet Robe of State made for Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, which has been adjusted for her by robemakers at Ede and Ravenscroft.
The historic tailors, who have made garments for every British coronation sincethat of King William and Queen Mary in 1689, have also conserved the goldlace and the lining of the King’s Robe of State, while the crimson velvet hasbeen conserved by the Royal School of Needlework.
© Royal School of NeedleworkThe robe was last worn by the King’s grandfather King George VI for his coronation in 1937. His Majesty will later wear the purple silk velvet Robe of Estate made for George VI to depart the Abbey.
© Kirsty O'ConnorAs Duchess of Cornwall, The Queen Consort became Patron of the Royal School of Needlework, which is based at Hampton Court, in 2017.
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The school worked on robes for the 1937 and 1953 coronations and more recently worked on the 2011 wedding dress of the Princess of Wales and the wedding veil of the Duchess of Sussex in 2018.
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