![]() When it comes to the Hanoverians, their contrasting, conflicting personalities are most certainly evidenced in their dress sense. He preferred to do business in an informal, private setting," says Hayward. If people recognised him, and didn't acclaim him, it would have been a bit embarrassing. "He liked a degree of informality, and I think in part that must have come from is time in exile. In private however, Charles II preferred a more low-key form of dress. During his time in exile awarding the Order of the Garter had been Charles's only means of securing bonds of loyalty and he swiftly restored the honour after his return. ![]() In the coronation portrait by John Michael Wright, "he is wearing his parliament robes over the silver tissue suit, which is the Order of the Garter suit, and that is intrinsically backward looking, almost as if the Commonwealth didn't happen," says Hayward. After the Restoration he was determined to stress the continuity of monarchy. And we all know how that ended up.įollowing his father's execution, the future Charles II was forced into exile for many years. "Satin is now the favoured fabric, invariably in those lovely pastel colours we associate with the Van Dyck portraits." However, this less ostentatious style certainly did not coincide with a more democratic approach to rule. Dressed in his finery in the iconic portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger, destroyed by fire in 1698 but still widely known due to the multiple copies made and disseminated at the time, Henry VIII was determined to send out the message that he was a powerful king, entirely the equal to his European contemporaries.īy the time of Charles I, "there was a move away from cloth of gold except for very, very formal occasions," says Hayward. These were cloth of gold, the colour purple and sable fur, although they would have been reserved for special occasions.Īn added impetus was the break with Rome, following his divorce from Katherine of Aragon, which left England in the religious minority. If you're at the top you need to assert that visually, and he marked out particular textiles as being exclusively royal," historian Maria Hayward, an expert on Tudor and Stuart fashion, tells BBC Culture. His father, Henry VII, had won the throne by defeating Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth, the culmination of the bitter Wars of the Roses, and as such Henry VIII was "still very keen to stress the legitimacy of the Tudor's right to rule. It was Henry VIII who first realised the potential of fashion as a political tool. It may seem a relatively small gesture, given the opulence of every other garment, yet in declining to have something unnecessarily made he is very publicly declaring that the commitment he showed to sustainability as Prince of Wales will continue when he is king. However, King Charles has decided to re-use the belt and glove made for his grandfather, George VI. Given the lavish nature of such garments, it is perhaps unsurprising that it has been tradition for recent monarchs to reuse them, although they have usually had a new coronation sword belt and glove made. ![]() ![]() On top of the Supertunica will be a floor-length cloak named the Imperial Mantle, or Robe Royal, which was made for George IV in 1821. The robe was made for George V in 1911, and has been worn in every coronation since, including that of Elizabeth II. The King will be dressed in layers of glittering robes, including a shimmering gold-sleeved coat called the Supertunica for the crowning. It is now only days until the Coronation of King Charles III, and the outfit he will be wearing has finally been announced.
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