In just a few days’ time, the eyes of Britain and millions more around the world will be on Camilla as she is crowned queen alongside her husband, King Charles III.
“It’ll be the dress that will be the most talked about, it will be analysed in every detail,” said Caroline Young, a writer specialising in fashion.
While the design of Camilla’s gown is being kept under wraps, the 75-year-old queen consort commissioned British couturier Bruce Oldfield, who boasts a long list of high-profile clients, including Charles’s ex-wife Princess Diana.
According to fashion expert and royals’ commentator Miranda Holder, the coronation gown is going to “define” Camilla.
“It’s going to go down in history,” she added.
Britain last held a coronation in 1953. Charles’s mother Queen Elizabeth II wore an intricately embroidered white satin gown on the day.
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But Camilla is likely to opt for something less luxurious with the new king keen to slim down the ceremony as the country grapples with a cost of living crisis.
When the royal procession arrives at Westminster Abbey on Saturday, the queen will be cloaked in a crimson velvet “Robe of State”, originally made for Elizabeth 70 years ago.
– ‘Working with Diana’ –
Camilla will be crowned with Elizabeth’s grandmother Queen Mary’s Crown, which she wore at the coronation of her husband King George V in 1911.
In honour of Camilla’s late mother-in-law, the crown will be reset with several diamonds from her personal jewellery collection.
According to British media, Oldfield, 72, has designed Camilla’s gown but Buckingham Palace was keeping tight-lipped when contacted by AFP.
Oldfield designed dozens of evening gowns — several of them iconic — for Diana before her death in a Paris car crash in 1997.
“He was developing his own style and aesthetic while he was working with Diana,” Holder, the royal fashion commentator, said.
But after Diana’s formal separation from Charles in 1992, she distanced herself from royal life and the designer.
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Oldfield had since become one of Camilla’s favourite fashion creators, as well as a long-time acquaintance.
He designed the elegant black evening gown Camilla wore on the royal couple’s state visit to Germany in March.