Peers Will Be Allowed To Wear Robes and Coronets to King Charles's Coronation After All
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Last month, peers were advised to dress down for King Charles's coronation. As of today, this isn't the case.
In the past 24 hours, members of the House of Lords have been granted permission to don historic coronation dress, such as crimson robes and coronets. This last minute change is a complete 180 from the announcement from the pervious month, when aristocrats were advised to avoid ceremonial garb in hopes of a "pared-down" service.
According to the Telegraph, the decision follows a series of requests from members of The House of Lords who are "reasonably keen" to wear traditional dress and it suggested that King Charles himself is said to have made the decision due to complaints from his acquaintances.
Ceremonial dress for members of the House of Lords was first introduced in the late 15th century, and coronation robes were standardized two hundred years later.
Queen Elizabeth II made slight adjustments to ceremonial attire during her coronation in 1953, allowing members of the House of Lords (also called "peers") to trade coronets for a red velvet cap lined with ermine (fur from a weasel-like animal called a stoat) named a "cap of maintenance."
But, her and her son's ceremony may differ in more ways than attire. During Queen Elizabeth II's coronation, the ceremony at Westminster Abbey lasted nearly 3 hours. It was so long that in the 2018 documentary The Coronation, the late monarch shares with Alastair Bruce of Crionaich, royal commentator for Sky News, how some peers stuffed their coronets with sandwiches that fell out when peers put them on during the ceremony. King Charles's ceremony is expected to last just over an hour to reduce the extravagance of the service. The attendance between both ceremonies will also differ greatly, as King Charles's guest list is said to be significantly smaller than his mother's. As for the sandwich issue? Only time will tell.
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