For his coronation next week, King Charles will dress in the same clothes as his predecessors, including his mother and grandfather. Charles, 74, will be crowned on May 6 at Westminster Abbey in London in a lavish ceremony in which he will wear or be given religious and historical regalia.
Many of the items, such as the crowns and scepters, are centuries old, but Charles will reuse some coronation gowns from coronations since 1821 “in the interests of sustainability and efficiency,” according to Buckingham Palace.
Among the vestments to be reinstated is the coronation glove fashioned for his grandpa, George VI.
“We’ve got this wonderful, sustainable, eco-friendly king who’s reusing something rather than having a new glove,” said Deborah Moore, the chief executive of Dents which made the glove with gold embroidery for George VI’s 1937 coronation.
“It’s also a little bit of heritage, a bit of looking back to the past for our very modern king,” said Moore, whose firm also made the glove for the 1953 coronation of Charles’ mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
Charles to Wear Historic Regalia, Including the ‘Supertunica’ and Imperial Mantle, for Coronation
The glove, made of white leather embroidered with gilded metal thread, is placed on the monarch’s right hand during the ceremony as a reminder that the sovereign should be kind when raising taxes.
Charles will also wear his grandfather’s “Colobium Sindonis,” a white linen shift-like tunic, as well as the sword belt he wore, instead of the customary new one.
The ‘supertunica,’ a full-length, sleeved coat of gold silk designed for the coronation of King George V, Charles’ great-grandfather, and used by consecutive kings, including Elizabeth, will also be worn by Charles during the event.
Over this, he will wear the Imperial Mantle, which was created of gold cloth for George IV’s coronation in 1821.
“They are fairly heavy to wear,” said Caroline de Guitaut, Deputy Surveyor of the King’s Works of Arts.