When the Royal family assemble at Westminster Abbey on May 6, they will undoubtedly look spectacularly regal.

We already know that the King and Queen will be wearing the St Edward’s crown and Queen Mary’s crown respectively. The Queen is believed to have commissioned a gown by Bruce Oldfield, one of her favourite couturiers, who specialises in dazzling evening wear and recently created her glittering silver and black embroidered gown for a state banquet in Berlin.

The Princess of Wales will surely also wow in something sparkling from one of her most-trusted designers. Favourites for the job include old hands like Alexander McQueen and Jenny Packham. Erdem, Emilia Wickstead or the Vampire’s Wife would be more fashion-forward options while an outside contender could be bridal designer Phillipa Lepley who worked with the-then Duchess of Cambridge for the first time last year, making an ice-blue gown for a reception in the Bahamas. The exact level of dazzle to be expected remains something of a mystery as decisions are still reportedly being made about whether the Princess and other senior Royal women will wear tiaras.

But at the heart of the ceremony’s style choices, especially those of the Queen and Princess, will be carefully selected nods to the gowns and jewels worn for previous coronations.

“From Queen Victoria’s Coronation onwards, a major consideration has always been looking back at the past and the precedents those gowns set,’” says Matthew Storey, curator at Historic Royal Palaces. “A lot of thought also goes into where the gown is made and the meaning that brings, British manufacturers are often used to promote industry. The symbolic elements of the gowns are also very important with efforts made to include the floral emblems of the United Kingdom.”

Queen Victoria: a new era and new traditions

Surprisingly little is known about the gown worn by Queen Victoria beneath her robes for her Coronation in 1837, but Storey says it was believed to have been white and silver. What does survive is a patch of gold material which “gives a real sense of the grandeur of her coronation outfit,” he says. It was a moment that marked the dawn of a new era of British life, but that also altered long-held coronation rituals.

“Certain traditions had to be adapted to allow for the fact that Victoria was a 19-year-old girl, unlike the long line of older Hanover men who had reigned for more than 200 years before her,” explains Storey, “so the tradition of the sovereign being anointed on the chest was scrapped as it wouldn’t have been appropriate.”

Queen Alexandra’s tribute to India

It was Queen Alexandra, wife of Edward VII and a royal trend leader of her time, who really set the modern standard for fashionably diplomatic coronation gowns. After consulting the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, one of the few remaining people then alive who had attended William IV’s Coronation, for her first-hand account of what to expect, she set about searching for the perfect look for her own turn in 1901.

Alexandra, who was 56 when her husband came to the throne, admired the dresses of Lady Mary Curzon, the vicereine of India, while she was in England for a visit. The dresses were made from Indian fabric, which made them look unique even among other Western women who lived in India and usually preferred to source their clothes from Europe.

Mary’s husband, George Curzon, had described his wife as having a “subtle air of refinement, enhanced by her indefinable gift for wearing lovely clothes” so it was little surprise that the new Queen decided to enlist her to help her with her coronation gown. Lady Mary returned to India under strict instructions to have a beautiful fabric made which would combine traditional Indian techniques, as a nod to the King’s role as Emperor of India, with roses, thistles and shamrocks to represent England, Scotland and Ireland. It’s believed that the delicate lightweight fabric was then transported to Paris where it was tailored into a perfectly-fitting coronation gown for Alexandra.

“Queen Victoria never allowed Alexandra to travel to India, which was a source of huge regret to her,” explains Storey of the significance of the Queen’s choice, “so having the fabric for her coronation gown made there was a gesture of her fascination.” India wasn’t the only point of inspiration incorporated into the gown; it also included a dramatic wired collar similar to those seen in Jacobean and Elizabeth dress, but which also served to enhance Alexandra’s jewel-festooned neck, a look she’d made distinctively her own as a way to hide a scar from a childhood operation.

“She took the anointing very seriously but she also took fashion seriously,” adds Storey. ‘She wore a hairpiece as was fashionable at the time, but insisted that the Archbishop ensured he touched her skin, not just her hair.”

Queen Mary’s dazzling crown

Queen Mary, wife of George VI who became King in May 1910, was equally fashion conscious, renowned in particular for her love of jewels. Indeed, many of the most spectacular pieces in the Royal family’s current collection were acquired by Queen Mary.

As tradition dictated, a new crown was made for Queen Mary to wear for the 1911 Coronation. “It has no jewels but diamonds, and the diamonds cluster together as if they had no support but their own light,’ was The Daily Telegraph’s rather poetic description of the crown, which was composed of 2200 diamonds.

Queen Camilla has decided that instead of having her own crown created, she will re-use Queen Mary’s, replacing the controversial centrepiece Koh-i-noor diamond with the Cullinan III, IV and V diamonds, which were favourites of the late Queen Elizabeth.

The rules of court dressing were rather straightforward for women at the time. “There was a whole book for men, but just one page for women,” explains Storey. “The only stipulation was that dresses should have trains and a low neckline, unless there was a reason to seek an exception to the rules and wear a higher neckline.”

Queen Mary’s gown adhered to the rules perfectly. She chose Reville and Rossiter, a design house that had enjoyed a rapid rise to become the favoured court dressmakers just five years after the business had been established.  

Their creation included thoughtful nods to Mary’s new position, incorporating star and lotus symbols as a tribute to India and a wave design around the bottom of the gown representing the seas that divided the different countries of the Empire.

The Queen Mother’s mission to re-brand the royal family

“Queens have tended to opt for a tried and trusted couturier rather than someone bold and unfamiliar; this is not a time to take risk,” explains Storey. In 1937, the Coronation of George VI was a high-stakes occasion – not only was Europe on the brink of crisis, but the Royal family’s reputation had been rocked by the abdication of Edward VIII. This was a chance to restore faith in the monarchy and offer reassurance in the face of growing global instability.

Can a dress do this? Perhaps not alone, but both King George and Queen Elizabeth were acutely conscious of the power of visuals. “Queen Elizabeth’s dress could have been made by Norman Hartnell but he was considered to still be a bit too up and coming so she opted for Madame Handley-Seymour, a self-made court dressmaker who she could absolutely trust and who knew the rules of Mayfair,” notes Storey.

Notably, Hartnell was asked to make dresses for Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret to complement their mother’s gown, which was inspired by Queen Mary’s coronation gown but with a streamlined 1930s silhouette. His bow-adorned designs were so successful that later that year Hartnell was asked to create a new look for the Queen. She wore her new Hartnell wardrobe on a visit to France in 1937 and became a style sensation in Paris, where designers cited her a muse the following season. Hartnell’s place as a royal go-to was assured, setting him up to be commissioned to create the most important coronation gown in modern memory…

Queen Elizabeth: a glamorous gown to set the tone for a lifetime of service

When it came to the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, there was enormous excitement in the fashion industry, as there might be now about a young and glamorous woman being crowned and assuming one of the most visible positions in the world.

While she wasn’t expecting to become Queen at just 25, Elizabeth had been schooled by her parents in the importance of looking, as well as acting, the part and had already established herself as a style leader. She enlisted Norman Hartnell to create a spectacular gown, pushing him through nine different designs before she landed on one which she was satisfied with.

Elizabeth continued the tradition of incorporating important symbols, but took this a step further, instructing Hartnell to include the flowers of all the territories where she reigned; as a result, English roses, Scottish thistles, Welsh leeks (Hartnell fought for prettier daffodils but had to concede that leeks were the proper symbol), and Irish leeks were intertwined with protea for South Africa, lotus flowers for India maple leaves for Canada, silver fern for New Zealand, wheat, cotton and jute for Pakistan and wattle for Australia. The result was described as a “shimmering haze of colour” which took more than 3,000 hours to create.  

There was breathless commentary in the newspapers about the evolution of the young Queen’s gown. “The secret of the coronation dress has been sought from all quarters,” one article declared. “An American store offered almost any sum for a copy if it could be ready to be put on show while the Queen was being crowned.”

When it was revealed that Hartnell would be designing the gown, he was declared to be the  “world’s most envied dress designer” according to The Daily Telegraph, bestowed with “an honour that Christian Dior might envy”. The reviews were rapturous: “The Queen’s coronation gown is more beautiful and colourful than one could imagine possible. It symbolises the Crown uniting the Commonwealth.” It sealed the young Queen Elizabeth’s reputation as a new kind of style icon.

The coronation dress code

Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation took place 70 years ago, in an era when tradition and ancient rituals were still cherished. With no social media or internet, the Royal family’s ancient codes were relatively unscrutinised. To the contemporary eye, the late Queen’s Coronation ceremony looks incredibly ostentatious. Debrett’s description of acceptable coronation attire reflects this: “Princesses of the United Kingdom wear purple velvet mantles edged with ermine over their court dress. Princes and Princesses are provided with distinctive coronets which they wear throughout the ceremony.”

In 1953, coronation attendees were instructed to wear “any colour except black” with a head covering which “must not cover the face” and should reach “as far as the shoulders but no lower than waistline”. Dresses were to be made from lace, organza, tulle or chiffon with no feathers. Jewelled pins, ribbon bows, flowers or small jewelled caps were all permitted.

No such strict rules have been issued for King Charles’ Coronation. While the King will wear the traditional gold silk “Supertunica” and military regalia, plans for other attendees, including peers, to wear robes and coronets have been pared-back and guests have been instructed to wear day dress.

But never fear, with some of the most stylish royals in the world in attendance and a global audience to charm, King Charles’ Coronation is still set to provide a style spectacle like no other.