Camilla was surprisingly sentimental on her coronation day—but her sweet tribute had nothing to do with Charles!
The Unexpected Detail on Camilla’s Coronation Gown You Probably Missed
Published on Dec. 12, 2024
All eyes were on King Charles and Queen Camilla on their coronation day in 2023. Two billion people watched the broadcast live from London, with up to 20 million in the U.K. and 10 million in the U.S. joining in. But it wasn’t just the pomp, glamour and centuries-old traditions that were truly fascinating. Huge royal events, such as coronations and weddings, are always loaded with symbolism and secret messages—which make them even more interesting once you’ve spotted certain details and figured out what they mean.
That being said, no matter how closely you watched the royal couple’s big day, chances are, you missed a little detail on Camilla’s gown that you are going to love. (Trust us on this one!) Read on to learn all about the sweet tribute Camilla included on her big day.
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Who created Camilla’s coronation gown?
Camilla’s coronation outfit was designed by Bruce Oldfield. The British designer’s vision, according to Buckingham Palace, was “to create a sophisticated and modern dress that [showcased] her majesty’s style and personality in its details,” while also acknowledging Camilla and Charles’s “affection for nature and the British countryside.” Camilla wore a long-sleeve ivory coat dress made of silk, with silver and gold embroidered floral designs, along with a purple velvet robe that featured her cypher (aka royal monogram) in gold and matched Charles’s outfit.
Oldfield is not a newbie when it comes to royal functions. He has worked for the Firm for decades and was, ironically, one of the late Princess Diana’s favorite couturiers—and a friend of hers. Camilla had also worn his designs previously, including when she attended the premiere of the James Bond movie No Time to Die at London’s Royal Albert Hall in 2021. Oldfield called designing Camilla’s coronation gown “the most important commission of my life.”
What surprising details were featured on Camilla’s gown?
Camilla’s coronation gown featured a sweet tribute to her beloved rescue dogs, Bluebell and Beth. Representations of the Jack Russell terriers were embroidered in gold-hued thread at the very base of her silk dress. The dog silhouettes, the size of a hand, were stitched by the Royal School of Needlework (of which Camilla has been a patron since 2017) along with all the other standout touches. Previously, the school had worked on the coronation robes for Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 and Queen Elizabeth, better known as the queen mother, in 1937.
Just like Queen Elizabeth II, who loved her corgis, Camilla adores dogs. She adopted both Bluebell and Beth from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home in South London in 2011 and 2012, and they’ve been regularly seen by her side ever since. In the anthology Top Dogs: A British Love Affair, Camilla recounted their difficult start in life before joining the royal family.
“Beth came from a family who could no longer care for her and poor Bluebell had been found abandoned in the woods, three weeks old, starving, covered in sores, with a docked tail and just a few patches of fur. Battersea nursed her back to health and I fell in love with her when I visited their brilliant centre in 2012,” she wrote in an essay. “They are both colourful characters—and now I cannot imagine my life, my home or my sofas without them.”
Sadly, Beth passed away in November 2024, but Charles recently hinted that there might soon be a new addition to the royal family.
What other symbolism appears on the gown?
Apart from the dogs, Camilla’s coronation outfit also featured embroidered plants, animals and the names of some of her closest family members. There were a total of 24 plants on her dress, a nod to the king’s and queen’s love of nature, and all of them were chosen for their specific meanings. They included lily of the valley (a flower Camilla also picked for her wedding bouquet and a favorite of Queen Elizabeth II), delphinium (a favorite of Charles and the birth flower of July, when his mother was born) and the hawthorn (also known as the “May tree”—the month of the coronation).
The cuffs of Camilla’s sleeves showed the national flowers of the four nations of the U.K.: a rose for England, a thistle for Scotland, a daffodil for Wales and a shamrock for Northern Ireland.
According to royal expert Victoria Howard, the names of Camilla’s children, Tom and Laura, as well as her grandchildren (Gus, Freddy, Louis, Eliza and Lola), were also embroidered on the dress.
Have any other royals included symbolism in their gowns?
Camilla wasn’t the first to include symbolism and secret messages in her coronation garb, and she certainly won’t be the last. Here are some senior royals who loaded their outfits with special meanings on their wedding days.
- Kate Middleton, now Princess of Wales, married Prince William in a gorgeous Alexander McQueen dress in 2011 that included, like Camilla’s coronation robe, the national flowers of the U.K.’s four nations. These were cut out from lace and then hand-stitched onto the tulle. Queen Elizabeth II lent Kate her tiara, and Kate’s parents gifted her with earrings (something borrowed, something new), while a blue ribbon was sewed on the inside of her Victorian-style dress for good luck. Kate’s bridal bouquet featured sweet William (an obvious tribute to her husband-to-be) and myrtle (honoring the queen, who had also chosen it when she tied the knot in 1947), among other flowers.
- Meghan Markle wowed Prince Harry (and the rest of the world) in a Givenchy wedding dress designed by Clare Waight Keller in 2018. Her veil was embroidered with the national flowers of the 56 Commonwealth states and—as a sweet tribute to her home—the California poppy.
- Princess Diana said “yes” to Charles in 1981 wearing a stunning robe by British designer couple David and Elizabeth Emanuel. Her silk outfit (which she was sewn into!) featured a square of Carrickmacross lace that had previously belonged to Queen Mary, as well as a tiny horseshoe-shaped lucky charm.
- When Queen Elizabeth II wed Prince Philip in 1947, her outfit was inspired by Botticelli’s 1482 painting Primavera and included jasmine, smilax, syringa and roses, along with the Commonwealth flowers to match the theme. The flowery robe symbolized “rebirth and growth” in Britain after the war, according to an official statement.
- Queen Victoria was the royal who made white wedding gowns popular when she married Prince Albert in 1840. Back then, people wed in all sorts of colors, but she deliberately chose white as a symbol of innocence and romance. White also was the color of wealth, which seems equally fitting.
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Sources:
- British Vogue: “Bruce Oldfield, Queen Camilla’s coronation gown designer, has been creating dramatic looks for the royal family for decades”
- Harper’s Bazaar: “The meaning behind Queen Camilla’s coronation outfit”
- Royal School of Needlework: “The Queen’s Robe of Estate”
- The Independent: “The secret names and themes embroidered into Camilla’s coronation gown”
- Town & Country: “The true story of Queen Elizabeth’s wedding dress”
- Town & Country: “The royal reason why brides wear white”
- Marie Claire: “Kate Middleton’s wedding dress included a secret message”
- Newsweek: “How Meghan Markle’s wedding dress was an act of royal rebellion”
- Harper’s Bazaar: “Everything you need to know about Princess Diana’s wedding gown”
