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All the major royal traditions that were broken on Coronation day

All the major royal traditions that were broken on Coronation day

The coronation of King Charles III is a day filled with history and tradition

The coronation of King Charles III is an event steeped in history and heritage, but there are a number of traditions that were broken as the monumental event unfolded.

Charles officially became King in a ceremony at Westminster Abbey today (6 May), where his wife, Camilla, also gained a new title as she became the Queen.

The events followed a strict schedule with lots of procedures in place, but multiple members of the royal family decided to use the opportunity subvert tradition in a few different ways.

The coronation date

King Charles III has been quite nice to those looking to celebrate his coronation because, in case you haven't noticed, the event has taken place on a Saturday. And not only is it a weekend, but we also get a bonus Bank Holiday on Monday to extend the celebrations.

This means there's three whole days of partying to be done, but the decision to hold the event on a weekend marks a change from similar events in the past.

The majority of coronations have previously been held on a weekday, with Charles' mother, Queen Elizabeth II, holding hers on a Tuesday and her father, George VI, crowned on a Wednesday.

Coronations have previously taken place on weekends.
Instagram/@theroyalfamily

The coach

Those who have watched the coronation unfold today will have struggled to miss Charles' ride into the event - the impressive, golden Diamond Jubilee State Coach.

It was certainly a vehicle fit for a King - but not one typically seen at coronations. Every single coronation since William IV's in 1831 has instead seen monarchs travel in the Gold State Coach, made by the coachmaker Samuel Butler.

However, Charles opted for the Diamond Jubilee State Coach after it was made specially for his mother's 60th anniversary. He used the Diamond Jubilee State Coach to travel to Westminster, but reverted slightly on the return journey, when he and Camilla used the Gold State Coach.

Charles only used the Gold State Coach to travel back to Buckingham Palace.
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King Charles' outfit

The new King did stick to a lot of traditions during the events at Westminster Abbey, for example wearing just one white glove during the ceremony, but if he'd stuck to them entirely then he more likely would have done so while wearing silk stockings and breeches.

Instead, Charles chose to wear his military uniform for the event.

Kate Middleton and Princess Charlotte's accessories.

Prince William's wife Kate was subtle in the way she subverted from tradition as she did so simply with the accessory she chose to wear on her head.

Royal events such as coronations have previously welcomed a lot of female members of the royal family wearing tiaras, with Lauren Kiehna, writer of The Court Jeweller, telling People: "Tiaras were worn by nearly every royal lady at the Queen's coronation in 1953, as well lots of aristocratic women but times have certainly changed in 70 years."

But instead of a jewelled piece of headwear, Kate instead opted for a silver headband featuring a collection of sequinned leaves - an accessory thought potentially to be a nod to Charles' love of nature.

Kate's daughter, eight-year-old Charlotte, appeared wearing a white dress with a matching cape draped over her shoulders, but she followed in the footsteps of her mother as she subverted tradition with an intricate headband of her own.

Designed by milliner Jess Collett and Alexander McQueen, Charlotte's headband was a smaller version of her mother's, featuring its own collection of silver leaves.

Queen Camilla's crown

Bet you can't guess how the new Queen broke tradition! Okay, you guessed it, once again it comes down to headgear - though as Queen, it wasn't a tiara fans were expecting to see on her head.

Instead, the new Queen broke tradition by opting to wear an existing crown, rather than copying previous monarchs in commissioning a crown of her own.

Camilla instead wore Queen Mary’s 1911 coronation crown at the event - a decision which came in a bid to promote 'sustainability and efficiency'.

Traditions often mean a lot in events like the coronation, but the fact that we still made it to the end of the day with Charles as the new King proves that they're not the be-all and end-all!

Featured Image Credit: All the major royal traditions that were broken on Coronation day

Topics: Coronation, King Charles III, Kate Middleton

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