As Royal Central continues to look back on the iconic looks from The Queen’s reign, we turn to the famous outfit she wore at the Investiture of the Prince of Wales.
On 26 July 1958 Prince Charles, The Queen’s eldest son, was made the Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester by letters patent. |However, his investiture did not take place until 1 July 1969 at Caernarfon Castle. Watched by millions on television, the ceremony formally acknowledged a new Prince of Wales, and Charles was presented and invested with the insignia of his rank and duty. An Investiture is purely ceremonial as the title is created by letters patent.
Simone Mirman designed Her Majesty’s hat. The French milliner had been designing hats for members of the Royal Family since 1952. The hat was made of a pale, primrose yellow silk, and consisted of a crown entirely embroidered with pearls and bugle beads. Attached to a panel of silk, it was embroidered and goes all the way around the back of the head and to the nape of the neck. Appearing to be inspired by Tudor prototypes, the style was repeated on several occasions with different colours and materials.
The Queen turned to one of her favourite designers, Sir Norman Hartnell, for a primrose yellow silk dress that was described as “a silk crepe long-sleeved coat and matching tunic.” To match the hat, it’s applied with pearl and bugle bead embroidery.
The Queen’s hat actually caused quite a stir as it was felt by some people in Wales it was too informal for the pomp and ceremony of the occasion. Instead, they felt Her Majesty should have worn a crown. It was Prince Charles who wore the regal headwear that day. He wore the Coronet of Charles, designed specifically for use on this day by the artist Louis Osman and gifted by the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths.
The coronet is gold with diamonds set in platinum. Featuring 75 diamonds and 12 emeralds, it weighs 1.36 kilograms and has not been worn since the Investiture. Rather, it has been in storage at St James’s Palace since 2011.
