In the end, it was bright blue with a jaunty handkerchief thrown into the mix. OK, it’s not quite the same as the years of guessing which colour Queen Elizabeth II would wear for her Christmas speech but the pick of The King for the first festive address of his reign is still an eye opener.
Charles III has chosen to give his debut Christmas speech in that most ancient of places, St. George’s Chapel. Around him are all the usual trimmings – a brightly decorated tree, evergreen boughs for the pews and, overhead, the colourful banners of the Garter Knights and Ladies. However, all eyes remain on King Charles himself and his sartorial pick is a bit of a surprise.
The traditional Christmas colours – red, green, gold and white – make way for cobalt blue. OK, the King’s options were more limited in this regard. If he’d bowled up in a bright red two piece with tartan waistcoat, we’d all have done more than a double take. However, a darker suit with a muted green or red tie might have ticked the festive boxes just as well. Instead, The King is doing things his way and combining nods to the past with a look to the future.
The suit and hankie combo have been seen plenty of times before. We’d expect nothing less from a Monarch who has spent decades pushing for choices that protect the environment. The Christmas tree behind him is decked with sustainable ornaments and The King is decked in sustainable fashion.
But is there also a nod there to a lesson given by Queen Elizabeth II over years? Her Late Majesty always said she had to be seen to be believed and never attended a major event in anything less than an eye popping colour that meant sure that she could be seen, even from the greatest distance amidst the greatest crowds. The blue picked by The King matches just about nothing in St. George’s Chapel and makes His Majesty all the more distinctive for that.
For this is a moment all about King Charles. We all expect him to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II in his speech – he has recorded it in the place where he said his final farewell to her and where now, she lies at rest alongside his ‘’dear papa’’. But this is also a turning point, a moment when His Majesty’s reign moves into a new phase, one that is all his own.
The colour blue can denote inspiration and trust as well as loyalty and faith. But it also is seen as a mark of wisdom and stability. As things change, they remain constant. And just to underline that, cobalt blue was also the shade chosen by Queen Elizabeth II for the Christmas broadcast she made from St. George’s Chapel in 1999. Another link between two Monarchs, between mother and son.
And perhaps, at this season of goodwill, it’s a sign that other traditions can remain, if in a slightly different form. For now he’s given us a bright blue for his first festive speech, surely we have to go back to guessing the colour the Monarch will wear at Christmas?
