All About Kate Middleton's Coronation Robe
The future Queen wore a traditional blue robe to reflect her status as a senior royal
There was much speculation about what Kate Middleton would wear to the Coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla — but virtually no one predicted that she would arrive in a traditional blue robe that reflected her status as a senior royal.
That's because initially, according to Vogue, King Charles had discouraged members of the aristocracy from wearing elaborate robes or coronets, preferring that they wear "standard business attire."
However, that edict was changed at the last moment, so Kate arrived at the coronation wearing a blue and red Royal Victorian Order — part of her uniform as a Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, according to Vogue.
The traditional robe covered up her gown, a dress by Alexander McQueen (who was behind her 2011 wedding gown) in ivory silk crepe with silver bullion and thread work embroidery featuring rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock motifs to signify the four nations of the U.K.
Related:Kate Middleton's Royal Style: Every Outfit Worn by the Princess of Wales in 2023...So Far
Princess Charlotte, 8, matched her mom in an Alexander McQueen dress with the same designs.
Queen Camilla's attire was similar — and that was done deliberately, royal embroiderer Chloe Savage exclusively tells PEOPLE.
"Kate and Camilla together were involved," says the expert embroiderer, who was previously tapped for both Princess Kate and Meghan Markle's royal wedding gowns.
"The whole floral theme, if you look at the train of Camilla, her Robes of State which were custom done, full of floral embroidery. If you noted, all the girls wore floral themes. Floral runs through consistently as a royal family theme down to Meghan's veil. It's all significant, what gets used," she says of the symbolism on display at Westminster Abbey on Saturday.
Savage had a hand in Kate and Camilla's formal coronation robes, saying "months" were spent on the ceremonial vestments, and contributed to the Princess of Wales' floral silver headpiece. The Jess Collett x Alexander McQueen topper featured silver bullion, crystal and silver thread work with three-dimensional leaf embroidery — and a mini version was made for Princess Charlotte!
"Everyone had a bit of a go because they needed so many flowers and leaves," Savage says of her embellishments.
As the wife of Prince William, heir to the throne, Princess Kate kept the focus on Queen Camilla on coronation day by wearing a flower crown in lieu of a traditional tiara — but the Princess of Wales still needed a regal headpiece.
When deciding on what Kate would wear on her head, hats were ruled out, Savage tells PEOPLE: "Of course hats aren't going to work when you're going to be photographed from above. It's going to get in the way of everything, so hats were a no-go."
And with a tiara out, "custom headpieces was a sensible route. And of course, Kate matched her and Charlotte's."
Another fun matching moment? Savage, a graduate of Paris' prestigious École Lesage embroidery school, also notes that "Charlotte's dress is also a miniature of the one the [Queen's Companions] wore, in the same cream satin."
(The Queen's sister Annabel Elliot and friend Fiona Mary Petty-Fitzmaurice stepped into the spotlight to support her as Queen's Companions, a modern spin on Queen Elizabeth's six maids of honor from her 1953 crowning.)
"I suspect it's a bolt of fabric," she continued. "I suspect they bought one specific bolt, and it's all from the same because they're absolutely dead matching. There's no way that's by accident."
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