King Charles To Reuse Historic Garments For Coronation

King Charles III will wear clothing previously worn by his predecessors, including his mother and grandfather for his coronation next week.

Gatekeepers News reports that Charles, 74, will be crowned on May 6 at London’s Westminster Abbey in a grand ceremony in which he will wear or be given regalia with religious and historical significance.

Many of the items, such as the crowns and sceptres, date back centuries, but Charles will also reuse some garments from coronations since 1821 “in the interests of sustainability and efficiency,” Buckingham Palace said.

The coronation glove made for his grandfather, George VI, will be among the vestments to be reintroduced.

“We’ve got this wonderful, sustainable, eco-friendly king who’s reusing something rather than having a new glove,” said Deborah Moore, the chief executive of Dents which made the glove with gold embroidery for George VI’s 1937 coronation.

“It’s also a little bit of heritage, a bit of looking back to the past for our very modern king,” said Moore, whose firm also made the glove for the 1953 coronation of Charles’ mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

During the ceremony, the glove, made of white leather embroidered with gilt metal thread, is placed on the monarch’s right hand as a reminder that the sovereign should be gentle when raising taxes.

Charles will also wear his grandfather’s “Colobium Sindonis,” a white linen shift-like tunic, as well as the sword belt he wore, eschewing the tradition of having a new one made.

Other regalia Charles will wear during the service includes the ‘supertunica,’ a full-length, sleeved coat of gold silk made for the coronation of King George V, Charles’ great-grandfather, and worn by subsequent monarchs, including Elizabeth.

Over this, he will wear the Imperial Mantle, made of cloth of gold and originally produced for the coronation of George IV in 1821.

“They are fairly heavy to wear,” said Caroline de Guitaut, Deputy Surveyor of the King’s Works of Arts.