The message of strength behind the Royal family’s Christmas Day style
It’s been a year of seismic upheaval for the royal family; in February, Buckingham Palace announced that King Charles had been diagnosed with a form of cancer. Just a month later, the Princess of Wales made the decision to go public with the news that she was receiving preventative chemotherapy for cancer.
The late Queen’s famous annus horribilis of 1992 seems trifling in comparison with the trials of the past year. Which is why the show of unity and coherence at the Church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham estate this Christmas morning was so telling, and a visual show of strength in the dress code and correlation between the two most senior women of the royal household. The Princess of Wales has been gradually phasing back into public life since autumn – this week she appeared in a televised carol service filmed earlier this month wearing a striking crimson coat with black bow from – and her outfit choice on Christmas day was one of consistency and the power of sticking to a style formula that’s familiar.
The Princess of Wales’s coat came courtesy of Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen, a designer and a house she has a rich history with. Burton famously crafted the princess’s wedding dress, and her designs have been a mainstay of Catherine’s wardrobe. This particular coat in festive forest green has been a go-to in her wardrobe for years, and it was the Burton that Catherine turned to for Christmas 2023 at Sandringham in the form of a cobalt blue coat.
She accessorised it with a matching fascinator by Gina Foster and wool scarf in tartan, alongside her trusty Gianvito Rossi boots in black suede – which she wore on Christmas day last year – and Grace Han bag. Her blue topaz earrings are courtesy of Robinson Pelham, the British jeweller who was commissioned by her parents to craft the earrings she wore to her wedding. Burton left Alexander McQueen last year, but her designs – rather than that of her successor Sean McGirr – have been recycled time and time again by the princess.
It was an ensemble designed to sit harmoniously alongside the Queen’s deep green coat from Anna Valentine, the designer who crafted her wedding dress, and previously part of her countryside wardrobe – the Queen wore it to the Cheltenham races earlier this year.
But it was the sentimental nod to the late Queen Elizabeth II that was most telling; the distinctive brooches on her collar are the Cartier Greville Ivy Leaf Clips in platinum and pave diamonds, designed in 1930 and 1937 respectively, and presented to Queen Elizabeth on her 21st birthday, a gift from her parents. The monarch wore them 75 years later at her Platinum Jubilee. It was a reminder of Queen Elizabeth’s unwavering consistency and fortitude, at a time when the royal family needs it most.
Nine year old Princess Charlotte adopted the uniform of her brothers Prince Louis and Prince George in a smart navy coat. Prince William at 42 has had something of a style evolution this year, with his newly grown beard becoming something of a talking point. For Christmas day, the facial fuzz stayed in the picture, although his traditional tailoring kept things classically ‘safe’. None of those recent eco-friendly trainers from cult brand Purify for church, clearly.
The King’s handsome camel coat is part of his Sandringham wardrobe, a classic double-breasted cover-up that he’s previously worn at the Norfolk royal home. The King has relied on Anderson & Sheppard for his coats and tailoring for over forty years, and it’s likely that this version – rather more polished than his faithful wool herringbone overcoat from the house – is courtesy of the historic Mayfair tailor. Princess Beatrice matched her uncle in a belted camel coat, a ‘quiet luxury’ code of dress that’s been prevalent in fashion over the last couple of years.
Her father Prince Andrew was tellingly not present in the royal line-up – recent allegations around his dealings with an alleged Chinese ‘spy’ have mired him in controversy once again – but Beatrice’s stylistic approach was one of ‘keep calm and carry on’ uniformity. It’s a method that Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh applies to her wardrobe too – in this wretched year for the royals she’s been one of the most hard working, clocking in at number five on the list of hardest working British royals – and for Christmas she kept to that restrained style formula in the form of a cornflower blue belted coat from Emilia Wickstead with matching Jane Taylor hat.
The Princess Royal – who coincidentally topped the list as the most ferociously no nonsense royal – kept to that pragmatic country formula in a festive red jacket and matching tartan skirt. No moodboarding and fashion frippery, just jolly good clothes to get the job done.
But the real focus of the parade was to demonstrate the show of strength and togetherness between the Princess of Wales and Queen Camilla. In subtle ways, they demonstrated that this most trying year won’t dent their spirit.
