Why royal wartime fashion really mattered
The Royal Wardrobe puts the 'war' into wardrobe
Hello Royal Clubbers, it's Danielle here with this month's edition of the Royal Wardrobe.
Given the VE Day commemorations this week, I thought it would be appropriate both to delve into how modern royals pay tribute to the wartime generation, and how the Windsors' wardrobes in the 1940s reflected the age of austerity.
For the procession and the flypast on Monday, the King reflected what his grandfather George VI wore when he stepped onto the Buckingham Palace balcony on VE Day 80 years ago.
Charles poignantly chose to wear the naval No.1 dress uniform without medals, just like George VI.
The Queen paid tribute to her family's military legacy with a 12th Royal Lancers brooch – her late father's regiment – pinned to her sapphire blue wool crepe dress and coat.
The Princess of Wales also wore a brooch fit for the occasion – an RAF wings pin. It was a subtle tribute to Catherine's grandfather, who served in the RAF as a fighter pilot during the Second World War.
Meanwhile, the Princess Royal wore the uniform of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (Princess Royal's Volunteer Corps), emulating what the late Queen Elizabeth II wore when she was a princess appearing on the Palace balcony on VE Day in 1945.
Read on to discover what the royals wore during wartime, including why the Queen Mother divided the nation, the symbolism behind their VE Day attire in 1945, and how Elizabeth II’s wedding was affected by rationing.