Only a few hours have passed since Frederick He wearing the oldest naval uniform in the world and she in a simple dress in pristine white.
Naval uniforms are a tradition in the Danish Royal Family. It is an essential part of their communication: bicorn hats, shoulder pads, side stripes on the pants and other nineteenth-century buttons that help each solemn act at court acquire a unique splendor.
A suit that contrasted with the sobriety worn by his wife, Mary Donaldson. The Australian, now Queen, chose a “relatively simple” dress in white, as the designer himself, Soeren Le Schmidt, described to Vogue Scandinavia. The Danish designer opted for a long-sleeved suit, with marked shoulders and a slightly flared skirt, made from a wool and viscose mix.
The most striking element was at the neck: “a separate belt that has a voluminous fall from the waist, around the neck and over one shoulder.” Also a brooch with the portrait of Margaret II with a frame of diamonds and pearls was chosen to adorn the dress, as well as a belt of the same fabric with another diamond and ruby ??brooch.
The dress also had a nod to her wedding dress: it was sewn by Birgit Hallstein, the same ‘needle’ who made the Uffe Frank dress with which her wedding to Federico was celebrated. On the other hand, the choice to wear pristine white on the most important day of her life was not a product of chance.
White is a color with a lot of history behind it, especially about the women’s political movement. It is part of the three suffragette colors, according to the words of one of the British political activists and those responsible for women’s suffrage Emmeline Pankhurst, along with violet and green.
Mary of Denmark was not the first to wear this color for the Coronation. At the ascension to the throne of King Charles III, close women – such as Queen Camilla, Kate Middleton and her daughter Princess Charlotte – dressed in white attire. In this case, a tradition that represents the new beginning, a “blank sheet” to write the future.
A tone that refers, in addition to the suffrage movement, to the meanings of “hope, peace, solidarity and resistance.” In the case of the proclamation of Felipe VI, Letizia also opted for a white design signed by Felipe Varela, one of her leading designers.
