The Duke of Edinburgh passed away at the age of 99 on Friday. In line with his wishes, the Duke will be given a ceremonial royal funeral. The funeral will be broadcast on the BBC, and will happen at St George’s Chapel, Windsor on Saturday, April 17. Buckingham Palace has confirmed that the funeral is to comply with current Covid-19 guidelines that allow only 30 guests to participate.
What to expect from Dress code for Royal funeral and mourning period?
Royal family members are expected to wear black or dark colours and mourning bands in honour of Prince Philip. Prince Charles was seen in dark blue suit and black tie. The Prince of Whales has been wearing a dark blue suit for funeral of Princess Diana as well which suggests that dark colours are equally appropriate as black colour in royal mourning dress code.
The suit that Charles was wearing was Diana’s favorite according to royal author Brian Hoey who, in 1997, said that she had even helped the Prince choose it. According to People at the time, he said: “She preferred him in blue than in black or grey. It was a lovely, silent compliment to her”
Members of Parliament will also be expected to wear black armbands on their left arm as part of the mourning period. Men can also wear black ties with dark suits.
TV presenters are also expected to wear black or dark colors as a sign of respect when announcing the death of a royal family member. Back in 2002, BBC received huge criticism when presenter Peter Sissons wore a burgundy tie and grey suit to announce the news of the Queen Mother’s death.
For those wearing a military uniform black armband will be necessary. Charles, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge, and the Earl of Wessex are all expected to attend in military uniforms. After losing his role as Captain General of the Royal Marines, which he had taken over from his grandfather in 2017, Harry will most likely not be wearing military uniform to the funeral.
Black-edged stationery will be used for all communications relating to the Duke’s death.
History of Mourning and Funeral dress codes.
There isn’t a lot known about exact royal dress code rules but from limited information that is available from royal experts, all royal family members are expected to carry black mourning outfits with them whenever they travel, in case a family member dies while they are on their trips. This is required as, as soon as a death of royal family member is confirmed, members of the Royal Family and representatives of the Royal Family are expected to wear black or dark colours and mourning bands, according to tradition.
The black outfit rule while on trips was introduced after Elizabeth was without any black mourning clothes when her father, King George VI, died on February 6, 1952 as she was visiting Kenya when she heard the news. When attending the royal funerals, female members of royal family are expected to follow the traditional protocol of wearing a hat or a fascinator, men will be in suits and black ties or military uniforms.
Female royals should also be wearing a black dress or skirt that falls just on the knee or below accompanied with tights, as reportedly recommended by Queen Elizabeth.
Princess Diana
When speaking of royal funerals it is impossible not to remember the funeral of Diana, Princess of Whales. Two thousand people attended the ceremony in Westminster Abbey while the British television audience reached 32.10 million – one of the UK’s record viewing figures. The viewings worldwide estimated at 2.5 billion people. The death of Diana, Princess of Wales on 31 August 1997 and her funeral on 6 September were associated with a 30% reduction in calls to the police and a 28% drop in public order offences during the week of informal public mourning.
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