Issued to guests in early April,King Charles III and Queen Camilla’s official coronation invite divided the UK with some loving the intricate design and others calling it ‘tacky’. But a deep dive reveals that there’s more symbolism on the coronation invitation card that people originally thought.
Designed by Andrew Jamieson - a heraldic (AKA coats of arms) artist and manuscript illustrator - the card was originally hand-painted in watercolour with the design meant to represent multiple different aspects of the UK and King Charles’ reign.
And, because it’s King Charles, naturally the coronation invitation is eco-friendly too, having been printed on recycled card.
The green face or ‘Green Man’ at the bottom of the card in the centre, is apparently a folklore figure who symbolises spring and rebirth. The leaves that form him – oak, ivy and hawthorn – are British, as are the flowers making his crown. In fact, all the flowers scattered across the invite are British wildflowers including daffodils for Wales, thistles for Scotland, shamrocks for Ireland and roses for England. And the crown that the ‘Green Man’ is wearing… well you can surely put two and two together to work that one out.
Both of the birds featured sitting atop the golden ‘C’ - interestingly there is only one C for both Charles and Camilla potentially suggesting that the two will be an equal team - are a robin and a wren, two iconic British birds, but their symbolism actually goes deeper than that. Typically a wren is used to symbolise rebirth whilst the robin is often considered to be a sign for those who are no longer with us such as King Charles’ mother, Queen Elizabeth II. The strawberries around the border are also thought to be a tribute to the former Queen who was known for her love of the fruit, enjoying strawberry jam sandwiches every afternoon.
At the top of the card are the two coats of arms of the future King and Queen – the one on the left for Charles and the one on the right for Camilla. For King Charles’ shield, the lion seen on both represents England, the harp: Ireland and the unicorn in honour of Scotland. The Latin text underneath saying, ‘dieu and mon droit’ which means ‘God and my right’, referencing the supposed divine right of kings. The boar on Camilla’s coat of arms comes from her father Major Bruce Shand.
The stamp of the Duke of Norfolk in the bottom right corner has a more functional role in comparison to the decoration of the coronation invitation, indicating that the Duke – Earl Marshal, Edward Fitzalan-Howard – is in charge of organising the coronation at Westminster. He was also the individual who organised the Queen’s funeral following her death.
Etsy have really got on board with the coronation memorabilia and there’s even a template of the coronation invitation card that you can download and add your name too! Maybe don’t try and use it to get into Westminster Abbey, but it could make for a nice touch if you’re hosting a coronation party over the bank holiday.