They've been preparing for this day - Operation Golden Orb, aka the coronation of King Charles III - for months and months. Now, it's finally happening. Queen Camilla, as she will be known after today's ceremony, looked quietly dignified as she sat beside her husband in the carriage this morning. As they disembarked outside Westminster Abbey, onlookers and cameras got a first look at her gown, a beautifully embroidered number by one of her long-time favourites, Bruce Oldfield. (The designer also, famously, dressed Princess Diana. According to the Daily Mail, he once said: 'I gave Diana her glamour and Camilla her confidence.')
The couturier designed a beautifully simple yet stunning gown in pearl white with an ankle-sweeping silhouette and a soft V-neck. She didn't, of course, arrive wearing a crown as she will be crowned after King Charles III, with an adapted version of Queen Mary's Crown.
Interesting, all the senior members of the royal family - including Sophie, Countess of Wessex, Kate, Princess of Wales and even Princess Charlotte - wore white, prompting speculation as to why. (Kate wore, as expected, a gown by Alexander McQueen, along with a floral headpiece by Jess Collett, a milliner based in London, and Alexander McQueen. Princess Charlotte wore a striking caped dress with a sparkly headpiece that mirrored her mother's.)
It's not unusual for the family to wear similar or coordinating shades - they often wear a soft blue for Easter, for example - but white is a particularly interesting colour to have chosen. It symbolises purity and is also one of the colours of the Union Jack. Could it be sending a subtle message of wiping the state clean, putting the past behind them and, most importantly, presenting a united front going forward? Very possibly.