Will Kate Middleton wear a tiara at the royal coronation?

There is reportedly ongoing discussion behind palace walls about whether Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, will wear a tiara to King Charles III’s royal coronation on May 6, or wear a more subtle headpiece for the ceremony instead.

The newly ascended king will be taking on no such modesty, as he is to be crowned with the historic royal headpieces at the ceremony. King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla are set to wear the traditional royal crowns, but it is under debate what the Princess of Wales will wear.

Kate Middleton could go with an understated piece rather than the elite tiara for the crowning ceremony at her father-in-law’s crowning ceremony coming up in May.

King Charles’ “slimmed-down” coronation

The Princess of Wales, in contrast to the king, quite possibly could sport a surprisingly low-key look for the historic proceedings. The break in tradition is reportedly due to King Charles’ determination to “slim down” the royal family, cutting back on its budget, including for paid members of “The Firm”.

The king’s goals as monarch involve widespread cutbacks on tradition right down to the formal dress code at royal events.

Lauren Kiehna, the writer of ‘The Court Jeweller’ and precious gems expert, gave a breakdown of the significance of abandoning the jeweled headpiece at such events.

“I’m certainly hoping we’ll see coronation tiaras, but it’s possible that Charles is following the example of some of his European counterparts, like the King of the Netherlands, and setting a daytime formal dress code for the event,” Kiehna explained.

“That would mean that we could still see some grand jewels, like necklaces, brooches, and earrings but no tiaras,” Kiehna lamented. “I’ll be sad if that’s true but it may just be another part of the ‘de-formalizing’ of the British royal world that has taken place over the last several decades.”

How does it affect the coronation dress code?

If the princess and other female members of the royal family are asked to leave their tiaras at home, then the whole coronation dress code is brought into question.

It would then be assumed that long gowns will be forgone as well, with the “heirloom tiaras potentially replaced with hats or fascinators.”

However, it has been noted by royal observers that the modest style may not go over so well, as Middleton’s fans are greatly anticipating a glamorous Prince Kate at the prestigious ceremony.

Middleton’s final look, therefore, is yet to be determined.

The long-standing precedent of women wearing tiaras to a royal coronation

There is a historic precedent of women in the royal family wearing tiaras to past coronations. Kiehna said King Charles’ coronation will be stylistically very different from Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation seven decades ago.

“Tiaras were worn by nearly every royal lady at the Queen’s coronation in 1953,” Kiehna said, “as well lots of aristocratic women, but times have certainly changed in 70 years.”