King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince Edward and the Duchess of Edinburgh were in Scotland on Tuesday to officially kick off Holyrood Week. This year’s Holyrood Week is abbreviated because of the UK’s general election tomorrow, the Fourth of July. The Windsors are using the election as an excuse to not do much, even though there have been plenty of events in recent weeks where they looked especially cozy with the Tories. I hope British people get out to vote! I’ve already seen some Tory scare tactics in the British tabloids, lots of screaming about how Labour will raise your taxes. Is that all they’ve got?
Holyrood Week is supposed to be a week where the king is based in Edinburgh and living in Holyrood Palace. King Charles started the “week” with a ceremony in which he was symbolically “given the key” to the city of Edinburgh (there is a physical key, but Charles only touched the key rather than put the key on his key chain). According to the BBC, Charles also did an inspection of the guard of honour at the palace, then he did an investiture ceremony. Queen Camilla held a reception for Scottish literacy.
After all of that, Camilla and Charles hosted a garden party at Holyrood Palace, and they were joined by Sophie and Edward. The papers are making a big deal about how Camilla and Sophie “coordinated” in shades of blue, but this is just lowkey flag-dressing (the Scottish flag is blue and white). Plus, Sophie’s whole look was AWFUL. I actually think she was trying to look frumpy so she wouldn’t outshine She Who Neighs. Speaking of, Camilla wore a Fiona Clare coatdress and a special brooch from the Royal Collection. This is a diamond thistle brooch which once belonged to Queen Mary (wife of King George V). A minor peeve of mine is that Camilla wears gloves too often when the occasion really doesn’t call for it. This is a garden party in July – ditch the gloves.
Last thing: Prince William will be in Edinburgh today and he’ll join the rest of this crew at St. Giles’ Cathedral. He’ll watch as Charles appoints Prince Edward and Queen Camilla to the Order of the Thistle, a special Scottish chivalry order. William is already part of the Thistle cult. The only thing I really know about the Order of the Thistle is that they have the prettiest velvet capes in a lovely, rich shade of hunter green. William’s wife is not expected to join him in Scotland.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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- Edinburgh, Scotland, 2 July 2024: King Charles III meets Victoria Webber, one of the first female High Constables during the Sovereign’s Garden Party held at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. The party is part of The King’s trip to Scotland for Holyrood Week.,Image: 886704627, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Jane Barlow / Avalon
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- Edinburgh, Scotland, 2 July 2024: King Charles III during the Sovereign’s Garden Party held at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. The party is part of The King’s trip to Scotland for Holyrood Week.,Image: 886704653, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Jane Barlow / Avalon
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- Edinburgh, Scotland, 2 July 2024: King Charles III during the Sovereign’s Garden Party held at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. The party is part of The King’s trip to Scotland for Holyrood Week.,Image: 886708977, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Jane Barlow / Avalon
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- Edinburgh, Scotland, 2 July 2024: The Duchess of Edinburgh greets guests during the Sovereign’s Garden Party held at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. The party is part of The King’s trip to Scotland for Holyrood Week.,Image: 886709111, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Jane Barlow / Avalon
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- Edinburgh, Scotland, 2 July 2024: Queen Camilla during the Sovereign’s Garden Party held at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. The party is part of The King’s trip to Scotland for Holyrood Week.,Image: 886709129, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Jane Barlow / Avalon
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- Edinburgh, Scotland, 2 July 2024: Queen Camilla during the Sovereign’s Garden Party held at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. The party is part of The King’s trip to Scotland for Holyrood Week.,Image: 886709158, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Jane Barlow / Avalon
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- Edinburgh, Scotland, 2 July 2024: The Duchess of Edinburgh during the Sovereign’s Garden Party held at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. The party is part of The King’s trip to Scotland for Holyrood Week.,Image: 886709456, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Jane Barlow / Avalon
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- Edinburgh, Scotland, 2 July 2024: Queen Camilla greets guests during the Sovereign’s Garden Party held at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. The party is part of The King’s trip to Scotland for Holyrood Week.,Image: 886709533, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Jane Barlow / Avalon
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- King Charles III inspects bandsmen during the Ceremony of the Keys on the forecourt of the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, which is part of his trip to Scotland for Holyrood Week Featuring: King Charles III inspects bandsmen Where: Edinburgh, United Kingdom When: 02 Jul 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- King Charles III and Queen Camilla with the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh during the Sovereign’s Garden Party held at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. The party is part of The King’s trip to Scotland for Holyrood Week Featuring: King Charles III, Queen Camilla, Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh Where: Edinburgh, United Kingdom When: 02 Jul 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- King Charles III and Queen Camilla with the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh during the Sovereign’s Garden Party held at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. The party is part of The King’s trip to Scotland for Holyrood Week Featuring: King Charles III, Queen Camilla, Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh Where: Edinburgh, United Kingdom When: 02 Jul 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
Sophie’s dress is too long.
I wonder if Sophie has some varicose veins or similar that she’s covering. She’s consistently worn below-calf hemlines for a bit now. If it were me, it would probably be hiding a giant bruise since I’m clumsy! I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it but would love to have the royal women realize pants are an option.
Camilla’s blue Gumby jumpsuit gets a lot of grief but I just appreciate she tried something new.
It’s a combo of too long and not long enough. The same with her sleeves. I’m not a fan of that mid-length short sleeve – either a couple of inches shorter or take them down to below the elbow.
And she needs a good bra. She looks like a well-kept 70 here, gawd.
At this point, I think the royal women are trolling us w/their bad bras. It’s epidemic. I think it’s their way of saying eff you to us peasant women with our lifted and separated boobs
I loathe Camilla’s frumpy zip up coat dresses, they’re hideous. She needs to talk to her daughter in law about finding some damn buttons
Sara Parker Bowles doesn’t seem to wear many buttons…
Agree @ Jillian. I think she’s trying to emulate QEII and the Queen Mother who basically wore the same style dress|coat for decades. Not working though.
Camilla is the anti-buttons! Kate must have cleaned out the entire royal button reserves!
Seriously though, for someone with full-time professional dressers, her consistent wearing of this style of zipper front dress makes me wonder if it’s necessary due to a lack of joint mobility and limited range of motion. We know she has arthritis and osteoporosis. I absolutely hate the ableist reluctance of the royals to be seen in a wheelchair or with a cane as if it’s shameful, I’m not going to criticize the front zip dresses because it seems like it might be a physical accommodation.
Yes, my grandmother used to wear zip-front housedresses for that same reason. Also, she couldn’t wear conventional bras – she couldn’t reach the back clasp ones and her fingers were too stiff for the front clasp ones. She had bras that were like a workout tank top that she could step into and pull up. Not a lot of support, but at least she wasn’t “flapping in the breeze” as she put it.
The dress is an embarassment. It looks like a housecoat from the 70s, and a cheap one at that. Side-piece just does not want to put in the work of looking even marginally appropriate. Surprised she’s not shuffling around in slippers.
Haha you’re right, this is the same housecoat you would see my mom wearing, looking tired and grumpy, in the snapshots of a family surrounded by open boxes and crushed wrapping paper on Xmas morning.
I’m laughing because Kate actually has a very similar coatdress. She wore it to a service at Westminster Abbey.
Sophie always looks like a very frumpy mother of the bride
Does Camzilla look orange or is that just how the photos are making her appear?
She isn’t usually that shade, perhaps it’s the light.
Perhaps she had a secret tryst with Trump…….for England, ya know.
Oh my goodness Charles is aging so badly .
Nope, and neither is William. Chuck looks like one of the Goblins at Gringott’s Bank.
>Chuck looks like one of the Goblins at Gringott’s Bank.
No-so-subtly racist? That tracks.
Regarding the gloves, it may relate to shaking hands. A friend of mine once met Charles and Camilla at an event in San Francisco.
Her biggest takeaway was that Charles is very short and Camilla has the limpest handshake she had ever encountered.
I think Camilla dislikes shaking hands and the gloves are a buffer. Or maybe the gloves are to disguise the hooves.
😂
The late Queen used to wear gloves a lot, it was suggested to protect her hands from all the hand shaking, but my mother, who was older than the late Queen never went out without gloves winter and summer, in the summer she used to carry them, a generational thing but I would have thought that Camilla was a bit young for that, maybe she just doesn’t like the look of her hands so she covers them up.
A lot of older women have issues with skin conditions on the hands as the skin becomes thinner – think cuts, rashes, open sores, can’t tolerate manicures, skin will bleed if lightly nicked by a fingernail etc.
This was my thought too, Cali.
Queen Elizabeth always wore gloves so I’m guessing she is just following the same thing. If I had to shake hands with all kinds of people I would want gloves also.
I was in Scotland this week and it was freezing: the start to summer has been non stop rain and cold weather. Her wearing gloves is totally logical considering the weather.
Oh yay another costume garden party😴😴.
Peg isn’t there
Did he start his vacation
He had to get back to check on Kate and do the school run.
For someone her son claims didn’t want to be queen, she sure is raiding the vault.
And how! That’s quite a brooch, but it looks a bit too much like a mace for my comfort though, I don’t doubt Sophie is keeping her head down to avoid risking Cam’s ire. Kate got hers for wearing the Party Pieces tiara and Anne’s been bonked in the head! Sophie doesn’t want to be next.
“Thistle While You (do what passes for) Work”
All they need is a few more dwarves. They’ve got the Wicked Queen down pat.
I’m sure Andrew’s got a crew of dwarves on speed dial!
Wear those diamonds while you can, Camilla. I feel your gravy train will arrive at the station sooner rather than later.
Unless an item belongs specifically to the royal collection, not just on their website, Charles could gift her the whole kit and kaboodle if he wanted.
I do like Camilla in light blue. It really suits her.
Hah! I was thinking the same, I enjoy a good fun pile on the Camzilla train, but I think she looks halfway decent here, the color suits her, she is obviously fond of this easy no fuss style and carries it off. When you get to a certain age, no shame in that game.
Did Camilla leave the shoes that worked with that dress behind in England?
She’s such a tasteless frump.
Get why you say that, but it’s infinitely better than KM’s ghastly matchy-matchy shoes to clothes vibe.
Sophie’s face in the top photo – she looks like she just bit on a lemon. What a sour expression! Charles is starting to look really ill…sunken bloodshot eyes with huge bags, pale…He just looks quite frail these days. I don’t wish ill on anyone and am not trying to be unkind, but I wonder if we will be getting an announcement about his declining health by the end of the summer.
The honours for the working royals seem to be coming thick and fast. It seems every second event is some royal getting a honour or tricket. Camilla and Edward were inducted in the Order of the Thistle, the Scottish order, since they were in Scotland.
I like the dress on Sophie but don’t love the length. I think it’s too long for her height and body type. She seems to be following the fashion of longer day dresses, but this is too long for her. She needs something just slightly below the knee. And I miss appropriate knee length dresses!
I just flew out of Edinburgh this morning and it was COLD. Sophie was likely freezing. Yes it is summer but it’s been quite chilly up there the last couple weeks.
It was 60°F in Edinburgh yesterday, I think the gloves are acceptable.
I find it odd that Harry has none of these orders. All of the Queens children have them but no one thought to give any of these to Harry. He is more accomplished than any of them. How does this happen? He served in the military and as a diplomatic going all over the world for Queen. Maybe he was blocked because of jealousy? He certainly was disrespected by that family.
That’s what happens when you leave a cult. Blocked and disrespected. Punished.
@AngieD I found it odd as well. Harry was definitely blocked and denied any accolades from that gritting family despite all of the work he did for them. The fact that Charles didn’t provide decent apts in any of the palaces for either son and instead gave NC first to W, then H, just further reveals what an awful father and person Charles is and has always been. Makes you wonder why QE didn’t do more for W&H.
For all we know she may have tried to, perhaps she thought that she had, but the men in grey never let any such positivity see the light of day.
Philip too, one imagines, would have wanted to future-proof things for H&M. I always thought he too had a soft spot for them, and he must have had concerns about W&K.
Harry is a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, fwiw.