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Back on duty: Duke of Edinburgh dons full robes for service, but Queen 'dresses down'

The Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen at St Paul's - AFP
The Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen at St Paul's - AFP

The Queen dispensed with her regal robes when she attended a national service celebrating the Order of the British Empire - but the Duke of Edinburgh did not.

As sovereign of the Order the Queen has a grand and imposing mantle with a long train which she normally wears to the event but instead chose a day dress.

The Duke, who is the Order's grand master, wore his robes to the service at St Paul's Cathedral, in London, where hundreds of recipients of the Order's awards - MBE, OBE, CBE and knight or dame commander - had gathered.

St Paul's - Credit: REUTERS/TOBY MELVILLE
The service marked the Centenary of the Order of the British Empire Credit: REUTERS/TOBY MELVILLE

The Queen was dressed in the mantle when the service was last held in 2012, but on Wednesday wore a Stewart Parvin jade green, wool crepe coat and silk dress, in blue and jade green, with a matching hat by Rachel Trevor-Morgan.

Among the guests at the service was Christopher Allan, court and ceremonial manager from Ede & Ravenscroft, said to be London's oldest tailor and robe maker.

He said about the robes worn by the Duke and other senior members of the Order: "They are not as bad as some of the other orders, they're silk satin, the (Order of the) Garter ones are velvet, they are much heavier, these are quite lightweight by comparison."

The Queen - Credit: AP/Tim Ireland
The Queen wore a light outfit for the service Credit: AP/Tim Ireland

Speaking about the Queen's mantle, he said: "She has got a highly stylised one we developed for her way back when, it is like a dress with a train on it but in the silk satin of the Order. Again, it is not as bad as the Garter mantle or the State opening mantle, they are much heavier.

"Anything that has a train on it, that therefore requires a pageboy to carry the train, is to a certain extent cumbersome, your freedom of movement is somewhat restricted if you have a train."

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said it was the "Queen's personal choice to wear day dress".

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