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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Katie Mansfield

Kate Middleton could ditch tiara for Coronation - and wear FLOWER crown instead

The Princess of Wales could break from tradition for the King's Coronation and ditch the tiara for something a lot more relaxed.

Kate and senior royals have been in a race against time to finalise their fittings for the Coronation with confusion over whether women will wear tiaras into Westminster Abbey before the Queen Consort enters the church.

At the late Queen's Coronation in 1953, senior royals wore tiaras with the Queen Mother wearing a headpiece from the crown she wore at King George VI's Coronation.

Kate wore flowers in her hair on a visit to the Solomon Islands during her and Prince William's Diamond Jubilee tour (THE DAILY MIRROR/)

The glittering headpieces are usually seen at formal state occasions but Kate, who often favours the Cambridge Lover’s Knot tiara, could be planning to wear a floral arrangement in her hair instead, reports the Times.

If she chooses to ditch the jewels for petals, it apparently won't be the first time Kate has toyed with the idea of a flower crown.

Kate wore the Cartier Halo tiara, lent by the Queen as her something borrowed, on her wedding day in 2011 - but it appears she almost didn't wear one at all.

It's believed that Kate had originally wanted to wear a flower crown, following in the footsteps of her mum Carole who wore flowers in her hair when she married Kate's father Michael in 1980.

Kate wore the Cartier Halo tiara, lent by the Queen, on her wedding day in 2011 (Getty Images)
Kate seen wearing the Cambridge Lover's Knot tiara to a state banquet at Buckingham Palace in 2018 (PA)

Royal author Hugo Vickers said: "Considering that a coronation is the most important state occasion in a reign it would be disappointing to do less than at a state banquet but I guess they want the entire focus on the King and Queen."

The Coronation is expected to reflect the King's love of nature with flowers, birds and insects seen on the invitations.

The Queen Consort's robes will feature a number of plants featured in the robe, all chosen for their personal associations, says Buckingham Palace.

These include Lily of the Valley, which featured in Her Majesty’s wedding bouquet and was a favourite flower of Queen Elizabeth II; myrtle, which represents hope; and delphinium, one of the King’s favourite flowers and the birth flower of July, the birth month of Camilla.

Wildflower seeds are also to be sent to primary schools so that children can mark the coronation by sharing the King's love of nature.

It is hoped children will want to learn about and improve the biodiversity of schools' green spaces and also make them nicer places to work and learn, under the scheme run by the Department for Education (DfE) and the Eden Project.

Charles, known for his belief in sustainability, has recycled royal coats of arms that decorated a chair used during King George VI's coronation for his own enthronement.

After Charles is crowned he will move to a throne chair used by his grandfather and now re-upholstered but featuring the original embroidered coats of arms on the front and back that have been conserved.

The Queen Consort has an identical chair, used by the Queen Mother during George VI's 1937 coronation, but her coats of arms have replaced those of the Queen Mother, having been newly embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework (RSN).

Caroline de Guitaut, deputy surveyor of the King's Works of Art at the Royal Collection Trust, said: "For His Majesty King Charles III's coronation he has wanted very much to re-use things where possible and obviously it's an incredibly efficient and sustainable thing to do.

"So it's giving the chairs I suppose a new life in a slightly different guise, but at the same time respecting that they are historic objects, and conserving them for the future."

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