Privilege of Peerage - Robes

Robes

Since the early Middle Ages, robes have been worn as a sign of nobility. At first, these seem to have been bestowed on individuals by the monarch or feudal lord as a sign of special recognition; but in the fifteenth century the use of robes became formalised with peers all wearing robes of the same design, though varied according to the rank of the wearer.

Two distinct forms of robe emerged, and these remain in current use: one is worn for parliamentary occasions (such at the State Opening of Parliament), the other is generally worn only at coronations. (Formerly, new peers were invested with their coronation robe by the monarch, but this Investiture ceremony has not take place since 1621.)

Coronets are worn with the Coronation robe; the robes and coronets used at Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953 cost about £1,250 (roughly £26,000 in present-day terms). (Peers under the rank of an Earl, however, were allowed in 1953 to wear a cheaper 'cap of estate' in place of a coronet, as were peeresses of the same rank, for whom a simpler robe (a one-piece gown with wrap-around fur cape) was also permitted).