Queen Camilla recycles feathery dress for Bristol primary school visit

Queen Camilla made a green statement as she carried out her first royal engagement since her Coronation in a recycled dress. The Queen was in Bristol today (May 18) as she launched a national Coronation Libraries initiative at Shirehampton Primary School in the north west of the city.

As she shook hands with teachers and children’s authors and took part in a lesson with Shirehampton pupils, Camilla showed off her thrifty flair in a dress she has worn on past engagements. The 75-year-old royal, who was crowned at Westminster Abbey alongside her husband, King Charles III, nearly two weeks ago, wore a navy dress adorned with colourful feathers from different bird species for today’s occasion.

Camilla first wore the long-sleeved dress during a visit to Whittington Hospital in London back in May 2021, before repurposing it for a tour of the South West as she and the then-Prince of Wales looked around Exeter Cathedral. The garment, which flows to her mid-calf and is slightly tapered around the waist, made another appearance when the King and Queen visited Project Zero Walthamstow around a month after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Read more: Queen Camilla at Bristol school in first solo visit since the Coronation

Whilst many of us re-wear our clothes time and time again, Camilla and other royals, including the Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Sussex, have been praised in recent years for recycling their outfits.

The Queen sat in on lessons today which saw Shirehampton pupils create their “dream library” as she visited the school to launch the Coronation Libraries initiative. The initiative will see 50 “Coronation Libraries” that will be created in schools across the UK in the next year to mark her and King Charles’ Coronation earlier this month.

The Queen took part in the day’s activities, including a draw-along session, where she chatted with Shirehampton pupil Ireoluwa Adegbuyi (Image: Getty Images)

Former Children’s Laureate Cressida Cowell, who wrote the popular ‘How To Train Your Dragon’ children’s book series, led the library designing session, which also involved representatives from Arts Council England, the publishers Oxford University Press and the charity BookTrust, which has the Queen as its patron. After, the Queen was taken on a tour of Shirehampton’s new library, where Horrid Henry author Francesca Simon was holding a reading session, by two pupil librarians.