Saturday, July 6, 2013

A Miniature Royal Error

Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence (back row),
not a miniatures occasion. 
Here is Sir Timothy wearing his medals correctly. 
Yes, even members of the Royal Family occasionally make errors when it comes to wearing their orders, decorations and medals. Above we have a photo of HRH The Princess Royal's husband, Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, KCVO, CB, ADC wearing miniatures on the RN Naval Ceremonial Day Coat (aka Flag Officer's Frock Coat). To be fair RN Dress Regs, do not cover this order of dress in detail, no doubt because its wear is limited to members of the Royal Family, Admirals of the Fleet, Second Sea Lord, full Admirals and the Defense Services Secretary (when an RN Officer), so the pool of eligible candidates is small. Given that it is specifically listed as a Naval Ceremonial DAY Coat, it should be obvious that only full size insignia should be worn. Spink's Guide to the Wearing of Orders, Decorations and Medals covers this topic and there is no provision for the wearing of miniature insignia on the Naval Ceremonial Day Coat. Everyone else in the photo is property turned out. One cannot imagine that HRH was terribly impressed with her husband on this occasion! There are many photos of Sir Timothy wearing his medals correctly, so one must assume this was just a wardrobe malfunction. It is also nice to see some RCN representation in the photo above! The RCN Petty Officer 1st Class is wearing his medals correctly.
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5 comments:

  1. Richard GriffithJuly 6, 2013 at 7:29 PM

    Interesting variation in sword belts as well

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  2. Inspector GeneralJuly 7, 2013 at 5:34 PM

    The Full Admiral is wearing the belt introduced in 1893 for Flag Officers and Commodores. Since 1938 this belt is to be worn by all flag officers when in the RN Naval Ceremonial Day Coat, "all other officers wear a plain black sword belt" (at least according to p. 84 of Rank and Rate: Royal Navy Officer's Insignia since 1856). The belt being worn by HRH and Laurence was originally intended for Captains and Commanders. There may well be a more recent regulation related to the more decorative belt being reserved for Admirals of the Fleet and Full Admirals while the old Captains and Commander's belt being for other Flag Officers.

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  3. GinoSeptember 14, 2013 at 8:43 AM

    A keen eye on the sword belts. I have also seen a picture of the Prince of Wales wearing the senior officer's sword belt vice the flag officer belt while wearing a full admiral's uniform. I'm also wondering why only the Princess Royal is wearing her riband of knighthood. You will also note that the First Sea Lord is wearing his medals in the traditional naval swing mounted method. It is unfortunate that the RCN has had court mounting shoved down its throat as a requirement.

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  4. GinoSeptember 14, 2013 at 5:47 PM

    I stand corrected on the riband comment. I was unaware they are normally only worn by knights grand cross.

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  5. HEC-RAS SolutionNovember 29, 2015 at 10:27 PM

    This blog seems to be dedicated to the miniature royal navy sword.

    ReplyDelete