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For the past seven decades, they have been carefully preserved in their ancestral homes awaiting the day when they can finally make another appearance before the watching world.
The coronation robes are among the most precious heirlooms of the oldest families in the country, made at great expense from the most sumptuous materials, but worn for only a few hours by each generation.
Or at least they were, until the king agreed to wipe out more than 500 years of tradition by banning them from his own ceremony next month.
Some members of the aristocracy have expressed horror at the idea that they will have to attend the coronation wearing nothing more refined than a business suit.
Remonstrances have been made through official channels, but the decision has been taken by the King on government advice and there is little hope of a reprieve.
It means coronets will be all but absent from the ceremony, as will the distinctive scarlet robes with ermine cloaks that were such a colorful part of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953.
“I am very sorry for the decision that has been made,” said a hereditary peer. “Our dresses date back to the 19th century and I would have been the fifth generation to wear them. It’s very sad.
Viscount Torrington, joint president of the Hereditary Peerage Association, who was not invited to the coronation, said: “It’s a real shame and something that has come up in the coronation discussions.
“Ironically, the coronation robes are somewhat less flamboyant than the parliamentary robes, and I thought the idea was to make the ceremony less flamboyant, so the coronation robes could have been better.
“It’s disappointing for many people, but in truth there will be very few colleagues present.”
The only coronation guests who will be allowed to wear scarlet are sitting members of the House of Lords, who will be able to don their parliamentary robes – worn each year at the state opening of Parliament – if they wish. They are less sumptuous than the coronation robes and do not include coronets, swords, pumps, breeches or undercoats.
Some senior peers who have been given ceremonial roles in the service – performed by their families at successive coronations – may be permitted to wear the coronation robes.
Only a small number of peers have been invited to the coronation, which will be the first to take place since hereditary peers lost their automatic right to sit in the House of Lords.
Ceremonial dress for members of the nobility was introduced in the 15th century and coronation robes were standardized 200 years later.
Because they are only worn for coronations, they tend to be passed down from generation to generation, usually stored in the metal boxes in which they were originally delivered.
Crowns and robes vary according to peerage, with barons, the lowest rank, wearing a headband decorated with six silver balls on their heads. The crowns become more elaborate through the ascending ranks of viscount, earl, marquis and duke, with a duke’s crown set with gold strawberry leaves.
Separately, it has emerged that the holiest part of the Coronation ceremony – the anointing – will not be caught on camera.
As with Queen Elizabeth’s coronation, the anointing of the King with holy oil on her hands, head and chest will take place in private.
It comes after previous reports suggested that a transparent canopy was made especially for the occasion so that the public could see the anointing for the first time.
Royal sources said a means has been found to ensure the moment remains private, but it won’t be performed under a canopy as it was for his late mother’s coronation, it is intended. On that occasion a canopy of gold cloth was held over Queen Elizabeth II’s head to protect her privacy.
The sacred moment takes place before the investiture and coronation of the monarch.
The tradition is based on the Old Testament, where the anointing of Solomon by the priest Zadok and the prophet Nathan is described.
It has traditionally been done to confirm that the ruler has been directly appointed by God.
