The crucial proviso pertained to the dress code. After Edward’s death, two separate but overlapping periods of mourning had been decreed. The first, to be observed for a calendar year, was Court mourning, which applied to the Royal Family and those in attendance upon it. The second, lasting for eight weeks, was general mourning, which was due to expire on 30 June. At Court, full mourning of unrelieved black would abate to half mourning on 7 November, after which white, grey and various shades of purple would be acceptable. Those frequenting the Royal Enclosure were bound by the dictates of
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