'Butterfly brooch', 'red dress': West Bengal's village girl's handmade designs to be donned by King Charles III, Queen at Coronation

By Syeda Shabana Parveen

Hooghly (West Bengal) [India], May 1 : Happiness of Priyanka Mallick, a fashion designer from West Bengal's Hooghly district knew no bounds after she received a transcontinental e-mail cum appreciation letter straight from the United Kingdom, thanking her enough for designing a "butterfly brooch" for His Majesty The King Charles III.

Priyanka Mallick was doubled with joy after she came to know that two of her designs found their way from a white sheet of paper to the evening party of the Coronation ceremony, scheduled to be held on May 7, 2023.

Not only The King Charles III, but Camilla, the Queen Consort, will also don a rose-centred red dress designed by Priyanka.

29-year-old, Priyanka, comes from a small village situated about 50 km from Kolkata. She holds degrees from Italy's Milan, Harward and the Stanford University of the US. She is also a member of the Royal Commonwealth Society of the UK.

After Priyanka recieved the direct invite to be a part of the Coronation of The King Charles III, a symbolic ceremony combining a religious service and pageantry, her family also looked overjoyed and expressed immense happiness on seeing her progress.

"We are very happy with her progress. A village girl has reached Buckingham Palace. I myself received the [invitation] envelope. We always supported her and will continue to support her," Priyanka's brother Rajesh Mallick told .

On the making of the dresses for the to be crowned King and Queen, Priyanka said, "The dresses will be stitched locally with her inputs as she is in touch with London-based stylists and workers."

"I am fortunate and thrilled that my designs were selected for The King Charles III and Queen's Coronation ceremony to be held on May 6 at Westminster Abbey," she said.

Unfortunately, Priyanka will not be among the forelock-tugging masses despite the invitation as she is recovering from an ailment. "But I will attend the ceremony virtually," she added.

From childhood, Priyanka was fascinated with designing and drawing and was fond of the Queen Elizabeth dresses she wore. Later, her interest in fashion designing developed into an alluring art and after completing class XII, she virtually joined the international fashion designing courses and got recognition for her work.