Queen Letizia at 4 Degrees in Helsinki: An Oversized Burgundy Coat in a Menswear Cut and a 107-Euro Vegan Bag

Helsinki woke up to around 4 degrees, and Spain's Queen Letizia stepped out in a coat that fashion editors are already calling the trend of the winter: oversized, in a menswear cut, made of wool broadcloth in deep burgundy, with large lapels and a line reminiscent of an overcoat. The third day of the Spanish royal couple's state visit to Finland wasn't a runway show but protocol - yet the coat made it look like one.

The agenda was long: a meeting with Finnish businesspeople, laying flowers at Hietaniemi cemetery, opening an exhibition on Alvar Aalto and contemporary Spanish architecture, visiting the Lapland Air Wing and museums in Lapland, and closing a seminar at the University of Lapland, where King Felipe spoke.

Under the coat, Letizia wore a suit with a jacket and a midi skirt in a dark blue, almost black shade. Her shoes had low, slim heels, in burgundy leather to match the coat, and the bag - the Bria model by JW Pei, in vegan leather, also burgundy, priced at 107 euros. With the coat buttoned, the whole look becomes monochrome. A queen with a 107-euro bag: protocol doesn't require it, but the message is clear.

The detail that makes the look royal is a bow-shaped brooch from Queen Sofía's jewellery. Letizia already wore it at a reception at Buckingham Palace in 2023. An old trick of royal houses: the new coat is for the headlines, the family piece is for history.

The coat is neither a new idea nor a Spanish exclusive. Queen Máxima of the Netherlands has a similar garnet-coloured model by Max Mara, and Letizia has previously worn versions in camel and black. When two queens wear an almost identical cut, the fashion industry calls it a trend.

Letizia started the visit in a tuxedo embroidered with stones and feathers, on the second day she wore a pink set, and at the gala dinner - a black velvet dress by Felipe Varela, with historic diamond bracelets. But of her whole Finnish wardrobe, it's the coat that women are most likely to reach for this winter. It only remains to be seen how it holds up when, instead of royal protocol, what's waiting for you is a bus stop at 4 degrees.