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The waist coat and breeches were buff colored.The bicorne hat was trimmed with ostrich feathers.
This was mainly a masculine uniform, though Queen Charlotte and the Princesses had riding habits made up like the Windsor Uniform.
The formal garment had much gold embroidery on the cuffs, the body of the coat . The undress coat had relatively little. The coat for a privy counselor could cost as much as £160, while a mere gentleman could get one for £40.
The King , and later the Regent, wanted all his cabinet and high level ministers to wear the uniform, but some resisted, considering it too much like livery. However, there were many who considered wearing the Windsor uniform an honour. The colors are the reverse of royal livery and of most military uniforms. Red coats in various forms continued popular until late regency.
King George often wore the undress form of the uniform. He might wear the undress form in the morning when receiving birthday calls, and then change to the formal version for the birthday ball.
The King and his sons wore the undress Windsor uniform when at Windsor, and the formal dress for balls and levees.
The Windsor Uniform was often mentioned in newspapers
"Her Majesty, and the Princesses Augusta, Elizabeth, Mary, Sophia, and Amelia, accompanied the King to Salt Hill. His Majesty rode on horseback, as did the Duke of Cumberland, who, as well as the King, Earl Morton, and the General Officers in the Royal suite, were attired in the Windsor uniform. " The Orthodox Churchman 1802
National Register 1808
In the morning, The King wore his review dress, and in the evening, the Windsor uniform.
[Most of the other men wore military uniforms or court clothes]
At one grand Ball celebrating the King’s Jubilee, the Duchess of Richmond wore a feminine version of the Windsor uniform. [A Celebration of the Jubilee , 1809]
Two of the Royal Dukes were reported wearing the Windsor uniform when attending the King when he rode out to meet a shipment of horses from Hanover.
The Windsor uniform is mentioned in some books and articles on what royals wore .
There aren't many illustrations or paintings of the Windsor Uniform,. George III was painted in it along with some of his children. A political cartoon made use of the uniform to depict the King’s party.
From Notes and Queries of 1854 Vol.10:
------- the Windsor uniform, rich, handsome, and laced as it was, and worn with a sword, cocked hat, and buckles, -------was a frock; because the cape and collars were red, while the coat was blue ; and because the cape was a double one. Of this Windsor uniform there were three classes in the last thirty years of George III.: the common blue frock with red cape and cuffs, worn in the morning ; the laced blue frock, with gold‑laced button‑holes on the breasts, pocket‑flaps, capes, and cuffs; with this coat, white breeches, and a cocked hat and sword, were worn. It was the dress of those who attended the king when not actually at court. The third was a blue full‑dress coat with standing collar, embroidered, with red silk breeches: this was a complete court dress, but worn only by cabinet ministers and the great officers of the crown. The Princes of the Blood, and the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, have a kind of frock uniform; blue for the former, &c.j the latter the colour he may choose, lined with silk, and with a button bearing the initial and coronet of the Prince or Lord Lieutenant; but not otherwise differing from the usual frock coat. The uniform of George IV., when Prince of Wales, was blue lined with buff, and buff waistcoats and breeches. When he became Prince Regent, the buttons bore G. P. R., and also the members of his government wore it. There was also established a kind of full dress of blue, with black cape and cuffs, and gold frogs, and Brandenberg embroidery; but it did not take.
From Gentleman’s Fancy Dress published in 1882:
WINDSOR UNIFORM. The Windsor uniform, of blue coat and red collar, dates from the early part of the reign of George III. It has been asserted that the King adopted the blue and red in compliment to the Countess of Pembroke, who at that time was an object of the King's admiration; blue and red being the colours of the Pembroke livery. This uniform is worn only by members of the Household, or by those to whom the privilege has been granted by the sovereign. The blue coat and red collar are its distinctive characteristics, but the shape of the coat and the other parts of the dress are adapted to the fashion of the day. The coat for ordinary occasions is cut like the usual evening coat, but the full‑dress one is made like a military uniform, buttoned up the centre, with a stand‑up collar and gold embroidery. A cocked hat, edged with white feathers ; blue trousers, with a broad stripe of gold lace, and a sword, complete the equipment. The present Ministerial and Diplomatic uniforms are the same as the Windsor uniform, with the exception of black velvet in lieu of red collars, and were first introduced during the Regency. Drawings of all State uniforms are deposited in the Lord Chamberlain's office. An Evening Dress Coat, with red cloth or blue silk cuffs and lapels, is an easy and effective method of wearing a fancy costume, and is called Windsor Uniform.
Some references: Splendour at Court: Dressing for Royal Occasions Since 1700 by Nigel Arch and Joanna Marschner
Royal Dress by Valerie Cumming
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