Mourning veils will be worn by female royals when Queen Elizabeth II, who is lying in state in Westminster Abbey, is buried Monday. Everyday Christian women wear veils, too.

Black has long been associated with grief, but dress codes have shifted over the eras, including elaborate rules for Victorian-era mourners that lasted for years at a time.

PITTSFIELD — In the 1800s, public mourning rather than private grieving was a way of life. Victorian social etiquette laid down strict social rules for mourning, from the clothing worn to the length ...

For example, widows were often associated with black mourning in both dramatic texts and visual images. Deriving from medieval nuns’ costume, black mourning was regarded as an appropriate dress for ...

Wealthy women who became widowed tended to reflect current fashions in their mourning dresses, while less-well-off women sewed their own from cheap cotton dyed Black.

The whole family will sport mourning dress at the April 17 ceremony.