This is a dress that went into the history books.
Queen While Elizabeth wore countless statement styles throughout her 70-year reign, perhaps the most memorable was her sparkly coronation gown.
The British monarch, who died in 2022 at the age of 96, was crowned on June 2, 1953, and the Norman Hartnell gown she wore stole the show with the glamor and glitz of the day.
Embellished with intricate embroidery and beadwork, the new monarch’s white robe gleamed as she was sworn in at Westminster Abbey at the world’s first televised coronation, at the age of 27.
With its heart-shaped neckline and full skirt, the dress was not only designed to be beautiful, but also featured important details that represented the Queen’s bond with her new role.
King III. Before Charles’ coronation on May 6, we take a look at five fascinating facts about his mother’s coronation gown.
Made by wedding dress designer..
When Princess Elizabeth at the time married Prince Philip on November 20, 1947, she wore a gorgeous long-sleeved silk dress from British designer Norman Hartnell.
It came as no surprise, therefore, that the new queen turned to her favorite designer for the most important event in her royal life and entrusted Hartnell with the task of creating the coronation gown.
According to the Royal Collection Trust, Elizabeth was presented with nine designs and eventually opted for the eighth version – but with some special adjustments.
The monarch “suggested that embroideries of various colors be added instead of all silver,” giving the dress another interesting element.
Hartnell went on to make the final piece of white silk along with “gold tube beads, diamonds and pearls,” according to the Royal Collection Trust.
The dress features emblems from the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations.
Royal fashion expert Rosie Harte told Page Six Style that while Hartnell’s original design featured UK emblems, one of the changes Queen Elizabeth has requested is to include symbols of Commonwealth nations.
The designer’s original sketch “had English roses, Scottish thistle, Irish clover, and daffodils, which he believed to be the flower of Wales,” says Harte, who runs the popular TikTok account @theroyalwardrobe.
Queen Elizabeth “wanted to replace the Welsh daffodil with its official flower, the leek, and then wanted all Commonwealth nations to be represented in embroidery,” she continued, adding that the move was “speaking with care”. Elizabeth’s reign and how seriously she took her role as head of state.
If you look closely at the dress, you can see Elizabeth’s additions along the hem, with its floral design featuring Commonwealth emblems such as Australian thatch, Canadian maple leaf, Indian lotus, and New Zealand fern.
The dress contained a secret good luck charm.
Among the intricate beadwork on the dress is an emblem that many, including the Queen herself, probably never noticed.
Stating that Hartnell “loves a good Easter egg”, Harte says the designer added a “secret good luck charm” to her skirt in the form of a “lucky four leaf clover”.
The royal fashion expert says the Irish symbol sits “on the floor of Elizabeth’s left hand” and explains that it was created “to bring good luck to her and the dress in the press and to help guide the Queen.” very long and complex ceremony.”
Whether Queen Elizabeth was aware of the details is something we’ll probably never know, as Caroline de Gautaut, assistant inspector of Queen’s Works of Art, told People.
“I think it’s possible [the Queen] I didn’t know,” he said, and continued that the emblem was “a really nice, personal thought” in any case.
After the ceremony, she added a special robe.
Queen Elizabeth adorned her majestic gown with a special style after her official coronation.
Royal historian Jessica Storoschuk told Page Six Style that the new monarch “commissioned the Royal Needle School to complete the embroidery work on the purple Robe of Estate,” a piece that Elizabeth wore after the ceremony at Westminster Abbey.
According to Storoschuk, the magnificent purple velvet robe is “embellished with Canadian ermine,” and the gold detail took more than 3,000 hours to complete.
“Twelve embroiderers worked in shifts from 7am to 10pm every day for three months,” says An Historian About Town blogger, as the team spent “over 3,500 hours on the dress” before being honored with a special coronation medal by Queen Elizabeth. . for their work.
For more Bottom Styles you love…
Queen Elizabeth re-wears the dress six times.
Although created for the coronation, this magnificent dress was not a one-shot miracle.
Queen Elizabeth brought the dress with her as she traveled the world on a post-coronation royal tour, and the piece even had a room of its own, according to Lady Pamela Hicks, Prince Phillip’s royal cousin.
“The dress required a cabin of its own,” the former bridesmaid said on India Hicks’ podcast (via Tatler).
“The dress cabinet was slightly larger than mine. I was pretty jealous.”
Her Majesty has worn it six times after her coronation, including the opening of Parliament in Australia, New Zealand and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1954, and the State of 1957 four years later, according to the royal family’s website. Inauguration of Parliament in Canada.
“Elizabeth sought to open the coronation celebrations to a much broader audience of her subjects by bringing the coronation gown to important and heavily publicized events further afield,” Harte says.