Elizabeth II’s childhood dress to go on show in Kensington Palace exhibition
Dress Codes brings together pieces from the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection from 1870 to the present.
Matching childhood outfits worn by Elizabeth II and her younger sister Princess Margaret, with altered hems to accommodate the princesses’ growth, will be shown in Kensington Palace in a new exhibition.
More than three years in the making, Dress Codes brings together pieces from the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection from 1870 to the present.
“Put our best on display, which we haven’t done in a long time.”
A red beaded Bruce Oldfield dress worn by Diana, Princess of Wales on a royal tour to Saudi Arabia in 1986 begins the exhibition.
Of the 34 items on show, 15 have never been displayed anywhere before, including a rare mourning bodice worn by Queen Victoria.
A Reville court dress worn in 1928 by Annie, Lady Holcroft to be presented to George V and Queen Mary is also shown publicly for the first time.
A gold wedding dress worn in 1927 by Lady Ursula Lawley is also displayed. The wedding was attended by George V and Queen Mary, for whom Lady Ursula served as Maid of Honour.
Highlights of the exhibition include the two Liberty floral cotton dresses worn in 1936 by then Princess Elizabeth, who would later become Elizabeth II, and her younger sister Princess Margaret.
The larger dress of the two has a visibly altered waistline “for a growing child”, demonstrating the tendency to “repair and re-use” even by royals at the time, said Mr Storey.
The curator said: “With this exhibition, we have brought royal dress codes right up to date. The whole breadth of British society is celebrated.”
Cabinets are dedicated to different contexts for which someone may need to dress. The exhibition includes a cabinet titled “Dressing for Work”, which shows the working uniform of the second ever female Yeoman Warder, also known as Beefeater, Amanda “AJ” Clark.
The exhibition’s Young Producers, a group of 25 teenagers aged 14-17 from local youth groups, spent a year designing their own pieces based on the collection.
Ms Berni said: “Let’s push ourselves and do something interesting. Challenge the organisation.”
The Young Producers’ own designs are presented in the last room of the exhibition with explanations of the inspiration they took from the collection.
Dress Codes runs at Kensington Palace from March 13 to November 30.
