Wedding dress of Princess Elizabeth

The wedding dress of Princess Elizabeth was worn by the future Queen Elizabeth II at her wedding to Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh on 20 November 1947 in Westminster Abbey. Given the rationing of clothing at the time, she still had to purchase the material using ration coupons. The dress was designed by Norman Hartnell. Hartnell's signature was said to be embroidery, and he enjoyed "working with soft, floating fabrics, particularly tulle and chiffon, and with plain, lustrous silks". The dress was made of soft white satin, with a high neckline, tailored bodice and a short train.

The dress, without straps and with long sleeves, provided a "fit and flare silhouette".

The designs for the dress were approved three months before the wedding. Hartnell's search for suitable designs in London art galleries had led to him to the Botticelli figure. This was the inspiration for the use of ivory silk with flower designs of jasmine, smilax, lilac and white rose-like blossoms added to the train, embellished by white crystals and pearls. These motifs were transferred to drawings to enable embroidery experts to work on them. The silk cloth was chosen at the specific directive of her mother, the Queen, who desired an “unusually rich, lustrous stiff satin which was made at Lullington Castle". The silkworms to manufacture the silk were bought from Nationalist China and not the then enemy countries of Japan and Italy, which were termed as "enemy silkworms". Satin was chosen for the train, and a more flexible material of the same tone as the train was chosen for the dress. However, in spite of the careful choice of the silk, the curator of the London Museum observed 30 years later when the dress was on display at the museum that “the choice of silk was not a good one” as the fabric had deteriorated. It was also noted that the "weight of the embroidery dragged the skirt down, increasing the strain on the weave.”

The final design of the dress was kept secret, although much speculation surrounded it. It was said the princess feared that if details were published fashion house copies would make it impossible for her to make last-minute design alterations. The dress was taken to the palace a day before the wedding in a 4 feet (1.2 m) box. On the wedding day, the dress glittered, bejewelled with pearls “skilfully combined with flowing lines of wheat ears, the symbol of fertility, and worked in pearl and diamante.”

Princess Elizabeth's wedding dress has drawn parallels with both the similarly designed dress worn by Grace Kelly in 1956 and the "Westminster décor" wedding dress that Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen designed for Catherine Middleton; particular points of similarity have been highlighted in the pleats and silhouette of the skirt.


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