Deep within the vaults of Hampton Court Palace lies an archive of over 10,000 royal outfits, spanning more than five centuries and preserving the secrets and scandals of kings, queens, and their courts. The Express was given rare access by the Historic Royal Palaces to view some of the collection’s items, stretching from Tudor times to the modern day.
The Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection includes a childhood outfit of Queen Elizabeth II and the Princess of Wales’s “Liza Minnelli dress.” As the heavy door is unbolted, the first item on display is a mock Tudor style outfit worn by the Earl of Caledon at King George IV’s coronation in 1821.
A Treasure Trove of History
The vault is far hotter than one would imagine, with temperature controls carefully engineered to preserve the delicate fabrics. The team values the raw, less glamorous discoveries of human life, preserving stains and even ancient sweat stains left behind by nervous courtiers on their heavy uniforms.
The Collection was created in the early Eighties after historian Aubrey Bowden loaned Historic Royal Palaces a “significant number” of court uniforms. In addition to ceremonial uniforms, evening gowns, and court suits, the archive holds prints, letters, diaries, scrapbooks, and historical photographs.
Childhood Dress of a Future Queen
None of the items are available for public show, although a carefully curated selection of 200 garments can be viewed online. On display is a Liberty flower print dress from a 10-year-old Princess Elizabeth, with bright pops of red among the blue and pink blooms and green stems. The fabric is gently faded, and the hem has been let out by hand, showing how the dress was modified as the young Princess grew.
The dress dates from 1936, a huge year in the future Queen's life when her uncle abdicated, her father became king, and she became heir presumptive. It was given to their beloved nanny, Clara Knight (otherwise known as Nanny Allah), who kept many childhood items that eventually made their way into the collection.
Preserving the Past
Every item in the archive is meticulously wrapped in acid-free paper to prevent deterioration and discolouration of organic fibres. Queen Alexandra, the wife of King Edward VII, may have been known for her impossibly tiny waist and high-neck dresses to hide a childhood surgery scar, but her garments also carried deep familial and historic significance.
Curators perfectly matched a bodice to a historic 1894 photograph taken at the christening of her grandson, the future Edward VIII. Designed in half-mourning colours – black combined with a mauve or violet accent – to mark the passing of her eldest son, Prince Albert Victor, two years prior, traces of the original purple hue can still be seen beneath the fabric's top layer.
Modern Royal Fashion
The collection also holds a staggering amount of garments worn by Princess Margaret and Diana, Princess of Wales. Princess Margaret acquired a particularly eye-catching green gown in 1980 during a trip to the Philippines, where First Lady Imelda Marcos hosted a private fashion show of Jose ‘Pitoy’ Moreno’s designs.
Diana’s 1991 Catherine Walker evening gown, first worn during a state visit to Brazil, was chosen for display. As Brazil had just lost to Argentina in a very important football match, Diana and the designer decided they did not want any colours from either flag on the dress so as not to put noses out of joint. The gown was also worn by Diana at an after-show party for the film premiere of Stepping Out, earning it the nickname “the Liza Minnelli dress.”
The archive has preserved the nervous sweat of a forgotten courtier, the worn-out dress of a ten-year-old girl who would become the longest-reigning monarch in British history, and the faded purple of a grieving mother's bodice, protecting the fragile threads that bind us together from the relentless march of time.
