Tag Archives: Norman Hartnell

A British Royal Bride – Princess Elizabeth

Posted on by

Last week, in the another post on the ongoing series on British Royal Weddings, I featured the wedding of Princess Elizabeth (Queen Elizabeth II) and Philip Mountbatten (the Duke of Edinburgh); they were married on November 20, 1947 at Westminster Abbey in London, England.  In this post, I will discuss the bridal dress and accessories which Princess Elizabeth wore on her wedding day and I will also discuss some of the jewelry that she received as wedding gifts from Prince Philip as well as other members of the Royal family.

Princess Elizabeth’s Wedding Dress and Bridal Accessories 

It has been said that Norman Hartnell, the designer of Princess Elizabeth’s wedding dress, took inspiration from the Italian Renaissance painting “La Primavera” by Sandro Botticelli. The painting was created to commemorate the 1482 wedding of Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco, a cousin of Lorenzo Medici and depicts the coming of Spring.  It features several mythical characters such as Venus, Zephyrus, Mercury, Flora, the Three Graces and even Cupid.  (The “La Primavera” painting is currently on display in the Uffizi Art Museum located in Florence, Italy)

“La Primavera” painting by Sandro Botticelli

At the time of Princess Elizabeth’s wedding England was still recovering from World War II with rationing still enforced due to shortages and import restrictions.  It has been noted that many people sent in their own clothing ration coupons so that Princess Elizabeth could purchase the material for a wedding gown but because it was illegal to use rations issued to another person the coupons were returned.  To make a wedding dress which was appropriate for the heir to the throne, the British government issued Princess Elizabeth 200 extra coupons to help defray the cost.

Because of the lingering hostilities toward Germany, Japan and Italy, Hartnell made sure that no materials were used from those countries when he created Princess Elizabeth’s wedding gown.  He designed a beautiful ivory silk satin dress embellished with embroidery and thousands of crystals and pearls imported from the United States.  Known for incorporating elaborate embroidery, Hartnell’s dress design featured jasmine, smilax, lilac, wheat and roses.  The silk tulle 15 feet train was embellished with embroidered and a beaded pattern of wheat and roses with appliqué duchess satin stars, the train was attached to the shoulders.  (Special Note: Hartnell would later design the dress for Queen Elizabeth II Coronation dress in 1953)

Princess Elizabeth’s wedding dress on display

The embroidered and beaded details of Princess Elizabeth’s wedding dress

The embroidered and beaded details of Princess Elizabeth’s wedding veil

Special Note: Unfortunately in the decades that followed, the silk material used to make Princess Elizabeth’s wedding dress has deteriorated from the weight of the embroidery and beading.  Special care is taken by the curators of the British Royal Collection to preserve the wedding dress and occasionally it will go on display for the public to view.

On her wedding day Princess Elizabeth completed her bridal ensemble by wearing shoes made by Rayne.  The company was originally founded in 1899 as a theatrical costumier and later in the 1920s they created a line of couture shoes.  The wedding shoes made for Princess Elizabeth featured a sling back, open toe, medium high heel sandal made of ivory duchess satin with silver buckles and pearl accents.

Princess Elizabeth’s wedding veil 

Princess Elizabeth wore a silk tulle 13 foot veil that was slightly shorten in length then the dress train which created a beautiful yet soft effect.  The veil was attached to her head by the diamond Fringe Tiara that was the “something borrowed” and had originally belonged to her grandmother Queen Mary.  Just before leaving Buckingham Palace for Westminster Abbey the tiara unfortunately broke but luckily the court jeweler was able to repair the damage.

Princess Elizabeth’s wedding veil and the Fringe Tiara

The Queen Mary Fringe Tiara

Speical Note:  The Queen Mary Fringe Tiara was made by Garrard & Co. in 1919 from the diamonds of a necklace previously given to then Princess May of Teck (later Queen Mary) as a wedding present from Queen Victoria.  The tiara has 47 bars of diamonds with smaller diamond spikes.  In 1936, Queen Mary gave the tiara to her daughter-in-law Princess Elizabeth the Duchess of York (later Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother).

Princess Elizabeth’s wedding bouquet

The wedding bouquet that Princess Elizabeth carried on her wedding day was created by Martin Longman, a British florist (Longman would later create the Coronation bouquet for Queen Elizabeth II in 1953).  Princess Elizabeth’s wedding bouquet was made of white orchids and a sprig of myrtle, a royal custom started during the time of Queen Victoria.  The day after the wedding, according to the royal wedding tradition set by the bride’s mother in 1923, the bouquet was placed upon the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Westminster Abbey.  (Special Note:  Many years later an identical copy of the bridal bouquet was made and presented to Queen Elizabeth II at the time of her Golden wedding anniversary in 1997)

Prince Philip and Princess Elizabeth on their wedding day

Princess Elizabeth’s bridal bouquet placed on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Princess Elizabeth’s bridal jewelry

On her wedding day, Princess Elizabeth wore two pearl necklaces. The shorter one was known as the Queen Anne necklace, possibly belonging to the last Stuart Queen of England.  The longer one was known as the Queen Caroline necklace which had belonged to the wife of King George II.  Both necklaces became the possession of Queen Victoria and upon her death they were left them to the Crown.  Prior to the wedding day King George VI, the bride’s father, gave them to Princess Elizabeth as a wedding present.

Princess Elizabeth’s pearl necklaces

The pearl and diamond earrings that Princess Elizabeth wore on her wedding day were a 20th birthday present from her grandmother, Queen Mary, who had originally inherited them from her mother, Princess Mary Adelaide of (Cambridge) Teck.

Princess Elizabeth’s pearl and diamond earrings

Prince Philip’s wedding gift for his bride was a beautiful diamond bracelet.  Like the engagement ring he had previously commissioned, the bracelet was created from diamonds from a tiara that had once belonged to his mother, the Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark.  The bracelet featured several links design in a geometric pattern with three large center diamonds set in platinum.

Princess Elizabeth’s diamond bracelet

In the years that followed Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) wore the sentimental bracelet for many formal occasions including for the official Diamond Jubilee photographs take in 2012 to commemorate that significant event.  Most recently, the queen has loaned the bracelet to the Duchess of Cambridge who wore it when she attended her first state banquet in 2015.

Official Diamond Jubilee portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip taken in 2012

Princess Elizabeth’s bridesmaids

The bridesmaids’ dresses were also made by Norman Hartnell, they were a tulle gown with an embroidered and beaded floral design and a matching tulle wrap fastened with a bow.  The bridesmaids wore hair wreaths of white wheat sheaves and lilies made of white satin and silver lame, they also carried bouquets of white orchids similar in style to the bride’s bouquet.  The two young pages that carried the train of Princess Elizabeth’s wedding dress wore Royal Stewart tartan kilts.

   Princess Margaret – the principal bridesmaid at her sister’s wedding

Hartnell’s Famous White Wardrobe

Posted on by

In this post I will discuss the Famous White Wardrobe of 1938 that Norman Hartnell created for Queen Elizabeth (later known as the Queen Mother).  I will also briefly discuss the fashion career of Hartnell and his work with the Royal family.  I offer this information regarding the dress designs of Hartnell to perhaps provide inspiration for a mature mother or grandmother of the bride or groom planning what to wear for the wedding.

Norman Hartnell (born June 12, 1901 died June 8, 1979) was a British fashion designer and is best known as the dressmaker to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother and later, her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II.  In the mid-1930s, Hartnell had firmly established himself as a successful designer specializing in elegant afternoon and evening dresses for the London society.  He also designed wedding and bridesmaid dresses for several British Royal Weddings.  The Duchess of York (later known as Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother) met Hartnell for the first time in 1935 when her young daughters, Princess Elizabeth and Princess, were bridesmaids in the wedding of Prince Henry (the Duke of Gloucester, the third son of King George V) to Lady Alice.  Unfortunately, due to the death of Lady Alice’s father the large state wedding scheduled for Westminster Abbey was cancelled and the royal couple was married in a smaller private ceremony at the Chapel Royal in St. James Palace so the public only saw Princess Alice’s going-away outfit that Hartnell had designed.

In 1937, when her husband, Albert, unexpectedly became King George VI, Queen Elizabeth (formerly known as the Duchess of York) felt obligated to use her current dress designer, Madame Handley-Seymour, to create her coronation gown.  Several years earlier, in 1923, on the recommendation of her future mother-in-law Queen Mary, the Duchess of York had commissioned Handley-Seymour to design her wedding dress and had since used her to create her royal wardrobe.  But, Queen Elizabeth had been so impressed with the dresses Hartnell had created previously for her daughters that she commissioned him to design the gowns for her Maids of Honor at the coronation.

Once again, Queen Elizabeth was so pleased with the maids coronation dresses that afterwards Hartnell began to exclusively create her entire royal wardrobe.  Then in 1938, prior to a scheduled Royal Tour planned to France, the Queen’s mother the Countess of Strathmore died and the trip was postponed for three weeks. Hartnell had been commissioned to design 30 outfits for the upcoming visit but since the Royal Court Mourning period required a somber wardrobe the colorful outfits he had designed were deemed inappropriate.  This Royal Tour was extremely important to build a solid political alliance between Britain and France especially at that time due to the growing hostilities in Europe and appearances were also very important in establishing a good impression.

The tradition dedicated for Court Mourning allowed black clothing but after an extended period of time eventually purple and mauve colored dresses.  These colors would set the wrong tone for the visit and would also be a highly unsuitable choice during the hot summer months in France.  Hartnell came up with a solution to the problems when he discovered that in the past white was previously used as an acceptable color during the Court Mourning period.  So, in less than three weeks new dresses were created and the Queen left London wearing somber black but arrived in Paris with an entire wardrobe of white dresses.

   

      

Normally not known as a fashion icon, especially in her later years, the famous “White Wardrobe” worn by the Queen in Paris during the Royal Tour of France in 1938 caused an international fashion sensation.  Hartnell had designed romantic day and evening dresses made of beautiful white fabrics such as the finest silks, chiffons, lace and tulle which were embellished with sequin and pearls.  Inspired by a Winterhalter portrait of Queen Victoria, Hartnell incorporated crinoline into the dress designs and the Queen also revived a past fashion trend by accessorizing her outfits with lovely parasols to match each dress.  With the great press coverage and wonderful reviews of her clothing, the Queen wanted to commemorate the success of the Paris visit by commissioning her favorite royal photographer, Cecil Beaton, to document the beautiful Hartnell dresses in a series of portraits taken in the State Rooms and gardens of Buckingham Palace.

 

In 1940, Hartnell received the highest honor of a Royal Warrant as the principal dress designer for the Queen and he continued to make her royal wardrobe over the years for her daily Royal engagements and other events, such as the 1947 South Africa Royal Tour.  Hartnell also increased his work with the Royal Family by designing dresses for the Queen’s two daughters, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret, as they grew into beautiful young women.  In 1947, he was commissioned to create Princess Elizabeth’s wedding dress when she married Prince Phillip and later when her father, King George VI, died Hartnell designed her coronation dress in 1953 when she became Queen Elizabeth II.

(For more detailed information about Princess Elizabeth’s wedding dress, please click on the link to A Royal Bride – Princess Elizabeth.  For information about Queen Elizabeth’s coronation dress, please click on the link to Queen Elizabeth II Coronation.