Previously on this blog I featured a post about the British Royal wedding of Prince Albert and Princess Alexandra which took place on March 10, 1863 at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. Princess Alexandra of Denmark was statuesque in height, slim in weight and very beautiful with an outward dignified appearance. Later, as Princess of Wales and then Queen Alexandra, she would ultimately influence the fashion style for England during the late Victorian and Edwardian period. This week’s post will be about Princess Alexandra as a Royal bride and I will discuss what she wore on her wedding day including all the items of her bridal ensemble and jewelry.
Princess Alexandra’s wedding dress and bridal accessories
At the time of the wedding of Prince Albert and Princess Alexandra, the Royal court was still in mourning after the unexpected death of Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert the Prince Consort, in December 1861. Although the wedding of the heir apparent to the English throne was a grand occasion that normally called for colorful and elaborate dresses to be wore by the women in attendance, the invited guests wore somber clothing. The strict rules that dictated the mourning customs of the time meant that the royal court was initially required to wear black and then after a period of time shades of grey, lilac or mauve. Queen Victoria wore a black dress for the wedding and she continued to wear black for the remainder of her life to honor her deceased husband.
One exception to the mourning custom would be the elaborate white wedding gown worn by the eighteen year old bride, Princess Alexandra of Denmark, which was made by Mrs. James of Belgravia from the finest Spitafields silk satin. The full skirt had an overlay of four Honiton lace flounces that featured a design that incorporated the symbols of England (roses), Ireland (shamrocks) and Scotland (thistles). The lace was designed and manufactured by John Tucker and Company of Branscombe near Sidmouth. Attached to the skirt was a 21 foot train of antique silver moiré which was carried by the bridesmaids on the wedding day. The dress was also trimmed with orange blossoms and the Princess also wore a white Honiton lace veil that was secured on her head by a wreath of additional orange blossoms and myrtle. The bridegroom, Prince Albert, wore the uniform of an army general under his Order of the Garter robe on the wedding day. (Special Note: Princess Alexandra had originally received a gift of Belgium lace from King Leopold of Belgium which was intended to be used for her wedding dress but Queen Victoria preferred that all the materials for the future bride of the Prince of Wales should be manufactured in Britain)
Princess Alexandra and Prince Albert
Princess Alexandra’s wedding dress
Princess Alexandra’s eight bridesmaids wore white silk dresses trimmed with tulle and floral roses; they also wore floral wreaths of roses in their hair. The British novelist William Thackeray, who attended the wedding, later remarked that the Princess and her bridesmaids reminded him of a fairy tale in which a group of beautiful young ladies were changed into graceful swans.
Princess Alexandra’s eight bridesmaids
Princess Alexandra’s wedding bouquet holder
On her wedding day Princess Alexandra carried a bridal bouquet of white roses, lilies of the valley, orchids and the traditional sprig of myrtle. The elaborate bouquet holder featured an upper section of rock crystal carved into a cone shape to hold the flowers. The crystal cone was embellished with diamonds, emeralds, pink coral and pearls. In honor of the Princess’ royal status, the middle section featured a coronet with a gold chain decorated with pearls and a gold and pearl studded ring to wear on the hand. Below the coronet is the symbolic trio of white feathers for the Prince of Wales created in diamonds and a monogram “A” for Alexandra made of rubies. At the bottom of the holder was a small crystal sphere set with more rubies.
The wedding bouquet holder of Princess Alexandra
Princess Alexandra’s wedding jewelry
Princess of Wales diamond and pearl wedding set –
Prince Albert gave his bride a spectacular jewelry set that was presented to the Princess Alexandra on the wedding day. The wedding set made by Garrard the Royal Jewelers included the diamond Rundell tiara, a diamond and pearl necklace with a matching set of earrings and brooch. The lovely Princess of Wales pearl and diamond necklace features seven medallions featuring large pearls surrounded by diamonds with another pearl and diamond medallion used as a clasp, the three center medallions with pearl drop pendants can be detached and wore as brooches. The necklace medallions are connected with double rows of diamonds that gently drape when wore around the neck. After the death of Princess Alexandra (later known as Queen Alexandra) the necklace was inherited by Queen Mary, who passed it onto Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and then Queen Elizabeth II. The matching earrings of the wedding set featured two large pearls surrounded by diamonds, the earrings are currently known as Queen Alexander’s Cluster Earrings. The matching brooch features one large pearl in the center and two smaller pearls on either side, diamonds surrounded the pearls and three pearl pendants accented with large diamonds can be detached. The brooch is now known as the Queen Alexandra Triple-drop Brooch and it was passed onto Queen Mary and then later to Queen Elizabeth II.
Princess of Wales diamond and pearl wedding set
The final item in the wedding set is the diamond Rundell Tiara. The name is something of a curiosity because despite the fact that it was made by Garrard, the Royal Jewelers, Rundell was the name of a former jewelry company that had a Royal Warrant but closed in 1843 twenty years before the Royal wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales. The other misnomer is that the piece is not a tiara but by definition a coronet because it forms a closed circle. The base of the piece has two rows of diamonds with ten large pear-shaped diamonds connected with smaller diamonds forming a scroll pattern. The different components of the piece can be removed, the large diamonds can be worn as brooches, the base can be worn alone or Queen Alexandra sometimes added several diamond star brooches. After the death of the Queen, the Rundell Tiara was passed to her daughter Princess Victoria and it is possible that the jewels were removed and repurposed into other pieces of jewelry.
Princess Alexandra wearing the complete Rundell Tiara
in a Jubilee portrait by Bassano dated 1887
Princess Alexandra wearing the Rundell Tiara without the diamond scrolls
Princess Alexandra’s opal and diamond set –
Queen Victoria gave her new daughter-in-law, Princess Alexandra, an opal and diamond set as a wedding gift. The set was made by Garrard and included a cross pendant with three oval-shaped opals, three matching brooches, earrings and a bracelet. The Princess wore the opal and diamond bracelet on her left arm on her wedding day and on her right arm she wore another opal and diamond bracelet which was a wedding gift from the ladies of Manchester. (Special Note: During the Victorian Era, opals were thought to be a symbol of bad luck and later the Princess possibly had the set repurposed into other pieces of jewelry but the fate of those items is unknown)
Princess Alexandra’s opal and diamond set
received as a wedding gift from Queen Victoria
Princess Alexandra’s opal and diamond bracelet wore on her wedding day
Princess Alexandra’s bridesmaids bracelet –
Another item that Princess Alexandra received as a wedding gift was a lovely gold bracelet from her bridesmaids that performed as her train bearers. The bracelet, made by Garrard, featured eight linked blue enameled hinged lockets set with diamond initials for the first name of each bridesmaid. The lockets opened to reveal hand-painted miniature portraits of each of the eight bridesmaids. (Special Note: Later, on the silver wedding anniversary of the Prince and Princess of Wales, the bridesmaids presented a beautiful silver box to hold the bracelet when it was not being worn)
Princess Alexandra’s Dagmar necklace –
The last item of jewelry that I will discuss was actually one of the first gifts that Princess Alexandra had received shortly after the official announcement of the engagement and before the wedding day. The Dragmar necklace was a gift from King Frederick VII, the Princess’ grandfather, that she received before leaving Denmark to travel to England. The magnificent necklace made by the Danish court jeweler, Julius Dideriksen, featured 118 pearls and 2000 diamonds set in gold and arranged in medallions with a large diamond in the center surrounded by scroll work created with more diamonds and connected with jeweled swags. The Dagmar cross was placed in the center of the necklace and two large pearls on either side of the cross were so valuable they were exhibited at the Great Exhibition in Crystal Palace in 1851.(Historical Note: King Frederick who gave Princess Alexandra the Dragmar necklace would later die in November 1863 a few months after her wedding and Princess Alexandra’s father would become King Christian IX)
The source of the necklace’s name and the most remarkable element of the elaborate necklace is the Dagmar Cross. The story behind the necklace is that Queen Dagmar was the wife of King Waldermar of Denmark and when she died in 1212 she was buried with a pectoral cross on her chest. When the tomb was opened in 1690, the cross was removed and is now one of the most precious relics of Denmark. For centuries it had become a tradition that when a Danish Princess is married she is given a duplicate of the Dagmar Cross.
The centerpiece of the necklace created for Prince Alexandra is a cloisonné enameled Byzantine gold cross that is a duplicate of Queen Dagmar’s cross and it has been documented that the cross held a small piece from the original cross and a piece of silk fabric from King Canute’s grave.
Princess Alexandra’s Dagmar Necklace
The Dagmar Cross
The Dagmar necklace was a very difficult piece of jewelry to wear because the diamond and pearl swags did not always lay flat. Princess Alexandra (later Queen Alexandra) was known for layering on her jewelry and more was … well, more!! Shown in the photo below Queen Alexandra dressed on the coronation day of her husband in 1902, who became known as King Edward VII. The Dagmar necklace is seen attached to the lower portion of the bodice’s dress.
After the death of Queen Alexandra in 1925, the necklace was passed onto Queen Mary, then Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and eventually to Queen Elizabeth II in 1952. After it had been passed to Queen Elizabeth II she wore it on a handful of occasions in the 1950s and early 1960s, including during her 1957 state visit to Denmark, each time using it with the two largest pearl pendants and the Dagmar Cross removed.
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