The largest ever collection of The Queen’s clothes will go on display next year to celebrate Her Majesty’s 90th birthday. Royal news.
‘Fashioning a Reign: 90 Years of Style from The Queen’s Wardrobe’ will exhibit over 150 outfits for the public to see, bringing pieces out from her childhood, military regalia, to those we usually only see on state ceremonial occasions.
The Queen has leant the Royal Collection Trust outfits, as well as jewellery and handbags for the display.
Buckingham Palace, Holyroodhouse and Windsor Castle will host these displays, with three separate themes. Windsor’s will be Elizabeth’s childhood clothes (she spent most of the war there), evening gowns and official day-to-day clothes, while Holyrood will feature tartan and its role in Her Majesty’s clothes, opening on 21st April, The Queen’s real birthday.
Buckingham Palace will display a wide selection of items from across Her Majesty’s life, from as a youngster, to her wedding dress, her coronation gown and even those worn to personal family events, like christenings.
The Royal Collection Trust will mark the Monarch’s 90th birthday with this exhibition, but it will also coincide with the Summer Opening at Buckingham Palace, which this year focussed on hosting at the Palace, including State Visits and Garden Parties.
Favouring Karl Ludwig, Rachel Trevor Morgan and Norman Hartnell over the course of her reign; The Queen’s current dresser has been Angela Kelly for over a decade.
The Liverpudlian-born knows what her Royal client likes, and uses both old and new materials. She released a book for the Diamond Jubilee, showing details of her job, including packing for a visit abroad, and selecting jewels for an outfit.
“She knows exactly what she wants and what suits her and yet also manages to move with the times. Truthfully, I have never known her to be wrong,” Stuart Parvin, who has dressed The Queen numerous times, says.
“I send over a number of sketches and fabric swatches, she will pick out what she wants, we have just one fitting at Buckingham Palace and that’s it. Done. It might be sent back to us if there is something not quite right but that is very rare. You can very quickly tell by her expression whether she thinks something is working for her.”
Being born in the 1920s, the age of the flapper, The Queen’s life has seen ten decades of fashions, including the mini-skirt and flared jeans, and war-time rationing.
More details of the exhibition will be updated when they are released.