Queen Victoria's Wedding Dress - On Show at Kensington Palace, London

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were married on Monday, 10th February 1840 in the Chapel Royal, St James Palace. In their book, Queen Victoria’s Wedding Dress and Lace  Kay Staniland and Santina Levey give a detailed description of the royal wedding dress.

The material used is a creamy coloured, silk satin woven at Spitalfields. After the fashion of the day, the design is simple.

I'll go into some detail here for those who find vintage dress construction fascinating!

The bodice is made up of eight pieces, consisting of a low, wide neckline. The bodice seams are boned. The pointed waist rests on the natural waistline and there are full double puffed sleeves and a separately-made, attached skirt consisting of seven widths of material. The fullness of the waist is captured in wide pleats. The waistband measures 25” (63.50cms) (yes - 25" waist!) and the circumference of the hem is 139” (353 cm).

 The dress is lined with white silk and the neck, sleeves and waist edges are finished with piping and hooks with bars are positioned on the centre-back fastening.

There are four pieces of original Honiton lace remaining on the dress. The neck edge has a 1¾” (4.5cm) band of lace. The Bertha collar (a wide collar made from lace or fine fabric) is 5½” (14cm) deep at the centre-front, eventually reaching the sleeves to a length of 7½” (19cm). The sleeves have frills of 2½” (6.3cm) to the front which lengthen just below the elbow to 8 5/8” (21.8cm). These frills are repeated, but on a smaller scale, on the veil and skirt flounce (a very wide ruffle at the hem).

Nearly done!

The flounce itself if 25 ½” (65cm) deep with a circumference of four yards (366 cm). It has an intricate design of stems supporting exotic flowers and leaves. The flounce is then backed with machine made cotton net.

I am exhausted just reading about the construction of this dress - we have to admire the ladies of Devon who worked so hard to make such delicate lacework.

An interesting diversion - if you like the Pre-Raphaelites - , whilst researching their book, Stansted and Levy discovered that the designer of the intricate flounce lace was the Pre-Raphaelite painter, William Dyce. Dyce was an influential artist yet had always been keenly interested and absorbed by design, in particular the French school)

We mustn't forget the veil!

The veil is a square of the same matching cotton net measuring 55½” (141cm). The pattern is along the borders only and is of an open pattern.

According to authors Staniland and Levey the main pattern pieces of the high quality bobbin lace are worked with fine cotton thread and comprise:

• Fine dense cloth work
• Delicate half stitch  shading
• Raised work
• Decorative fillings –  ncluding vrai drochel, leaf, star and  circle motifs sometimes linked by narrow leadwork or pearl bars.

Here's some information about the Honitan lace  industry in Devon that played such a crucial part in Queen Victoria's wedding dress design.

The Honiton lace on Queen Victoria’s wedding dress was a boost for the Devon lace industry. At the time of this commission Devon lacemakers were in dire straits. The most popular lace for brides of this period was Brussels point lace. Therefore, when the Queen commissioned Honiton lace from Devon in 1837, the two hundred lace workers who worked the lace were extremely grateful to the Queen. In fact, the lace was worked a few miles from Honiton itself, in the village of Beer.

Stansted and Levy  suggest that Queen Victoria learned much about the lives of her subjects through reading the novels of Charles Dickens. This may well have influenced her decision to support the ailing Devon lace industry.

The woman responsible for the superintending and production of the lace was Miss Jane Bidney, a native of Beer. According to family tradition, when Miss Bidney was waiting to see the Queen in order to formally receive the Royal Commission, this poor woman was so nervous that she passed out!

Queen Victoria’s wedding dress followed the fashion of the day which favoured simplicity of design and antique lace embellishment. Even the train of the dress, which was six yards long, replaced the traditional robes of state. It was a delicate, white satin trimmed with orange blossom.

Public interest in the royal wedding was so intense that a special edition of The Times of 11th February sold 30,000 copies, and Madam Tussaud’s Waxworks displayed models of the bridal group for months after the event.

Public interest in the royal wedding dress and the resulting royal wedding fever is certainly nothing new!

Source:

Queen Victoria's Wedding Dress and Lace by Kay Staniland and Santina M. Levey (Museum of London)

To see the dress in all its glory at the Victoria Revealed exhibition,  visit Kensington Palace.  Here is their website with times, entrance fee, etc.