The Honeymoon of Princess Elizabeth (Queen Elizabeth II)

Today, we continue our look at royal honeymoon fashions with Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II).

Date:  November 1947
Place:  England and Malta
Event:  Honeymoon of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip

As one looks farther back to royal fashions, the less is known about specific designers.  That is the case with Princess Elizabeth's honeymoon fashions.  Nonetheless, they're worth looking at--her fashion sense has remained timeless over the past six decades!

Here, the Prince and Princess set out for Waterloo Station from whence they traveled to Broadlands for the first leg of their honeymoon.

Once at Broadlands, the couple were photographed walking and enjoying the grounds.

In 2007, for their 60th wedding anniversary, the Queen and Prince had a second honeymoon returning to the Broadlands (and also Malta; see below) as pictured here.  Notice that she's wearing the same jewelry and Philip's suit is very similar.  Perhaps we can guess that her 1947 suit was blue, as well.

Following their time at Broadlands in 1947, the royal couple traveled to Balmoral in Scotland just as her parents had twenty-four years previously.  Sadly for us, there are no public photos of the couple at Balmoral in 1947.

Philip was on active duty as an officer in the navy.  So, as his honeymoon ended, he returned to service.  He was posted to Malta and Elizabeth followed him there.  Before she became Queen in 1952, she spent much of her time in Malta and it is considered the last leg of their honeymoon.

Save for some changes in button and pocket styles, these clothes could well be worn in the twenty-first century.  While the Queen has rarely taken fashion risks, she is still undeniably a solidly fashionable woman!

Stay tuned to Fashionably Royal for more royal honeymoon fashions in the days to come!

Kate Middleton's Wedding Day

It has arrived!  The secret was kept well and we now know that it was indeed Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen who created the absolute vision that we saw today.

Date:  29 April 2011
Place:  Westminster Abbey, London
Event:  Wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (Prince William and Kate Middleton)

Miss Middleton chose Sarah Burton, creative director of the Alexander McQueen fashion house, to create her  wedding gown.  The fashions of Burton (and McQueen) are known for being edgy and contemporary--not exactly what we saw today, which is a good thing.  It is believed that Kate first became interested in Burton's designs after seeing the wedding of Sara Buys and Tom Parker Bowles.

Indeed, commentators have noted that the dress worn by Kate today does not scream "Sarah Burton," but rather it looks very much like Kate had a hand, or two, in the design process.  Kate does have a degree in the history of art, so it would not be far-fetched to imagine her capable of the task.

The dress was made of silk gazar, the focal point of the dress being the lace appliqué bodice.  (So, what you see is a dress with lace then sewn onto it.  Look again at how much lace there is and imagine how much work that took!)  The lace was created by the Royal School of Needlework in London.  It is said that workers washed their hands every 30 minutes and changed needles every three hours to keep the dress crisp and clean.

The lace itself consisted of Chantilly and Cluny.  It was made to include symbols of each of the four countries of the United Kingdom:  rose (England), thistle (Scotland), daffodil (Wales), and shamrock (Northern Ireland).  The "body" of the veil was made of silk tulle with the handmade lace painstakingly hand-sewn into the edges.  The veil reached just beyond her waist.

The tiara was borrowed from the Queen's collection.  It was created by Cartier (called the "halo" tiara) and purchased by the then Duke of York, later King George VI, for his wife--later known as the Queen Mother.  The Queen received it for her 18th birthday from her parents.  It suits Kate perfectly and complemented her dress and veil exquisitely.

The train was nine feet (270 cm) long, considerably shorter than the last royal wedding dress train seen at Westminster.  It traveled beautifully both in the Rolls Royce that carried her to the Abbey and in the landau that carried her to Buckingham Palace.

The dress was designed to look like a flower blooming--an upside-down flower, I would imagine.  The dresses of the maid of honor and bridesmaids were made to echo the design of Kate's dress.  More to come on the rest of the wedding party!  (Stay tuned.)

The bridal bouquet was a small affair of lily of the valley, hyacinths, ivy, myrtle, and (my favorite) sweet William.  It was created by florist Shane Connolly.  Additionally, her earrings were created by jewelers Robinson Pelham to look like leaves made of diamonds.  The earrings were a gift from her parents for her wedding day.

All in all, the royal wedding went smoothly and is being hailed a fashion success from virtually all corners.  This little corner adds its approval, too!  Congratulations to the Duke and Duchess--may they have a long, happy life together.

Stay tuned for more on the royal wedding and honeymoon  fashions in the coming weeks!

Princess Margaret's Wedding Day

Today we look back at the wedding day of the Queen's younger sister, Princess Margaret--

Date:  6 May 1960
Place:  Westminster Abbey, London
Event:  Wedding between Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong-Jones

Princess Margaret's wedding was the first royal wedding to be broadcast on television.  Margaret's romantic life had been hotly followed by the press for years.  So, for the occasion, Margaret wore a dramatic dress and oozed elegance.

The dress was designed by Norman Hartnell and was made of white silk organza including a jacket-like overlay. It had long sleeps and long, slim v-neck with no embellishments such as embroidery or beading.

With a tightly cinched waist, the skirt was very full consisting of about 40 yards of fabric over layers of tulle underskirts.

Margaret's veil was also made of silk organza and cascades from her dramatic up-do (purportedly aided by hairpieces) and drawing even more attention to the dramatic Poltimore tiara that had been purchased just for her. (It sold at auction in 2006 for $1.7 million.)

The veil was trimmed with ivory lining giving the princess a polished, complete "frame."

Tune in tomorrow when Fashionably Royal reviews the wedding of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, in the run-up to Friday's big wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Princess Anne's Wedding Day

Today we look back at a wedding that purportedly drew over 500 million television viewers nearly 40 years ago.

Date: 14 November 1973
Place: Westminster Abbey, London
Event: Wedding between Princess Anne and Mark Phillips

The dress is said to have been designed ostensibly by Princess Anne and executed by a team led by Maureen Baker.

The dress was made from silk with tight pintucking in the bodice to show her trim figure and included a high, collared neckline.

The sleeves of this dress were (and are!) a real talking point. They included enormous trumpet sleeves on the outside and puffed sleeves inside gathered at the wrist.

A nine-year-old Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones (now Chatto), Princess Anne's first cousin, served as bridesmaid and also wore a medieval inspired outfit.

Anne wore a tiara loaned to her by her mother the Queen. In fact, it was the tiara that the Queen wore on her wedding day. Anne's veil was relatively short (for a royal bride) and the train had a silk gauze overlay

Tune in tomorrow to Fashionably Royal for more in our lead-up to William and Kate's wedding on Friday with a look back at Princess Margaret's 1960 wedding fashions.