Royal Focus: Queen Elizabeth II's Royal Wedding Dress

When Queen Elizabeth II, at the time Princess Elizabeth, married in 1947, her wedding dress was a stunning creation despite the post war austerity and strict rationing laws. Princess Elizabeth herself was not exempt from the rationing and reportedly saved her clothing coupons for her wedding dress. She received an extra two hundred coupons from the government and many loyal subjects sent in their own coupons. However, it was illegal to give away clothing coupons and the princess returned them to their rightful owners with a note of thanks.

The wedding dress was made by Norman Hartnell and the design was inspired by an image of Primavera by the painter Botticelli. The figure, with its trailing garlands of jasmine, smilax, syringa and rose-like blossoms - was derived from the classical godess of flowers, Flora, and suggested to him the promise of growth and new beginnings.

Hartnell started work on the dress in August, a mere three months before the wedding in November. Although he was no stranger to designing dresses for royalty, this comission had its share of unique challenges and he had to white-wash the windows of his workroom to keep the dress under wraps. Requiring some materials from the United States, Hartnell sent his manager, Captain Mitchison in his place. Upon his return, when asked if he had anything to declare, Captain Mitchison replied that he had 10,000 pearls for Princess Elizabeth's wedding dress. When the chosen fabric for the dress was publicized, some demanded to know the nationality of the silkworms; whether they were from 'enemy' territories such as Japan or Italy. A crisis was averted when it was confirmed that the larvae had been supplied by China.

Despite these obstacles the dress was a triumph. Decorated with 10,000 pearls, the ivory dress of duchess satin was in the Princess style with a fitted bodice and the neckline had a deep-scalloped edge. The front bodice was cut in three panels and the back cut in four, fastening down the centre back with buttons and loops. The wrist-length, tight-fitting  sleeves ended in embroidered cuffs. From the low-pointed waist, the skirt, cut on the cross, extended to a deep circular train.

The 15-foot star patterned silk tulle train, fastened at the shoulders was embroidered with crystal and appliqué duchesse satin  Working with his head embroideress, Hartnell laid tracing paper out on his workroom floor and carefully marked out the pattern in pencil. The white York roses were padded satin, and the ears of corn and orange blossom in diamante and pearl embroidery, inspired by Primavera. The long veil was held in place by a diamond fringe tiara, lent to the Princess, as something borrowed, by her mother, the Queen. She wore two pearl necklaces (the Queen Anne and the Queen Caroline pearls) given as a wedding gift by her parents, and pearl and diamond earrings, a twentieth birthday present from Queen Mary.

She wore ivory duchesse satin high-heeled sandals, trimmed with silver and seed pearl buckles, made by Edward Rayne. Her floral bouquet was supplied by the Worshipful Company of Gardeners and made by Martin Longman, consisted of white orchids with a sprig of myrtle, taken, as per royal wedding tradition, from a bush at Osbourne.

© Marilyn Braun 2010

Wedding dress images from PicApp.

Primavera by Botticelli image via Wikipedia.

Royal Profile: Cecil Beaton

When Cecil Beaton visited a clairvoyant in 1926, she told him that he would have a lot to do with royalty. At the time he could not have realized just how prophetic that statement would be.

Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton was born in London on January 14, 1904, the grandson of a blacksmith, and the eldest son of a prosperous timber merchant. He had three siblings: Reginald (Reggie) born 1905, Nancy (born 1909) and Barbara (Baba) born 1912. When he was 11, his grandmother bought him his first camera, which he taught himself the basics of photography, using his mother and sisters as his first models. When he became more proficient he sent his photographs off to London society magazines, writing under a pen name but recommending the work of 'Beaton'.

Raised in Hampstead, he attended Heath Mount School, London where he felt like an outsider much of the time. It wasn't until he attended Harrow School that he hit his stride and involved himself in the theatre, designing sets, sewing costumes and performing. Although not academically inclined, to please his parents he attended St. Thomas' College, Cambridge, studying history, art and architecture. He continued to work on his photography in his homemade studio, sending photographs to the major fashion magazines. Through his university contacts he was commissioned to photograph the Duchess of Amalfi. The photograph, bought and printed by Vogue, gave him his first ever published work.

In 1925 he left Cambridge without a degree and his father gave him a job in his office as a clerk. He lasted eight days. Bringing along his camera, he spent his time attending society parties, taking photographs of the elite and London glitterati. These photographs formed his first exhibition in 1927. Shortly afterwards he set up his own studio, establishing himself as London's definative society photographer. As his success grew he set his sights on the glamour of Hollywood, eventually photographing Marlene Dietrich, Tallulah Bankhead, Marlon Brando, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn and Greta Garbo, amongst others.

During the Second World War he worked for the British government and military as official photographer and his images of the devastation were later published in the book Winged Squadrons (1942). In addition to his flourishing photographic career, he wrote several books, worked as an illustrator and set designer for various theatrical productions; winning four Tony awards. For his work in film, he won two Academy Awards for costume design for Gigi in 1958 and My Fair Lady in 1964. His black and white costumes for My Fair Lady were inspired by the 1910 Black Ascot following the death of King Edward VII.

He would photograph the royal family for fifty years, starting in 1930 with Princess Louise, daughter of Queen Victoria. In his royal photographs he was greatly inspired by painters Franz Xaver Winterhalter and Thomas Gainsborough and used blow-ups of their paintings as backdrops for some of his most successful and romantic portraits of Queen Elizabeth and the young Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret. These portraits did much to restore the image of the monarchy after the Abdication in 1936, particularly transforming the image of Elizabeth, Duchess of York from minor royal into regal personage when she became Queen. Some of his most notable photographs included the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor in 1937, the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, as well as the first official photos of the infants Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. Beaton was also influenced by photographers Marcus Adams and Bertram Park and in the 1950's and 1960's his photographs took on a more informal style, inspired by Irving Penn and Richard Avedon.

In 1957 he was became a Commander, Order of the British Empire, in 1960 he was made a Chevalier, Legion of Honor, and he was knighted in 1972. He suffered a stroke in 1974, and although one side of his body would be permanently paralyzed, he taught himself to write and draw with his left hand and had his cameras adapted. However his health would remain damaged and he died in Broadchalke, Wiltshire, 18 January 1980.

© Marilyn Braun 2006