Traditionally there had been only silver and gold threads used in the making of the coronation dresses of the queen regnant (a female monarch who rules in her own right) throughout British history. Surprisingly, it was not until June 2, 1953 at Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation that color was ever introduced. To design the historic gown the queen commissioned Normon Hartnell, the top British couture designer of the time. Hartnell also had the esteemed privilege of designing the queen’s wedding gown, so it is clear that the queen must have trusted his taste in style. He had relatively free reign over the concept for the gown, but decided to take heavy inspiration from previous British queens as well as religious garb to create an ethereal look.

     After lots of research Hartnell ended up creating seven different sketches of potential dresses, all of which the queen turned down. Expressing that he wanted the dress to appear from heaven, covered in crystals and gemstones that reflected the shimmering lights, Hartnell worked diligently to come up with something that the queen would approve of. However, the pressure was even higher because, for the first time in history, the coronation was going to be broadcast live on television. Millions of people from the United Kingdom and all over the world were going to be watching the event so the gown not only needed to be beautiful in person, but also equally as stunning on camera. Eventually the queen was won over with the eighth design that Hartnell had come up with and she only suggested a few slight modifications to his sketch before it was perfect.

     There were a total of three essential elements that the queen had specially requested to be included in the final construction of the dress. First was that the shape and material of the dress needed to be similar to that of her wedding dress that Hartnell had designed for her nearly five years earlier. In the end, both gowns were made from ivory duchesse silk satin, featured a bell-shaped silhouette, and decorated with intricate embroidery of various botanical motifs. Although the dresses were very similar in many ways, the queen thought of a way to easily differentiate them. She asked Hartnell for pastel colored threads to be included along with the traditional silver and gold in the embroidery appliques. This is the first time that color would be added to any queens’ coronation dresses of the 20th century. The addition of pastel colored embroidery not only makes it appear less like a wedding dress, but it also looks more dynamic and interesting for the cameras. 

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The Queen had one final request...

     For her coronation gown was for the inclusion of all the floral emblems of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth at the time which included: England (rose), Scotland (thistle), Wales (leek), Ireland (shamrock), Australia (wattle), New Zealand (silver fern), Canada (maple leaf), India (lotus), Ceylon (now Sri Lanka, also the lotus), South Africa (protea), and Pakistan (wheat, cotton, and jute). Here are photos of the original samples of these emblems still in their embroidery hoops.

 

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     The queen wanted to have equal representation of all the places she now had dominion over as a sign of her appreciation for the peoples of these places. Once again, this is an especially important element to include in the design since this will be the first coronation dress to be viewed on television by so many people, many of whom are being represented on her skirt. 

     The final gown had a sweetheart neckline with a slight bell shape consisting of three layered tiers of satin skirts with a scalloped edge, covered in intricate embroidery using pearls, crystals, bugle beads, sequins, and gold & coloured silk threads. Each tier, the neckline, and the sleeves are all bordered with alternating lines of gold bugle beads, diamonds, and pearls. In total the dress ended up weighing over 30 pounds (13 kilos), and that is the weight before the additional robe and crown she had to wear during the ceremony! The construction had taken nearly five whole months and was created from the design talents of Hartnell and his assistant, Ian Thomas, as well as the handiwork of Madame Isabelle and Miss Edie Duley as heads of the dress construction and embroidery. Hartnell even put his own personal touch on the gown by including an embroidered four-leafed clover placed on the skirt so that the Queen could touch it with her hand for good luck. 

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     And good luck she seemed to have had...

Because Queen Elizabeth II would go on to become the longest reigning monarch in British history and will likely be one of the most well remembered across the globe. This year would have been her 100th birthday, so to celebrate her, the Royal Trust is honoring her memory with an exhibition at Buckingham Palace featuring some of the most fashionable moments from her life.