Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection

The Rockingham Mantua, c1760s

A mantua was a large wide dress worn over whalebone hoops and lined with heavy silver thread. This dress has silk satin brocaded in silver thread with silver lace trim. Probably worn by Mary, Marchioness of Rockingham, wife of British Prime Minister Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham.

Muslin sack-back court dress

White Indian cotton muslin embroidered with trailing sprays of flowers and leaves in silver wire and silver strip, trimmed with silver lace and gimp. The sack-back was a fashionable 18th-century gown with the fabric at the back arranged in box pleats at the shoulders, falling loose to the ground with a slight train. The dress would have been worn with a wide square hoop under the petticoat.

Royal baby gown

A hand-stitched, fine silk robe worn by George, Prince of Wales (later Prince Regent, then King George IV) (1762-1830). 

King George III's waistcoat (back), 1819

This silk damask waistcoat was probably one of the last items of clothing the King wore before his death in January 1820. In the last years of his life, pieces of fabric were inserted into the sleeves to aid mobility and make dressing the King easier.

Queen Victoria's underwear, c1850
A pair of cotton open drawers or knickers worn by Queen Victoria (1819-1901).

Queen Victoria's underwear was numbered and embroidered with her monogram, 'VR' so they could be kept track of when sent to the laundry. This style of drawers, made without a gusset, was fashionable when Victoria was a young woman and she stayed with it throughout her life, despite the fact that trends changed over the course of the 19th century.

Baby shoes

Ivory silk satin shoes believed to have been worn by Princess Beatrice (1857-1944) when she was about 18 months old. These are the smallest shoes in the collection.

Confetti bag

A gold confetti bag with tassel for the wedding of Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg (1887-1969). This silk and gilt cone of rice confetti, with the initials VE adorning the side, is thought to have belonged to a bridesmaid of Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg and carried at the wedding. The confetti is still inside as tragedy struck the wedding procession when an anarchist threw a bomb at the royal carriage and an outrider was killed. Victoria Eugenia was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. She was Queen Consort of Spain as the wife of King of Spain Alfonso XIII of Bourbon, whom she married on 31 May 1906.

Jeanne Lanvin court dress, 1928
Court dress of pale peach silk georgette with silver bugle beads. Created by Jeanne Lanvin (1867-1946).

This dress was worn by Lillian Wardman at her daughter’s court presentation ceremony in 1928.

Tyrolean suit jacket, c1937 by F. Humhal

Grey jacket, part of a Tyrolean suit worn by the Duke of Windsor.

Diana 'Travolta' dress, Victor Edelstein, 1985

A midnight blue silk velvet evening dress designed by Victor Edelstein, also known as the ‘Travolta dress’. The Princess of Wales wore this dress when she danced with John Travolta at the White House, Washington DC, while at a State Dinner in 1985. She wore the dress with her pearl and sapphire choker.