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Members-Only Preview Day: Royal Style in the Making

  • An event exclusively for Historic Royal Palaces members
  • New exhibition at Hillsborough Castle and Gardens
  • Preview takes place before public opening

On this members-only preview day, be among the first to step into the world of regal elegance in Royal Style in the Making, a captivating new exhibition at Hillsborough Castle. 

Unveiling the intimate bond between royal clients and fashion designers, discover how the British fashion industry has crafted the iconic style of the British royal women.

The exhibition showcases three stunning outfits on display, including the extraordinary toile used in the design of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother’s coronation gown, worn in 1937, as well as original design drawings from some of Britain’s finest designers.

Learn more about Royal Style in the Making.

When

14 March 2025

Ticketing information

Members go free. 

Pre-booking required to guarantee entry; tickets will be available to book early 2025.

All attendees must be named Historic Royal Palaces members holding a valid membership. Please present your membership card alongside your ticket at the entrance.

Free (advance booking required)

A light blue elaborate ballgown on a mannequin, against a light grey background.

Image: Royal Collection Trust / © 2nd Earl of Snowdon and Lady Sarah Chatto. Lent by 2nd Earl of Snowdon and Lady Sarah Chatto

Full length 45 degree angle view against a dark background of the toile for the 1937 silk satin coronation gown of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother; consort of King George VI. Showing the gold painted design for embroidery. This is a rare surviving toile, created by court designer Madam Handley-Seymour, a favoured couturier of the dowager Queen Mary. The toile is a cotton calico full-size working pattern of the completed coronation gown. It features the design for intricate embroidery work, representing emblems of the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, hand-painted onto it. Royal Style in the Making explores an intimate relationship between fashion designer and royal client. Displays reveal the design process behind the creation of important one-of-a-kind couture commissions in royal history, including original sketches, fabric swatches and handwritten notes. This exhibition shows how these royal designs helped shape the British monarchy’s public image and propel the British fashion industry onto the world stage.

Image: © Historic Royal Palaces

Belville Sassoon fashion sketch of a blue flowered dress with wide blue hat drawn for Diana, Princess of Wales and dated 1988. Hand drawn and coloured in pencil and ink. Princess Diana called this outfit her “caring dress”. Royal Style in the Making explores an intimate relationship between fashion designer and royal client. Displays reveal the design process behind the creation of important one-of-a-kind couture commissions in royal history, including original sketches, fabric swatches and handwritten notes. This exhibition shows how these royal designs helped shape the British monarchy’s public image and propel the British fashion industry onto the world stage.

Image: © Historic Royal Palaces/The gift of David Sassoon

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