Kicking off my new series, ‘Royal Fashion Friday’, we’re looking at Queen Victoria’s earliest surviving dress, best known as the ‘Blonde Dress’.
© Shannon McInulty / Queen.Victoria.Roses
Made in the early 1830s, this delicate rare survival is believed to have been a gift from King Leopold I of Belgium to his niece, Princess Victoria of Kent (later Queen Victoria). Historians are unsure of why this specific dress survives; however, it is possible that this is the dress that young Victoria can be seen wearing in Richard Westall’s 1830 portrait of the princess sketching.
The ‘Blonde Dress’ gets its name from the natural silk lace, which has been layered over another layer of white silk satin, creating an essence of the eleven-year-old’s royal elegance and maturity, whilst also presenting her innocent purity. While Queen Victoria describes her childhood as being incredibly suppressive, this simple dress is a perfect example of the efforts her mother, the Duchess of Kent, went to in order to create the perfect public image for the future monarch.
© Queen.Victoria.Roses 2026
Want to be notified about new content? Subscribe to my website to receive email updates!
This article is the intellectual property of Queen.Victoria.Roses and should not be COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances unless permission is given by the author
How lucky that this dress was preserved! It is beautiful especially when you see it alongside the painting of then Princess Victoria wearing it.
This sounds like an exciting series and can’t wait for more next Friday.
Thank you for all you do in your research and sharing. Best of luck Shannon in 2026.