On 10th March 1863 Queen Victoria’s eldest son, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales married Princess Alexandra of Denmark at St George’s Chapel in Windsor. Whilst the wedding wasn’t the first to take place since the death of the Queen’s husband, Prince Albert, in 1861 (Princess Alice had married Prince Louis of Hesse in July 1862), it was still overwhelmed by the Queen’s ongoing grief. Despite the fact that it was the wedding of the future monarch, Victoria insisted that the ceremony be much smaller than would usually be expected, with St George’s Chapel being chosen instead of Westminster Abbey or St James’s Palace. Queen Victoria also insisted that her grief was too deep for her to play any role in the preparations for the big day. Nonetheless, the opinionated monarch still ensured that things were done her way, including the requirements for the bride’s dress.
Unlike many of the dresses worn by Queen Victoria’s own daughters on their wedding days, Princess Alexandra’s wedding Dress still survives in the Royal Collection. A perfect example of 1860’s fashion, the dress is made up of an ivory bodice and skirt. Upon hearing of the engagement, the Queen’s uncle, King Leopold I of Belgium, kindly sent Alexandra some Belgium lace to decorate her gown. However, Queen Victoria was determined to follow in the footsteps of her own wedding, just as her two eldest daughters had in 1858 and 1862. This rule meant that the dress should be made by local dressmakers, using British-made fabrics. Just like the Queen’s wedding dress from 1840, ivory Spitalfields silk was used for the foundation of the bodice and skirt.
The only piece of the dress to survive in its original state, the bodice consists of puffed sleeves, tulle and Honiton lace, with the addition of artificial bunches orange blossoms and myrtle. In comparison, the skirt has a much simpler, flat design, which leads to a small train and lace.
As we can see in contemporary depictions of Alexandra wearing the dress, the skirt was originally decorated with four deep flounces of Honiton lace and artificial orange blossom and myrtle, with the addition of a 21 foot silver moiré train, which had been trimmed with matching lace. Prior to the wedding, the dress was made by Ms James, a dressmaker from Belgravia in London. However, soon after the wedding Alexandra requested that Madame Elise of Regents Street alter it into an Evening Dress so that it could worn for future occasions. This is the version of the dress that we see today.
Perhaps the most historic part of the dress, the Honiton lace was designed by Mary Tucker and shows cornucopias filled with English roses, Scottish thistles and Irish shamrocks. The intricate design was then brought to life by her father’s company, Messers. John Tucker and Co. of Branscombe in Devon. Along with the flounces for the main dress, matching lace was made for the Princess’s veil, which was held in place by yet another wreath of orange blossom and myrtle.
On the day of her wedding, Alexandra wore her lavish dress with the pearl earrings, necklace and brooch, which had been a gift from her new husband. In addition to this she wore an opal and diamond bracelet from her mother-in-law, the Queen, along with two bracelets that had been given to her by the people of Leeds and Manchester. As for the Belgium lace that had been sent by Uncle Leopold, it is believed that this is the rogue piece of lace, which unusually decorates the brown silk and muslin layer on the inside of the gown, perhaps a protest by Alexandra over Victoria’s strict rules over what she should wear!
© Queen.Victoria.Roses 2026
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