Queen Victoria’s Great Exhibition Dress

On 1^st May 1851 Queen Victoria and Prince Albert experienced ‘one of the greatest & most glorious days’ of her life when the attended the magnificent opening ceremony of the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, the first international exhibition to showcase the newest technologies from around the world. Whilst he wasn’t responsible for the idea of the exhibition, Prince Albert had been a key figure in making the event a reality and, as a result, the exhibition is deemed as one of his greatest achievements.

Despite being the ruler of one of the most powerful nations of the time, the opening ceremony of the Great Exhibition truly put Victoria at the centre of the world’s stage in her roles as both queen and also as a proud wife. With all eyes on her, it’s no surprise that Victoria commissioned a new dress to be made for the occasion.

Just as the exhibition displayed fashionable French silks and other lavish textiles from around the world, Queen Victoria was determined to show off and support the silk weavers of Britain. Like many of her dresses from around the same period, this particular dress was made out of pink Spitalfields silk, a colour choice that was clearly made to make the monarch stand out amongst the black suits of the male officials that surrounded her. Woven into the fabric was a beautiful design of silver interlocking circles, which travelled vertically down the dress, catching the light and glistening with the Queen’s every movement. The skirt of the dress would have been simple, with no decorations other than those on the fabric. However, the bodice was decorated with lace sleeves and bertha, presumably also made in Britain.

Signalling that this was a state occasion, the Queen wore her regalia for the Order of the Garter; including her garter, lesser George and sash, which is secured to her dress with her Diamond Bar Brooch. Victoria also wore a simple gold chain necklace and a pearl bracelet with a portrait of Prince Albert. Following her usual style, Victoria had her hair dressed in a simple bun, with Queen Adelaide’s sunray tiara at the front and a ‘little crown at the back with two white feathers’ hanging on either side of her head.

Whilst Queen Victoria’s Great Exhibition dress still survives in the Royal Collection it is much altered to the version featured in contemporary paintings of the opening ceremony. The most noticeable difference is the colour. In paintings of the event Victoria can be seen in a vibrant pink dress. However, over the 175 years since the dress was made the pigment in the dye has degraded, causing the dress to appear more as a pink tinted ivory. Fortunately, some of the original colour remains near to the creases of the skirt, giving us an idea of what it would have looked like.

When looking at the dress as it is today, we cannot help but notice the ruffles of lace and the (somewhat hideous) pink silk satin bows, which adorn the bodice and skirt. Whilst there is seemingly no record of when these were added, it is clear that Victoria had the dress altered so that it could be re-worn for another occasion.

This magnificent dress was last displayed in 2019 as part of Kensington Palace’s exhibition, ‘Victoria: Woman and Crown’, which celebrated 200 years since the monarch’s birth. Having been worn on a day that Victoria described as making her ‘heart swell with thankfulness,’ this dress is the perfect bridge between Victoria the Queen who celebrated with her nation and Victoria the wife, who celebrated the achievements of her beloved husband.

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