Princess Charlotte’s 1816 wedding dress on display at Buckingham Palace

Britain’s oldest royal wedding dress, dating from 1816, is set to be displayed at Buckingham Palace.

The remarkable dress belonged to Princess Charlotte of Wales, daughter of King George IV, and is the only royal wedding dress from the Georgian period.

Modern-day Princess Charlotte of Wales, the seven-year-old daughter of the Prince and Princess of Wales, shares her name with her ancestor.

The dress is a silver-embroidered silk wedding dress, and will be on display in the Queen’s Gallery at the Palace of London, as part of the Style & Society: Dress Georgians exposure.

Princess Charlotte’s wedding to Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, later Belgium’s first king, was considered one of the most important royal wedding celebrations of the time.

She embraced the tradition of European royal brides wearing silver, although white wedding dresses were already popular in the late 18th century.

The headstrong princess was the only legitimate child of George IV, but tragically died aged just 21 from complications shortly after giving birth to a stillborn son the year after her wedding.

The Royal Collection Trust reports that the dress appears to have been significantly altered from its original form, in line with Georgian practice of reusing and recycling clothing. Nevertheless, it still retains its stunning beauty and intricate detail.

The dress has a high waisted silk satin bodice with short puff sleeves and plunging neckline, petticoat, overskirt, train and apron and metallic embroidery.

Princess Charlotte’s life was marked by tragedy and her untimely death deeply affected her family and the nation as a whole.

Born in 1796, she was the only daughter of King George IV, then a prince, and Caroline of Brunswick. As George III’s only legitimate granddaughter, she became heir presumptive to the British throne at birth, and her arrival was welcomed by the King, who wrote shortly after saying he had always wished that he is of this sex.

However, this did not signify the king’s desire for her to become queen in the future, as it revealed his hopes that the birth of the princess would serve as a further bond of union and reconciliation between her parents, presumably leading to the birth of a male heir.

Princess Charlotte grew attached to Captain Charles Hesse of the 18th Light Dragoons, but the relationship ended when Captain Hesse left for the Continent, taking his letters with him.

She later became engaged to William, Hereditary Prince of Orange, but broke it off after coming under pressure from her father.

The princess eventually married Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, before suffering stillbirth and dying five hours later.

The exhibition features more than 200 works from the royal collection, including a bracelet with nine medallions, six containing locks of hair and one with a miniature of Princess Charlotte’s left eye. The exhibit also explores the hair, cosmetics and grooming tools used by Georgian men and women to achieve their elaborate styles.

On display for the first time is an itinerant vermeil toilet service, acquired by the future George IV as a gift for his private secretary at the price of 300, the equivalent of more than 20,000 today.

Grooming service provides insight into the grooming routine of a Georgian gentleman. It contains more than 100 objects, including razors, combs, ear spoons and tongue scrapers as well as tools for cleaning guns and making hot chocolate.

Anna Reynolds, Curator of Style & Societysaid: The dress is so much more than what we see on the surface, and it’s fascinating what we can learn about a period when looking at it through a fashion history lens.

Visitors might be surprised to learn how much the Georgian period has in common with the fashion landscape we know today, from influencers and fashion magazines to ideas about the value of clothes and how they can be recycled. and reused.

The exhibition offers a rare opportunity to see the only royal wedding dress from the Georgian era and gain insight into the life and times of Princess Charlotte, a remarkable woman who would have become queen had she survived . Her legacy lives on through the surviving artifacts of her time, including her beautiful dress.

Updated: April 22, 2023, 09:17