A visit to Historic Royal Palaces archive

Yesterday i visited Hampton Court Palace to see various items of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's clothing. This was a private viewing inside their storehouse, I was kindly granted permission to visit and view items from Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's wardrobe.

I was greeted by Matthew Storey who was incredibly knowledgeable and kind! It was lovely to find someone who loves Queen Victoria as much as me. Matthew was incredibly knowledgeable and accommodating. I cannot think of anyone more perfect to share these beautiful items with me!

Tartan skirt - 1850's

The first item which was laid out in a pristine box with acid free tissue paper was a tartan skirt worn by Queen Victoria during the 1850's. The fabric is predominantly red white and green (with small lines of black and yellow) wool. The skirt features knife pleats at the front which turn into cartidge pleats at the back closure. The closure is two hook and eyes which seem to have been replaced. The waistband is of a brown silk. Interestingly the front of the waistband features a small dart which has been unpicked twice (the silk thankfully holds the removed stitching holes which allows us to see where this dart once was) the dart was originally wider but was let out and eventually completely unpicked. Interestingly the placket has not been bound or finished in anyway, the edges are left raw. This garments is entirely hand sewn and has a hem of 4 inches.

Broderie anglaise petticoat - 1840's

This petticoat has not yet been put on display.

The petticoat is of a white soft cotton and features two darts. Interestingly there is a fabric section at the front on which the cartidge pleats are attached (the cartidge pleats are attached to the bodice at the back and sides but gradually move onto this section of fabric at the front) the front section of fabric is piped and rounds off just after the side seam. Just above the hem are 6 pin tucks which are of all equal width until the last on which is 3-4inches. The hem is 7 inches of broderie anglaise with a scalloped edge. The back is fastened with 5 button holes and each closure has two Dorset buttons. The neckline and sleeves are adorned with Valenciennes lace.

Cotton lawn petticoat - 1840's

This fine cotton lawn petticoat has been widely photographed and features in Historic Royal Palaces most viewed video 'Queen Victoria's petticoat takes a bath'

The chelating agent triammonium citrate combined with anionic detergent Orvus WA paste was used to clean the petticoat and i must say it done a brilliant job!

This petticoat features three darts at the bust point and a small 'tape' at the bodice edge to attach almost miniscule cartidge pleats to. The hem is plain and is 5-6 inches in depth. At the back of the petticoat there are two draw strings which would have been used to create a fitted neckline underneath a dress. This petticoat has a 26 inch waist and 35 inch bust which is not far off from her wedding dress measurements. the bodice shows signs that the buttons

and eye fastenings may have been moved by an inch, increasing the size of the

bodice, suggesting it could have originally fastened at 25 inches at the waist, and 34 inches at the bust.

Silk satin and gauze ballgown - 1843

This beautiful ballgown was incredibly helpful in studying the construction techniques as I intend to recreate one of Queen Victoria's ballgowns.

This ballgown is made from an almost paperlike gauze which is backed onto a silk satin. The bodice is style in a fashionable 1840's V point at the waist and has a low neckline which would has a lace bertha attached. The lace bertha currently on the dress is not the original. The original bertha was likely reused on another dress. Queen Victoria is known for reusing lace and even diamonds on her dresses (including her wedding lace which was often sewn on dresses she wore to her children's christenings as well as on the dress she wore for her diamond jubilee portrait) The embroidery on this dress features floral motifs with variations of

The lace which is tacked onto a piece of mesh behind the neckline of the dress was sourced by the curators of Historic Royal Palaces and is lace from the correct time period. The lace was added so when the dress was on display visitors could get an idea of what the dress originally looked like.

The waistline is piped with two rows of silk piping which of course was all hand sewn. The bodice has three seams at the front which are backed with a bone on each seam. The bones are encased in a cotton and sewn onto seams which are finished with whip stitches.

Now the 'secret' to this dress is very interesting and cannot be seen when the garment is on display.... under the armscye the fabric has been replaced. The embroidery around this area has been attempted to match the pattern of the existing embroidery but it is not perfect. The was given to the wife of interior decorator John Gregory Crace by the Queen in the 1850s so this adjustment may have been added by the second owner to make it fit better.

The skirt is of the same material and has matching embroidery to that of the bodice. The embroidery on the skirt is on both sides of the front and extends to the back of the dress just above the hem. The waistband is not originally and was most likely added during conservation for stability when displaying the dress. The waistband currently on the skirt is sewn with machine stitching and does not have the original hook and eye closure. The front of the skirt where the longest part of the bodice would sit is almost completely flat. The sides of the skirt are ever so slightly gathered and the very back next to the closures is cartidge pleated onto the waistband with the excess fabric of the pleats finished with pinking. This method of construction allows the front of the bodice to lay flat and makes the hips look wider to create the illusion of a smaller waist.

Queen Victoria's Slippers - 1843

These slippers are made of a black silk satin and fasten with black satin ribbons. the inside edges are lined with white leather and the inner soles are lined with a loosely woven cotton or linen. The inner soles are marked with an oval makers mark of Gundry & Son which reads, “Gundry & Son, Boot & Shoe Makers to the Queen, the Queen Dowager, Their Royal Highnesses the Duchess of Kent & Princess Sophia/1 Soho Square, London”,

Grundy & Son were suppliers of shoes to The Royal family well into the 1880's. Gundry & Son supplied shoes to the Queen throughout her reign and appear regularly in the Office of Robes accounts. They also produced shoes for both Queen Victoria's coronation and wedding.

The slippers are inscribed 'Worn by Queen Victoria" on the sole, and June 8th' on the lining. The soles measure exactly 9 inches, accounting for room in the toe box the Queen's feet would have been around 8.5 inches meaning she would be equivalent to a size 3-4 in UK modern shoe size.

Historic Royal Palace curator of collections Claudia Acott Williams explored the provenance of these shoes and revealed that they had been passed down the generations by direct descent from Samuel Bagster the Elder. Samuel was founder of publishing firm Bagster & Sons who supplied bibles to King George IV, King William IV and Queen Victoria.

Prince Albert's shirt - 1854

Prince Albert's shirt is a rare survivig piece of the Prince's wardrobe to still survive. Only one other shirt worn by Prince Albert is known to survive (the other shirt is owned and cared for by The V&A museum)

Me and Matthew the curator of Historic Royal Palace's royal dress collection were debating on why Prince Albert's clothing is so rare to find. One of our guesses was that after Queen Victoria’s death most of it was either thrown away or lost. We must remember that Prince Albert was a distant figure in Queen Victoria's childrens memories as he had died almost 40 years prior to Edward VII succession. It may be that Victoria's children were fed up of Victoria's mourning and had moved on with their own lives thus finding no need to preserve his clothes (this is just my theory)

The shirt is entirely hand sew and is made of linen. There is the laundry mark for Prince Albert, embroidered in blue with a crown, the date 1854, and is numbered 12.

The collar and cuff has no interfacing (in this period another fabric inbetween the outer fabric, often called flatlining or mounting) the shirt would have been heavily starched for a crisp look. The front features two pintucks either side and one at the closure. The front closure would have been closed with removable studs. The buttons at the cuff are mother of pearl. The shirt edge is finished with around a 1cm hem. Interestingly at the front below the closure there is a button 'tab' which may have been used to button the shirt to the trousers to prevent the untucking of the shirt. Interestingly i have seen around 5 examples of this button hole tab on variois shirts ranging from 1840-1860 but have yet to find a definitive use for it.

Prince Albert's Dressing Gown - 1852-7

Another rare survival of royal clothing is a dressing gown believed to have been owned by Prince Albert. This dressing gown is made from silk decorated with a floribunda rose design. Queen Victoria was buried with a similar dressing gown of Prince Albert's which was believed to be made by their daughter Princess Alice. Albert would have worn with dressing gown with just trousers and a shirt when he was relaxing in his private apartments.

Interestingly found in the pocket of this garments was a leaf and a stand of hair. Perhaps Prince Albert wore this dressing gown whilst walking the grounds of one of the residences and found this leaf and placed it in his pocket. Perhaps we will never know if these two small items really were from Prince Albert....

This robe was given to German-born Rudolph Löhlein, valet to Prince Albert and personal attendant to Queen Victoria. The seller of this unique piece claimed that Rudolph Löhlein was their great great grandfather. He became The Prince Consort’s second valet in 1847 and then principal valet in 1858. They knew each other as children. He was at Prince Albert’s death bed when he died aged 42. My father used to say Albert died in his arms.”

An 1896 newspaper obituary on Löhlein included this note by Queen Victoria: “This faithful and trusted valet nursed his dear master so tenderly through his sad illness in December, 1861, and is now always with me as my personal groom of the chambers or valet. I gave him a house near Windsor Castle where he resides when the Court is there.”

Löhlein’s devotion was also referred to in Sir Theodore Martin’s Life of HRH Prince Consort: “When in the early days of December 1861 the Prince Consort was stricken down with fever, it was Löhlein who sat throughout the night watches with the medical attendants and he was present on the sad Saturday night, December 14, when the Queen’s beloved husband breathed his last.”

The vendor added: “Löhlein headed Prince Albert’s funeral procession when it passed the nave of St George’s Chapel. Then, when the coffin was removed to Frogmore, his final resting place, it was Löhlein who was entrusted with conveying Prince Albert’s crown and baton.

Conclusion

I cannot thank Historic Royal Palaces and Matthew Storey enough for making my dream come true! Viewing such special items of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert has been a dream of mine since portraying Queen Victoria 7 years ago. Matthew was incredibly informative and helpful. He knew all the answers to my questions and knew the background to each garment. All the staff were incredibly friendly and helpful as soon as I arrived.

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