Queen Victoria's black silk slippers
- Victoria Regina
- Jan 25
- 1 min read
In September 2025 I was lucky enough to have a private viewing at Historic Royal Palaces archives.
One of the various items I viewed and measured was this pair of slippers believed to have been worn by Queen Victoria.
The shoes are made of a black silk satin and fasten with black satin ribbons. The oval label in the right-hand shoe gives us a very useful insight into the makers and their customers.
The shoes were made by Gundry & Son who were the Queen’s primary boot and shoe makers throughout her life, and are thought to have made both her coronation and wedding shoes. The label 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”, on both soles of the shoes is written 'Worn by Queen Victoria' inside is also written 'June 8th' which may suggest when they were worn.
These slippers were purchased at auction by Historic Royal Palaces in 2016. Items purchased alongside these slippers were tunics, petticoats, gloves and shoes.
The provenance of the objects 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.
Queen Victoria was well acquainted with Samuel’s wife, Eunice Bagster, and it was through this connection that these objects found their way into the hands of the Bagster family.
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