Queen Victoria's Military Uniform
- Victoria Regina
- 16 hours ago
- 4 min read
As head of state Queen Victoria was also commander-in-chief of the army. At the beginning of her reign her Windsor uniform had provided a suitably pseudo-martial image, but her numerous pregnancies inevitably ruled out horseback appearances in successive years. In 1856, however, the return of the troops from the Crimea prompted a succession of reviews to welcome them home. Where possible she tried to appear on horseback, at first wearing a dark green riding habit with a round black hat trimmed with red and white feathers. By 16 June, no doubt at Prince Albert’s prompting and probably to his design, Queen Victoria appeared for the first time in her scarlet military tunic, a modified version of a British general’s tunic.
© Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2026 | Royal Collection Trust
As no uniforms for women existed, it was necessary for an appropriate modification to be devised for the Queen: the solution was a variant on a riding habit. The jacket was probably the work of the military tailor Frederick Mortimer of Conduit Street, to whom several payments were made at about the appropriate time. It cleverly incorporates the essential details of a military tunic, lending it an air of authenticity and authority, whilst at the same time retaining an element of femininity.
© Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2026 | Royal Collection Trust
Queen Victoria wore her scarlet tunic for the first time while attending a military camp in Aldershot. By the end of the year she was pregnant with her final child and, as a result, military reviews were put on hold until the following summer. In June 1857 Victoria distributed the first Victoria Crosses. She was wearing the V-neck tunic, with a long black riding skirt, accompanied by a black wool felt hat, which had been decorated with orange, red and white feathers, replicating a General’s plume. Victoria also wore the Garter Star and a General’s sash, accompanied by a black crepe armband in remembrance of the soldiers that had lost their lives.
The tunic was beautifully tailored and lined with white silk, all was stitched by hand, and the detailing was superb and aroused great interest. Her attire was described in detail: 'of the finest scarlet cloth; the ornaments of the collar beautifully embroidered in gold and silver, the device the same as a Field Marshal`s Across the left shoulder the blue ribbon of the Garter; a brilliant star upon the left breast, and a crimson and gold net sash, terminated with gold bullion tassels. The hat was of light black felt, with a round crown, and of graceful design, having a general officer's thrice round the crown, ending with plume of red and white feathers, and a cord of crimson and gold two handsome gold and crimson bullion tassels.'
In her Journal the Queen recorded that she was ‘not a little proud of the tunic, whilst The Times described her outfit as ‘a piquant and graceful costume’ In November 1856 the Queen’s final pregnancy forced her temporarily to relinquish horseback reviews until after the birth of Princess Beatrice in April 1857. By July 1857, however, she was back in uniform to distribute the first Victoria Crosses to Crimean veterans and she continued to wear this striking martial outfit in succeeding years. A second tunic which buttoned to the throat and had a standing collar imitating that on men’s tunics is slightly larger in size and is thought to be a later version.
Victoria wore both this and the other tunic on several occasions throughout her reign, creating a timeless look that was later replicated and modernised by Queen Elizabeth II. Queen Camilla recently wore an even more modernised version inspired by Queen Victoria's military tunic, Camilla's uniform is a bespoke Fiona Clare coat dress featuring epaulettes to reflect her military rank and inspired by the Grenadier Guards regimental uniform with a Philip Treacy hat based on a bearskin.
Both hats made for Queen Victoria's military ensemble are made of black wool felt trimmed with a cord of braid, made from crimson silk and gilt metal thread with a heavy tassel at each end, and finished with a spray of swan's feathers reflecting that of a Full Dress Cocked Hat of a General Officer of Field Marshal.
© Museum of London 2026
The hats have a domed crown and broad brim, slightly turned up on the outside. The edge of the brim has been bound with black cotton tape. The cord has been wrapped three times round the hat at the base of the crown, with the tassels arranged to lie side by side at the centre front. A spray of feathers, which curls round the left side of the hat, has been inserted behind the cord at the centre front; the feathers at the front of the spray, which are smaller in size, have been dyed red. There is a black velvet chin strap which passes through a black elastic loop. The lining is of black silk around the lower part of the crown with white silk in the top. The white silk has been printed with the maker's name and address and the royal coat of arms. It reads, 'W.C.BROWN/ RIDING & FANCY HATTER,/ TO THE QUEEN/ And the Elite of Europe, / 13 & 14,/ New Bond Street,/ LONDON.'
The V neck tunic alongside its matching hat was bought by the collector J G Joicey at a Red Cross sale in 1917 and later donated to The Museum of London where it still resides. The rounded collar tunic and matching hat are still part of the Royal Collection Trust and was last displayed at Kensington Palace in 2013.
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