The Russia, Royalty, and the Romanovs exhibition at the Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, includes an incredible range of objects. Although many of the pieces are portraits and ceramics, there are a few textile pieces that are particularly interesting. Princess Charlotte is often forgotten- she died before she could become queen, and the Queen that took her place became an entire era. Still, she is an interesting woman, so I was quite excited to discover something of her’s in the exhibition. Every exhibition has a hidden gem if you are willing to look for it!
This is Princess Charlotte’s dress, made in the Russian style. According to the Royal Collection Trust, it is a
Dress, full length, sleeveless; blue silk trimmed round bodice and down centre skirt with scalloped gold lace with red highlights; skirt edged with gold fringe: separate front opening bodice, drawstring high-waisted flared/gathered skirt.
Tsar Alexander I had visited London in 1814, and it quickly became fashionable to wear dresses in the Russian style. Crowds flocked everywhere to see the Tsar and his entourage, and Russian clothing quickly became en vogue. It is interesting to me that his visit was in 1814, and by the time the dress was made in 1816, it was still a popular style.
Clearly, this is an idealised style of Russian dress- I should think most Russians weren’t wearing dresses made of silk and gold. However, it is beautiful to see in person. The portrait that she wore the dress for (painted by George Dawe, c. 1817-1825) makes the dress look quite a bit darker than it is in real life. This lighter, brighter blue silk is gorgeous to see, and makes the gold and red braiding stand out much more.
I personally loved seeing the textiles and jewellery in this exhibition- portraits feel slightly obvious to me, but pieces like this dress show the relationship in action. And if you are interested in learning more about the dress, the Royal Collection Trust has a wonderful video on it and the portrait!
What do you think of Princess Charlotte’s Russian style dress?
Cheers,
The Historian
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Bloglovin’
I love it! I love Russian style and fashion. They had some gorgeous outfits. I also love their headdresses — kokoshnik? I saw a bunch of them on display in the Hermitage and the Mariinsky Theatre when I was in St Petersburg, and I thought they were gorgeous.