{"id":2311666,"date":"2026-03-04T06:36:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T06:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2311666"},"modified":"2026-03-04T06:36:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T06:36:16","slug":"britains-royal-christening-gown-to-be-displayed-at-buckingham-palace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/britains-royal-christening-gown-to-be-displayed-at-buckingham-palace\/","title":{"rendered":"Britain\u2019s Royal Christening Gown to Be Displayed at Buckingham Palace"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Family portrait taken by Vandyk after the christening of Princess Elizabeth of York, 1926 (\u00a9 Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2026 | Royal Collection Trust)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This week, the Royal Collection Trust dropped another tantalizing preview of their upcoming exhibition on the fashion and style of Queen Elizabeth II, announcing that the royal christening gown worn by the future monarch in 1926 will be among the garments on display.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The royal christening gown commissioned by Queen Victoria in 1841 and made by Janet Sutherland (\u00a9 Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2026 | Royal Collection Trust)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Royal Collection Trust believes that this is the first time that the christening gown has ever been displayed in public. The press release they shared explains, \u201cThe robe is among approximately 200 items from Queen Elizabeth\u2019s fashion archive that will go on display from 10 April in the largest exhibition of her clothing ever staged, charting her style across ten decades. Its display at The King\u2019s Gallery is especially poignant as the gallery stands on the site of the private chapel at Buckingham Palace where the future Queen was christened, before the chapel was destroyed in the Blitz.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Charles Robert Leslie, The christening of Victoria, Princess Royal, 10 February 1841<\/em>, c.1841\u20132 (\u00a9 Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2026 | Royal Collection Trust)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The gown will surely be one of the oldest garments displayed at the King\u2019s Gallery. The RCT notes, \u201cMade 185 years ago, the christening robe was first worn by Queen Victoria\u2019s eldest child, Princess Victoria, for her christening in 1841. It was then carefully passed down and worn by consecutive generations of royal babies, including by Queen Elizabeth at her christening in May 1926 when she was just one month old.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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W & D Downey, The christening of Prince Edward of York (future King Edward VIII), White Lodge, Richmond Park, 1894 (\u00a9 Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2026 | Royal Collection Trust)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Generations of royal babies have been christened wearing the gown, which was made by Queen Victoria\u2019s Scottish dressmaker, Janet Sutherland. The RCT shares that the garment is made of \u201ccream Spitalfields silk from East London and overlaid with fine Honiton lace made in Devon.\u201d Numerous reigning monarchs have been baptized in the gown, including King Edward VII (1842), King George V (1865), and King Edward VIII (1894), who are all pictured above with Queen Victoria at Edward VIII\u2019s christening in 1894.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Family portrait taken by Vandyk after the christening of Princess Elizabeth of York, 1926 (\u00a9 Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2026 | Royal Collection Trust)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

King George VI (1896) and Queen Elizabeth II (1926) were both christened in the gown as well. This photograph, taken after the future Elizabeth II\u2019s christening at Buckingham Palace in May 1926, shows the baby wearing the gown with her parents, grandparents, and godparents. Two of her godparents, the Duke of Connaught and Princess Mary, were also christened in the gown in 1850 and 1897, respectively.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Central Office of Information, Four generations of the Royal Family on Prince Charles\u2019s christening day, 1948 (\u00a9 Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2026 | Royal Collection Trust)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A generation later, the present monarch was also christened in the family gown. Here, four generations of the family pose with the future Charles III at Buckingham Palace in December 1948: Queen Mary, King George VI (1896), the future Queen Elizabeth II (1926), and the future King Charles III (1948). There\u2019s more continuity in the picture, too. Queen Mary wore the Cambridge Pearl Pendant Brooch<\/a> for the baptisms of both Elizabeth II and Charles III. Meanwhile, Elizabeth is wearing one of Queen Mary\u2019s wedding presents, the Dorset Bow Brooch, for the occasion.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Baron, The christening of HRH The Prince of Wales (future King Charles III), 1948 (\u00a9 Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2026 | Royal Collection Trust)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here\u2019s another photograph supplied by the RCT showing King Charles III wearing the gown on his christening day. This picture was snapped by Baron and shows the future monarch with his parents, Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, and his grandparents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Baron, The christening of Princess Anne, 1950 (\u00a9 Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2026 | Royal Collection Trust)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They\u2019ve also offered us a photograph from the christening of the present Princess Royal. Anne was baptized wearing the family gown at Buckingham Palace in October 1950. She\u2019s pictured here with her mother, Princess Elizabeth (1926) and her brother, Prince Charles (1948), who is gently touching the antique gown. They\u2019re surrounded by the baby princess\u2019s godparents (clockwise from top left): Lord Mountbatten (who was christened in the gown in 1900), Princess Margarita of Hohenlohe-Langenberg, the Hon. Andrew Elphinstone, Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother), and, standing proxy for Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark, Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (who was baptized in the gown in 1883).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Handwritten notes by Queen Elizabeth II recording the royal babies to have worn the robe until the 1970s (Royal Collection Enterprises Limited | All Rights Reserved)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The exhibition also includes a handwritten note by Queen Elizabeth II, written on Buckingham Palace stationery, recording a list of royal babies who wore the gown from 1926 through the 1970s. She also indicates that the fragile gown was repaired in 1966, probably after heavy usage during the royal baby boom of 1964, when four babies were baptized in the garment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Handwritten notes by Queen Elizabeth II recording the royal babies to have worn the robe until the 1970s (Royal Collection Enterprises Limited | All Rights Reserved)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In total, 62 royal babies were christened in the Victorian family gown. Eventually, though, it proved too fragile for continued use. The press release explains, \u201cAlthough the silks used were the finest available at the time\u2014Queen Victoria\u2019s wedding dress had also been made of Spitalfields silk and Honiton lace\u2014silk is naturally susceptible to degradation. The robe became fragile over time, and areas including the central panel, perhaps where little legs may have kicked, had worn thin. Although the robe had been repaired in the 1960s, by 2004, Queen Elizabeth decided it had become too delicate and commissioned an exact replica to be made, which has been worn for every subsequent royal christening.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The royal christening gown commissioned by Queen Victoria in 1841, photographed by Janet Sutherland (\u00a9 Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2026 | Royal Collection Trust)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The original 1841 gown has been carefully preserved. The press release quotes textile conservator Cecilia Oliver, who notes, \u201cThe robe has been lovingly cared for over the generations \u2013 we even found a note on its box instructing that it be washed in natural spring water after use, which helps explain its remarkable condition despite such frequent use. However, after 185 years and 62 christenings, it was in need of conservation. It has been an honour and a privilege to work on such a special historic garment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oliver and her team put in 100 hours of conservation work ahead of the exhibition, \u201cincluding meticulous repairs of holes and subtle reinforcements to delicate parts of the fabric. It was also gently handwashed section by section and was one of the most significant conservation projects of the exhibition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Soon, we\u2019ll all be able to see the christening gown when\u00a0Queen Elizabeth II: Fashion and Style<\/em> opens at the King\u2019s Gallery, Buckingham Palace on April 10. I\u2019m going to be making a visit to see the exhibition, so there will be plenty of content both here and over at Hidden Gems<\/a> about the remarkable clothing, accessories, and jewelry on display.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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TT News Agency\/Alamy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And speaking of Hidden Gems\u2014today is Wednesday, so the free mid-week newsletter will be hitting your inboxes shortly<\/a>! This week\u2019s Wednesday issue is packed with all sorts of jewelry goodness\u2014including the playful clutch bag pictured above. Can you guess which royal lady played Queen of Hearts at the opera recently?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.thecourtjeweller.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Family portrait taken by Vandyk after the christening of Princess Elizabeth of York, 1926 (\u00a9 Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2026 | Royal Collection Trust) This week, the Royal Collection Trust dropped another tantalizing preview of their upcoming exhibition on the fashion and style of Queen Elizabeth II, announcing that the royal christening gown worn by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2311667,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2311666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-royalty"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Britains-Royal-Christening-Gown-to-Be-Displayed-at-Buckingham-Palace.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2311666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2311666"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2311666\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2311668,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2311666\/revisions\/2311668"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2311667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2311666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2311666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2311666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}