The real stories
The real stories behind Jenna Coleman's resplendent 'Victoria' costumes
The period drama of the year (we're calling it) comes to an end this evening as Jenna Coleman's Queen Victoria combines her regal duties with the imminent arrival of her first child. The tale of Victoria has provided sumptuous romance and drama- even if, ultimately, we did know how things would work out- over the past weeks but what has perhaps been a more unexpected highlight of the series has been the costumes.
Although Victoria's later reign was characterised by black after the death of Prince Albert (apologies if that's a future series spoiler), ITV's glittering production highlights the young Queen's love of clothes. As Deidre Murphy, curator of the 'Victoria Revealed' exhibition at Kensington Palace, explains; "Clothing played an important role in Victoria's life. Even though she once wrote that 'dress is a trifling matter', she understood that dress is an important outward expression."
Little of Queen Victoria's early wardrobe survives. "It's just not a tradition we've ever had in Britain" Murphy explains, standing in a back room of Kensington Palace where a few precious pieces of surviving royal clothing are carefully stored, from Queen Victoria's stockings to outfits worn not so long ago, relatively, by Princess Diana and Princess Margaret. And yet, Rosalind Ebbutt, the series' costume designer, has been able to work with what remains to accurately recreate many of the young Queen Victoria's most important pieces. Here's the story behind just a few of them...
The coronation robe threaded with gold and silver
As with female members of the royal family today, Queen Victoria was always patriotic in her clothing choices, buying British-made designs. And of course she began with her coronation robes- the dalmatica garment which hasn't been worn at any coronation since and which Ebbutt recreated faithfully for the coronation scenes. "It was crafted in a resplendent cloth with gold thistles, roses and shamrocks- all symbols of United Kingdom- included in the ornate print" Murphy explains. The red roses stand out vividly against the golden background which is made with Spitalfields gold tissue.
Underneath the robe- which is one of two used in the ceremony (the other is made from ermine-trimmed red velvet), the Queen would have worn the linen Colobium sindonis- a simple, humble gown which contrasts with the regal splendour of the robes. At just 4' 11", Queen Victoria was so tiny that a special crown had to be made to fit her petite head.
The wedding dress still setting the agenda now
Think wedding dress and white is likely the first image which comes to mind. It's Queen Victoria we have to thank for the tradition though. "At the time, women just wore their 'best dress' for their wedding, no matter what colour it was" says Murphy. "Victoria broke with the norm firstly by commissioning something new. She looked back at royal history and noticed that they wore red velvet robes but she decided specifically not to go down that route. She was conscious that she didn't want to upstage Albert in his miltary regalia so she chose an ivory silk dress which was very simple with a long train."
That wedding dress- created by dressmaker Mary Bettans and trimmed with British lace- has set the benchmark for wedding dresses ever since.
