AS ELIZABETH REGINA stepped from her State Carriage at Westminster Abbey, on June 2, 1953, all eyes turned to her magnificent jewel-encrusted Coronation dress. After years of war and drabness this was a conspicuous display in which the whole country could indulge. Vast crowds, undeterred by rain and wind, lined the route for a glimpse of their new sovereign. Thousands more watched at home, on black-and-white televisions bought for the occasion.
Now, the dress, designed by the royal couturier Norman Hartnell, goes on display for two months in Buckingham Palace as part of the Coronation Day 50th anniversary celebrations. The white satin dress, carefully stored for years in acid-free tissue paper inside a bespoke wooden trunk, is dazzlingly beautiful with its heavily beaded top and embroidered skirt depicting all the flower emblems of Great Britain “and the Dominions”. Using thousands of seed pearls, mock diamonds, silver and gold thread as well as pastel silks, Hartnell included the Tudor rose, thistle, shamrock and elegant Welsh leeks. There were also maple leaves, wattle flowers, ferns, proteas, lotus flowers, wheat, cotton and jute embroidered around the base of the skirt. At the last minute he added an applique four-leaf shamrock for luck. “One or two silver threads have uncoiled and must be reattached,” says Julie Travis, senior conservator at Hampton Court Textile Conservation Studio, where the dress has been for the past few months. “And there are a few missing seed pearls and crystals, which have mostly been carefully preserved and will be put back. We’d never replace them with new ones.”
There are only two areas of the dress with slight wear and tear; the hem and underarms. Travis has done some minor restorative work on the hem but left the underarm area, which she tactfully described as “stable”, untreated – a reminder that even monarchs can feel the tension of such an occasion.
The weight of the dress must have been uncomfortable, but the smiling Queen did not show it. The Times described her as “lustrous in the stiff habiliments of monarchy”.
After September the dress will be returned to its box, where, according to Travis, it should last for another 300 years. One secret that will go with it is the size of the Queen’s waistline in 1953. But, as anyone who sees the gown will realise, it was extremely small. Summer opening of the State Rooms, Buckingham Palace, is from Aug 1-Sept 28.
Advance tickets and information: www.royal.gov.uk 020-7321 2233.
The Textile Conservation Studio: www.hrp.org.uk
International showjumping, pony and trap racing, children’s funfair and more at the Royal International Horse Show, Hickstead, near Haywards Heath, West Sussex; ends tomorrow; 8.30am-6pm; adults Pounds 10 /Pounds 28 (01273 834315; www.hickstead.co.uk)
Jazz, blues, face painting, archery and foaming tankards at the 29th Kent Beer Festival, today, at Merton Lane, Canterbury (01227 463478; www.kentbeerfestival.co. uk); adults Pounds 2.50-Pounds 6. Archery, medieval jesters and markets, open-air theatre, falconry and jousting at the Robin Hood Festival, Sherwood Forest; Tomorrow to Sunday August 3; 11am 5pm; free; car parking charge (01623 821332; www.robinhood.co.uk).
Cornish myths come to life in stories at Tintagel Castle; July 30, August 6, 13 & 20; 6pm; adults from Pounds 1.60 (0870-333 1181; www.english heritage.org.uk). Was T. rex a killer or a scavenger? A new exhibition, T. rex: The Killer Question, at the National History Museum, presents the latest evidence; Gallery 38; from August 1; adults Pounds 2-Pounds 3.50 (under-fives free); (020-7942 5000; www.nhm.ac.uk/trex).
Festival of Street Entertainment with clowns, mime, theatre, music and dance at the Princess Diana Memorial Gardens, Lord Street, Southport, Merseyside; today and tomorrow, noon-5pm; free (01704 540011).
Kite-flying displays, competitions, camping and kite kit stalls at International Kite Festival, Ashchurch Road, Tewkesbury Gloucestershire; today and Sunday, 10am-5:30pm; free (01452 728521; www.gvkf.org.uk).
Canine giants go through their paces at the Newfoundland Dog Water Trials, Ragely Hall, Alcester, Warwickshire; today 11am-6pm; adults from Pounds 4.50 (01789 762090; www.ragleyhall.com). Please e-mail details of events to outthere@thetimes.co.uk