Wedding dress of Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom

Last updated

Wedding dress of Princess Margaret
Wedding dress of Princess Margaret.jpg
Designer Norman Hartnell
Year1960 (1960)
TypeSilk organza wedding dress

The wedding dress of Princess Margaret, the sister of Queen Elizabeth II, was worn at her wedding to photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones on 6 May 1960 at Westminster Abbey.

Contents

The dress

The wedding dress was designed by Norman Hartnell, the favoured couturier of the royals, and was made from silk organza. The skirt comprised some 30 metres of fabric. Hartnell specifically kept the adornments of the dress such as the crystal embellishments and beading to a minimum in order to suit Margaret's petite frame. [1]

The dress now belongs to the British Royal Collection and is part of a display of royal wedding dresses at Kensington Palace in London. [2]

Critical appraisal

Vogue described the dress as "stunningly tailored". [3] Another author called it "a study in simplicity". [4] [5] In 1960, Life magazine named it "the simplest royal wedding gown in history". It has also been described as one of Hartnell's most beautiful and sophisticated pieces. [6] [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon</span> British princess (1930–2002)

Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. She was the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother</span> Queen of the United Kingdom from 1936 to 1952

Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was also the last Empress of India from 1936 until the British Raj was dissolved in August 1947. After her husband died, she was officially known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter Queen Elizabeth II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princess Beatrice</span> British princess (born 1988)

Princess Beatrice, Mrs Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi is a member of the British royal family. She is the elder daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York. She is a niece of King Charles III. Born fifth in line of succession to the British throne, she is now ninth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kensington Palace</span> Residence of the British royal family in London

Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has been a residence of the British royal family since the 17th century, and is currently the official London residence of the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke and Duchess of Kent, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent and Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank and their two sons. Kensington Palace is sometimes used as a metonym for the offices of royals who officially reside there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman Hartnell</span> British fashion designer (1901–1979)

Sir Norman Bishop Hartnell was a leading British fashion designer, best known for his work for the ladies of the royal family. Hartnell gained the Royal Warrant as Dressmaker to Queen Elizabeth in 1940, and Royal Warrant as Dressmaker to Queen Elizabeth II in 1957. Princess Beatrice also wore a dress designed for Queen Elizabeth II by Hartnell for her wedding in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman Parkinson</span> English portrait and fashion photographer

Norman Parkinson was an English portrait and fashion photographer. His work revolutionised British fashion photography, as he moved his subjects out of the studio and used outdoor settings. While serving as a Royal Air Force photographer in World War II, he started with Vogue magazine, discovering several famous models. He became an official royal photographer in 1969, taking photographs for Princess Anne's 19th birthday and the Investiture portrait of Charles III as Prince of Wales. Many other royal portraits included official portraits of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother for her 75th birthday. He was known for using elements of humour in his photographs. Parkinson received many honours during his life including the Royal Photographic Society's Progress Medal, the Lifetime Achievement Award of the American Society of Magazine Photographers, a Google Doodle, and a British postage stamp.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jewels of Elizabeth II</span> Historic collection of royal jewellery

Queen Elizabeth II owned a historic collection of jewels – some as monarch and others as a private individual. They are separate from the gems and jewels of the Royal Collection, and from the coronation and state regalia that make up the Crown Jewels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simone Mirman</span> British milliner (1912–2008)

Simone Mirman (1912–2008) was a Paris-born milliner based in London, chiefly known for her designs for the British royal family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wedding of Prince Albert and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon</span> 1923 British royal wedding

The wedding of Prince Albert, Duke of York and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon took place on 26 April 1923 at Westminster Abbey. The bride was a member of the Bowes-Lyon family, while the groom was the second son of King George V.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten</span> 1947 British royal wedding

The wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Sir Philip Mountbatten took place on Thursday 20 November 1947 at Westminster Abbey in London, United Kingdom. The bride was the elder daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth as well as the heir presumptive to the British throne. Although Philip was born a prince of Greece and Denmark, he stopped using these foreign titles on his adoption of British nationality four months before the announcement of their marriage. On the morning of the wedding, he was made Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth and Baron Greenwich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wedding dress of Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom</span> Dress worn by Princess Elizabeth at her wedding to Philip Mountbatten in 1947

The wedding dress of Princess Elizabeth, was worn at her wedding to Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh on 20 November 1947 in Westminster Abbey. Given the rationing of clothing at the time, she still had to purchase the material using ration coupons. The dress was designed by Norman Hartnell. Hartnell's signature was said to be embroidery, and he enjoyed "working with soft, floating fabrics, particularly tulle and chiffon, and with plain, lustrous silks". The dress was made of Chinese silk, with a high neckline, tailored bodice and a short train. Without straps and with long sleeves, it provided a "fit and flare silhouette".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coronation gown of Elizabeth II</span> Gown worn by Elizabeth II at her coronation in 1953

Queen Elizabeth II's coronation took place on 2 June 1953. Ordered in October 1952, her gown took eight months of research, design, workmanship, and intricate embroidery to complete. It featured the floral emblems of the countries of the United Kingdom and those of the other states within the Commonwealth of Nations, including the English Tudor rose, Scots thistle, Welsh leek, Irish shamrock, Canadian maple leaf, Australian wattle, New Zealand silver fern, South African protea, Indian lotus flower for India, the Lotus flower of Ceylon, and Pakistan's wheat, cotton, and jute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wedding dress of Princess Victoria Mary of Teck</span> Dress worn by Princess Victoria Mary of Teck at her wedding to Prince George in 1893

The wedding dress of Princess Victoria Mary of Teck is the gown worn by the future Queen Mary at her wedding to Prince George, Duke of York on 6 July 1893 at the Chapel Royal, St. James's Palace, in London. The dress now belongs to the British Royal Collection and is part of a collection of royal wedding dresses at Kensington Palace in London.

Mary Angela Kelly, is a British fashion designer, dressmaker, and milliner, who served as Personal Assistant and Senior Dresser to Queen Elizabeth II from 1993 until the monarch's death in 2022. Her official title was Personal Assistant, Adviser and Curator to Her Majesty The Queen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claude Saint-Cyr</span> French milliner (1911–2002)

For the French general and diplomat, see Claude Carra Saint-Cyr

Serena Alleyne Armstrong-Jones, Countess of Snowdon is married to David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wedding of Princess Alexandra and Angus Ogilvy</span> 1963 British royal wedding

The wedding of Princess Alexandra of Kent and The Honourable Angus Ogilvy took place on Wednesday, 24 April 1963 at Westminster Abbey. Princess Alexandra was the only daughter and second child of Prince George, Duke of Kent, and Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, while Ogilvy was the second son and fifth child of the 12th Earl of Airlie and Lady Alexandra Coke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wedding of Prince Henry and Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott</span> 1935 British royal wedding

The wedding of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, and Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott took place on Wednesday, 6 November 1935, in the private chapel at Buckingham Palace. A larger public ceremony had been planned for Westminster Abbey, but plans were scaled back after the bride's father, the 7th Duke of Buccleuch, died of cancer on 19 October.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wedding of Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones</span> 1960 British royal wedding

The wedding of Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones took place on Friday, 6 May 1960 at Westminster Abbey in London. Princess Margaret was the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II, while Antony Armstrong-Jones was a noted society photographer.

The wedding dress of Princess Beatrice of York worn at her wedding to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi on 17 July 2020 was designed by the British fashion designer Norman Hartnell, who had originally created the gown for Queen Elizabeth II, the bride's grandmother, in the 1960s. The original dress was altered by the Queen's dressmaker, Angela Kelly, and British fashion designer, Stewart Parvin, who remodelled and fitted the dress for Princess Beatrice.

References

  1. "Royal weddings". Mandy's British Royalty. Archived from the original on 7 August 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  2. "Historic Royal Palaces feature". Historic Royal Palaces. Archived from the original on 5 July 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  3. "Royal Rules". Vogue. 28 April 2011. Archived from the original on 2 May 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  4. Bell, Lynne; Bousfield, Arthur; Toffoli, Garry (31 August 2007). Queen and consort: Elizabeth and Philip : 60 years of marriage. Dundurn Press Ltd. p. 63. ISBN   978-1-55002-725-9 . Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  5. Warwick, Christopher (April 2002). Princess Margaret: A Life of Contrasts. André Deutsch. ISBN   978-0-233-05021-8 . Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  6. Time Inc (16 May 1960). LIFE. Time Inc. p. 28. ISSN   0024-3019 . Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  7. Pick, Michael (2007). Be dazzled!: Norman Hartnell : sixty years of glamour and fashion. Pointed Leaf Press. p. 210. ISBN   9780977787531 . Retrieved 1 May 2011.