Still life details Queen Elizabeth IIAnd the history of her longest rule in British history, people have talked since her departure from our world, last Thursday, at Balmoral Palace at the age of 96.
Perhaps the late Queen’s wedding dress, who was always known for her elegance, remained for many months, until she appeared on November 20, 1947, at her wedding to naval officer Prince Philip, and everyone waited for him in Britain following World War II.
Speculation regarding what the 21-year-old would wear before the big day has reached the point where the royal palace has had to cover the windows of designer Norman Hartnell’s studio to prevent spying, and there is a historical account of the famous dress’s making, titled “Gown”.
Behind this stunning dress is a story behind 5 facts regarding a dress that occupied the world for many months in that period.
First fact
The famous book stated that the final design of the Queen’s wedding dress was approved less than 3 months before the big day.
While brides usually require months to get their dresses ready, tailoring for Princess Elizabeth’s gown didn’t begin until August of 1947, according to the Royal Collection Trust, less than three months before her wedding.
The design by Norman Hartnell, one of England’s leading fashion designers at the time, won the title, “the most beautiful dress he has ever made”.
It also took the painstaking effort of the 350 women to launch into the creation of the intricately detailed piece in such a short time frame, and they all swore to secrecy to protect any details regarding Princess Elizabeth’s special day, vowing to prevent leaks to the press.
Betty Foster, the 18-year-old seamstress who worked on the dress at the Hartnell studio, explained that Americans rented the apartment opposite to see if they might get a glimpse of the dress.
While the designer placed tight coverage on the windows of the work room, using white gauze to prevent snoopers, according to “The Telegraph”.
“The Lover and the Beloved” is a pattern of “Damascene brocade” fabric
Queen Elizabeth chose the “lover and lover” pattern to embroider her dress, a pattern of “Damascus brocade” that the Syrian capital, Damascus, was famous for 3,000 years ago, and it takes 10 hours to make one meter of this fabric because of the delicate and intricate patterns and details.
It is sometimes known as “brocade”, an Italian word derived from the word brocatello, meaning an elaborate silk cloth embroidered with gold or silver threads.
In 1947, the then Syrian president, Shukri al-Quwatli, sent two hundred meters of brocade fabric to Queen Elizabeth II, where he was weaving brocade on an old loom dating back to 1890 and took 3 months.
The Queen also wore a dress of damask brocade once more upon her enthronement as queen in 1952. It is decorated with two birds and is kept in the Museum of London.
The second fact:
In another surprise, British women gave Princess Elizabeth their ration coupons to help pay for the dress, due to the austerity experienced by the country following World War II.
Austerity measures then meant that people had to use coupons to pay for clothes, and the British women sold their shares to the queen’s dress.
While the British government then gave Princess Elizabeth 200 additional ration vouchers, women across the UK were so happy to see her getting married that they mailed her their vouchers to help cover the price of the dress, in a show that was very moving.
Third fact:
The princess’ dress was inspired by Botticelli’s painting, where Hartnell’s wedding dress inspiration came from an unusual place.
The famous Italian artist Sandro Botticelli’s painting “Primavera” was the source of the idea, and the word “Primavera” means spring in Italian.
The painting shows a perfect way to combine the new beginning of a wedding as well as a new start for the country following the war, as Princess Elizabeth was covered in intricate motifs of flowers and leaves embroidered with crystals and pearls.
The Royal Collection Trust website reported that designer Hartnell emphasized the need to assemble the motifs into a design that matches the flower bouquet.
Fourth fact:
Perhaps one of the most notable details was that her look was adorned with 10,000 hand-embroidered pearl beads on the dress’s fabric.
The designer was also keen to ensure the production of silk and satin in Britain, and pearls were imported from America, following reassuring the public that silkworms came from China, and not from one of the countries with which Britain fought a war, such as Japan or Italy, according to Town and Country.
Fifth fact:
Information confirmed that the late queen did not try to wear the dress or try it on until her wedding day, unlike members of the royal family who take their time to prepare wedding dresses.
It turns out that then-Princess Elizabeth didn’t actually know if her dress would fit properly until the morning of the wedding.
Foster told the aforementioned seamstress that Elizabeth’s dress was delivered on the day of the wedding in honor of the tradition that trying on a wedding dress before the wedding day is a misfortune.
The reign is the longest
It is noteworthy that the Queen of Britain died last Thursday at Balmoral Castle, her summer home in Scotland, at the age of 96, following a reign that is the longest in the history of the United Kingdom, as it lasted 70 years.
Queen Elizabeth
On Sunday, her body was transported by car through remote villages in the Highlands to Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, on a six-hour journey that will allow her loved ones to bid her farewell.
The coffin will be flown to London on Tuesday, where it will remain at Buckingham Palace, to be carried the following day to Westminster Hall and there until the day of the funeral, which will be held on Monday 19 September at Westminster Abbey at 11am local time (1000 GMT).