| Artist | Linton & Curtis Arthur Silver |
|---|---|
| Year | 1893 |
The Wedding dress of Princess Mary of Teck was worn by Mary of Teck in her wedding to Prince George, Duke of York (King George V from 1910–1936) 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 display of royal wedding dresses at Kensington Palace in London.[1]
Contents |
In 1891, the Duchess of Teck had declared that the wedding dress and that of the bridesmaids would be manufactured entirely in Britain, likely because of the fact that she had become president of the Ladies' National Silk Association and evidently had encouraged her daughter to wear silk of English origin.[2][3]Upon the announcement of Princess May’s marriage to the Duke’s brother, George, Duke of York, Arthur Silver of the Silver Studio, who had originally designed the dress for Princess May’s cancelled wedding to the late Duke of Clarence, was approached once again. His 1892 ‘Lily of the Valley’ dress design for the princess's marriage to the Duke of Clarence had been made public just days before his death and had to be completely abandoned.[4]This time they settled on one of Silver's designs, ‘The May Silks’; the dress would be made to feature the emblems of a rose, shamrock and thistle with Orange may blossoms and true lovers knots.[2]Silver, renowned for his Art Nouveau designs, was also said to be much influenced by Japanese art in his designing.[3] In March 1893, the Duchess and Princess visited the Warner & Sons’ factory at Hollybush Gardens in Spitalfields, [5]London and commissioned them to make the finest white silk with silver-thread by Albert Parchment in time for the July wedding.[2]
The dress itself was put together by Linton and Curtis of Albemarle Street.[6][7] The front of the dress was made of white satin, featuring three small flounces old Honiton lace which had been used on the wedding dress of her mother.[7] The bodice, cut at the throat,[8] was long and pointed and was made of Silver's white and silver brocade,[9] also featuring a small amount of her mother's Honiton lace near the top and on the upper part of the sleeve. The rich satin manteau de cour fell from her shoulders.[8]The train was long and plain (although The Times reported there was none[10]) and the veil of her mother's which she wore was also made of Honiton lace, fastened by diamond pins given as a gift from Queen Victoria.[7] Matching the orange blossom elements to the dress, small wreaths were placed all the way around the bust and on the hair.[7] Princess Mary completed the wedding outfit with a diamond tiara from Queen Victoria; diamond rivière necklace from the Prince and Princess of Wales and diamond earrings and anchor brooch, a wedding gift from Prince George.[7] Out of all of the wedding toilette, the veil was reportedly the only piece that was not to be worn again after the wedding.[11]
"It is to the strains of the Bridal march from Lohengrin that Princess Mary enters. the observed of all observers in the most literal sense. With downcast eyes and a flush on her cheeks she looks exquisitely pretty. Her dress of silver and white brocade with its ingeniously clustered shamrocks, roses and thistles is at once simple and elegant. There is no train, or at all events, none that hampers the bride's movement, while a plain court bodice shows off her finely-moulded figure to perfection. The bridal veil of fine old Honiton point is caught back off the face, and trails and clusters of orange blossoms, together with the inevitable bouquet of white flowers carried in her hand, complete the salient points of the bride's appearance." Observation of The Times, Saturday, Jul 08, 1893.[10]
The official painters of the royal wedding were Heinrich von Angeli, Laurits Tuxen, and Luke Fildes.[12]
|
|||||