The outfits worn by Her Majesty The Queen for her appearances during the Platinum Jubilee weekend make up a special display at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.
Visitors will see a display of outfits worn by Her Majesty on occasions to celebrate the Silver, Golden, Diamond and Platinum Jubilees, as well as a selection of gifts presented during her official engagements in Scotland throughout her 70-year reign.
The Platinum Jubilee display will be included in a visit to the Palace of Holyroodhouse until Sunday 25th September. Alongside the outfits worn by The Queen at the various celebrations will be items from her first official visit to Edinburgh, just 20 days after the Coronation at Westminster Abbey on 2nd June, 1953 including a set of goblets presented by the High Constables of the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
Dressed to impress; the story behind the outfits
- For her first Jubilee weekend appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony for the salute, Her Majesty wore a pale blue dress with a matching coat and hat, both featuring a delicate beaded and diamanté trim. The ensemble was designed by Angela Kelly, Personal Adviser to The Queen (Wardrobe), and was also worn by Her Majesty for the official Platinum Jubilee photograph. The official portrait, which shows The Queen at Windsor Castle, will be displayed as part of the exhibition.
- Her Majesty’s second Platinum Jubilee ensemble, worn on the balcony following the pageant, consisted of a vivid green wool-crêpe dress and coat designed by Stewart Parvin, with a coordinating wool-crêpe hat by milliner Rachel Trevor-Morgan.
- Also on display for the first time will be The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee ensemble, worn to the Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral and a luncheon at Guildhall, City of London, as part of the celebrations on 5th June, 2012. The ensemble was designed by Angela Kelly and consists of a pale turquoise dress and coat embroidered with scattered silver flowers, with a coordinating hat embellished with chiffon and diamanté.
- To attend the Service of Thanksgiving for the Golden Jubilee in 2002, Her Majesty wore a blue silk-crêpe coat and dress by another royal couturier, Sir Hardy Amies, who first began designing clothing for The Queen in 1955 and was renowned for his impeccably elegant tailoring. The ensemble was completed by a hat designed by the milliner Frederick Fox.
- Her Majesty also chose an outfit by Sir Hardy Amies for the Silver Jubilee in 1977, when she wore a striking dress, coat and stole in pink silk-crêpe and chiffon. A matching hat by Frederick Fox featured a cascade of bell-shaped flowers hanging from the back.
Each summer, The Queen spends a week visiting various regions in Scotland, in a celebration of Scottish culture, achievement and community known as Royal Week or Holyrood Week.
The week always begins with a ceremony on the forecourt of the Palace of Holyroodhouse known as the Ceremony of the Keys, in which Her Majesty is welcomed into the city of Edinburgh and offered the keys to the city and to the Palace.
This event most recently took place on 27th June and visitors will be able to see the silver-gilt Ceremonial Key to the Palace of Holyroodhouse that was offered to Her Majesty as part of the display.
The Queen has undertaken several thousand engagements in Scotland and in support of Scottish causes since the beginning of her reign. The display includes a range of gifts presented to Her Majesty during these engagements, including a silver model of a miner’s Davy lamp, presented in Fife in 1958 when The Queen made her first descent into a working coal mine, and a silver bowl engraved with a traditional blessing, presented by the Caledonian Club on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee in 2002.
For information and tickets visit www.rct.uk.
Two further Platinum Jubilee special displays will run at Windsor Castle (from 7th July) and at the Summer Opening of the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace (from 22nd July). Further details here.
