WOMAN: TODAY FEW PEOPLE'S WARDROBES ATTRACT AS MUCH ATTENTION AS THE BRITISH ROYAL FAMILY'S.
HARDLY A DAY GOES BY WITHOUT SOME PRESS COMMENT ON A LITTLE ROYAL ROMPER SUIT OR A DESIGNER DRESS OR A SNEAKY HIGH STREET PURCHASE, AND YOU MIGHT THINK THAT THE WORLD TODAY HAS GONE MAD FOR A PEEK INSIDE THE ROYAL WARDROBE, BUT, BELIEVE ME, IT'S ALWAYS BEEN LIKE THIS.
IN THIS PROGRAM, I'M GOING TO OPEN WIDE THE DOORS OF THE ROYAL WARDROBE TO UNCOVER ITS SECRETS, EXPLORING THE CLOTHES OF KINGS AND QUEENS PAST AND PRESENT, FROM ELIZABETH I OVER 400 YEARS TO OUR CURRENT BRITISH MONARCH-- QUEEN ELIZABETH II.
I BELIEVE THAT THE FASCINATION OF ROYAL CLOTHING GOES BEYOND ITS CUT OR ITS COLOR.
THESE THINGS ARE MORE THAN CLOTHES.
THEY'RE SYMBOLS OR STATEMENTS, AND I THINK THAT THROUGHOUT HISTORY, THE ROYAL WARDROBE HAS BEEN IMPORTANT IN SHAPING THE IMAGE OF THE MONARCHY FOR BETTER AND SOMETIMES FOR WORSE.
WORSLEY: I'M GOING TO START RIFLING THROUGH THE ROYAL WARDROBES OF HISTORY WITH ELIZABETH I.
SHE'S A QUEEN WHO I PARTICULARLY ADMIRE FOR HER SKILL IN USING CLOTHING TO CONSTRUCT AN IMAGE OF POWER AND MAJESTY.
AS A CHILD, ELIZABETH SPENT MUCH TIME AT HATFIELD HOUSE IN HERTFORDSHIRE, AND IT WAS HER FAVORITE RESIDENCE THROUGHOUT HER LIFE.
IT WAS HERE, BENEATH THIS OAK IN HATFIELD'S GROUNDS, THAT SHE DISCOVERED THAT SHE WAS NOW QUEEN AT THE AGE OF 25.
RIGHT FROM THE START OF HER REIGN, ELIZABETH HAD TO CONTROL HER IMAGE VERY CAREFULLY.
SHE KNEW THAT THE ODDS WERE STACKED AGAINST HER BEING A SUCCESSFUL MONARCH.
FIRSTLY, SHE WAS FEMALE-- BEING A KING WAS A MAN'S JOB-- AND SECONDLY, BECAUSE HER MOTHER HAD BEEN ANNE BOLEYN, MANY PEOPLE BELIEVED THAT SHE WAS ILLEGITIMATE.
THIRDLY, SHE HAD VERY BIG SHOES TO FILL, THOSE OF HER FATHER HENRY VIII, WHO HAD EVERY NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL ADVANTAGE.
HE WAS A FINE FIGURE OF A MAN, ALTHOUGH WHEN IT TURNED TO FAT LATER ON, HE WAS 54 INCHES AROUND THE WAIST, BUT HERE, HE'S HAD HOLBEIN MAKE THE MOST OF HIS VERY SPLENDID COSTUME, AND THE EYE CANNOT HELP BUT BE DRAWN TO THIS PARTICULAR GARMENT HERE, THE CODPIECE, WHICH, FOLLOWING TUDOR FASHION, HAS BECOME OUTSIZED.
MEN USED THEM AS LITTLE PURSES TO CARRY MONEY IN OR SOMETIMES PRECIOUS THINGS, LIKE JEWELS, HENCE THE EXPRESSION A MAN'S "CROWN JEWELS," BUT WHAT HOLBEIN IS REALLY SAYING HERE IS THAT HENRY IS FERTILE.
HE'S FULL OF LOVELY SPERM.
HE IS THE IDEAL MEDIEVAL MACHO MONARCH.
ELIZABETH OBVIOUSLY DIDN'T HAVE HER FATHER'S IMPOSING PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES, BUT SHE HELPED TO MAKE UP FOR THAT USING CLOTHES, AND TO SPREAD THE MESSAGE OF HOW QUEENLY THIS QUEEN WAS, PORTRAITS OF HER WERE HUNG IN EVERY GREAT HOUSE OF THE REALM, INCLUDING HATFIELD.
THIS IS AN EXTRAORDINARY DRESS THAT SHE'S WEARING, AND WHAT'S THIS WHITE, GAUZY STUFF THAT'S SORT OF SWIRLING AROUND HER LIKE A CLOUD?
WELL, THAT'S VERY FINE FABRIC.
IT'S WIRED AT THE EDGES SO IT GIVES THE EFFECT UP THERE OF WINGS.
SO IT'S GIVING HER, AS SHE MOVES, TREMENDOUS SORT OF PRESENCE AND CONSEQUENCE.
IT LOOKS LIKE A SORT OF PERSONAL CLOUD OF DRY ICE SWIRLING AROUND HER WHEREVER SHE GOES.
IT LOOKS FANTASTIC IN THE PORTRAIT.
WHAT IT WAS LIKE IN REALITY WALKING AROUND WITH GREAT, WIRED WINGS, YOU KNOW, PARTICULARLY IF THERE WAS ANY KIND OF WIND-- I GUESS YOU'D BLOW AWAY IF THE WIND GOT BEHIND YOU.
WELL, I WOULDN'T TRY IT OUT A BIT.
WORSLEY, VOICE-OVER: WHILE ELIZABETH'S INCREDIBLE DRESS MAY HAVE BEEN IMPRACTICAL, IT CERTAINLY GAVE HER PRESENCE, BUT IT WASN'T JUST THE COLOR AND SHAPE THAT HAD SIGNIFICANCE.
THE DRESS IS FULL OF SYMBOLISM THAT AN ELIZABETHAN VIEWER COULD READ LIKE A BOOK.
TO THEM, THE PEARLS SIGNIFIED PEACE AND PURITY.
SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE VIRGIN QUEEN.
THE BEJEWELED SNAKE SYMBOLIZED WISDOM.
THE HEART SYMBOLIZED LOVE.
THIS QUEEN RULED WITH BOTH HEART AND HEAD AND SHE HAD EYES EVERYWHERE.
WHAT'S GOING ON, FOR EXAMPLE, WITH THESE LITTLE EYES?
WELL, THE EYES AND THE EARS-- THEY REALLY ARE VERY FREAKISH, AREN'T THEY?
THEY ARE EXTRAORDINARY.
AND DO YOU THINK THIS IS THE QUEEN SAYING, "I CAN HEAR EVERYTHING, AND I CAN SEE EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO"?
IT IS.
RULE OF THE STATE, AS IT WERE, IS SYMBOLIZED BY EYES AND EARS.
AND WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE RAINBOW?
WE KNOW THIS AS THE "RAINBOW PICTURE" BECAUSE SHE'S HOLDING THIS THING THAT LOOKS LIKE A GRAY HOSEPIPE.
THIS AT ONE STAGE MUST HAVE BEEN ALL THE COLORS OF THE RAINBOW, BUT NOW THEY'VE FADED.
SO WE HAVE THIS LITTLE INSCRIPTION HERE.
THAT'S A CLUE.
THE INSCRIPTION IN LATIN SAYS, "WITHOUT THE SUN, YOU DON'T GET THE RAINBOW."
SO SHE IS THE SUN, BASICALLY.
SHE IS THE SUN, A VERY COMMON METAPHOR FOR A RULER, AND THE RAINBOW IS A SYMBOL OF PEACE, AND THIS IS REALLY WHAT EVERYBODY WANTS-- PEACE AND TRANQUILITY.
THE PICTURE IS SAYING, "I'VE GOT A HEART.
"I'M WISE.
I'M WEARING A SNAKE.
"I CAN HEAR YOU AND SEE YOU WITH THE EYES AND EARS, "AND ALSO, I'M HOLDING A RAINBOW.
I CAN CONTROL THE WEATHER."
THAT'S A PRETTY GOOD RANGE OF SKILLS AND ATTRIBUTES, ISN'T IT?
WELL, EFFECTIVELY, IT IS.
WORSLEY, VOICE-OVER: ELIZABETH'S DRESSES WERE AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE TUDOR PROPAGANDA MACHINE, WHERE THE PEOPLE SAW THEM IN PICTURES OR ON HER PROGRESSES AROUND THE COUNTRY, AND WE KNOW THEY WERE IMPORTANT TO HER FROM THE NUMBER SHE POSSESSED.
THIS LITTLE STREET HERE IS CALLED WARDROBE PLACE BECAUSE 400 YEARS AGO, A VAST BUILDING STOOD HERE TO HOUSE THE ROYAL WARDROBE.
IT HAD ITS OWN SPECIAL STAFF, THE WARDERS OF THE ROBES, AND THIS MAP OF ELIZABETHAN LONDON SHOWS THAT IT TOOK UP A WHOLE CITY BLOCK.
IT WAS LIKE A VAST WAREHOUSE FULL OF DRESSES.
AN INVENTORY TAKEN IN 1599 REVEALED THAT ELIZABETH I HAD 1,326 OF THEM.
ELIZABETH'S VAST CLOTHING COLLECTION REQUIRED A HUGE RETINUE OF STAFF TO LOOK AFTER IT.
ONE MAN WAS EMPLOYED JUST TO LOOK AFTER HER MUFFS.
SO CONSIDERING THE SHEER NUMBER OF HER DRESSES, IT'S QUITE REMARKABLE THAT NONE SURVIVE TODAY.
AT WESTMINSTER ABBEY, THOUGH, THE RESTING PLACE OF THE ROYALS FOR THE LAST 1,000 YEARS, YOU DO GET A TANTALIZING AND INTIMATE GLIMPSE OF ONE SINGLE ITEM.
THIS IS ONE OF THE VERY EARLIEST SURVIVING BITS OF ROYAL CLOTHING.
WE STILL GOT IT BECAUSE OF THE WEIRD TRADITION OF THE FUNERAL EFFIGY.
THIS WAS A MODEL OF THE DEAD KING OR QUEEN THAT WAS MADE TO BE CARRIED IN THEIR FUNERAL PROCESSION TO WESTMINSTER ABBEY.
ELIZABETH I's HEAD IS MISSING, BUT ORIGINALLY, IT WAS PAINTED AND COLORED SO BEAUTIFULLY THAT IT APPARENTLY LOOKED LIKE SHE WAS STILL ALIVE, AND HER FIGURE WAS DRESSED IN HER CORONATION ROBES AND UNDERNEATH THAT, SPECIALLY CONSTRUCTED UNDERWEAR.
THIS CORSET-TYPE THING, CALLED A SET OF STAYS, DOESN'T LOOK LIKE MUCH, BUT IT IS REMARKABLE.
ORIGINALLY, IT WAS A VERY HIGH-STATUS ITEM.
IT'S MADE WITH MANY, MANY STRIPS OF WHALE BONE FOR SUPPORT THAT HAVE BEEN SEWED INTO IT VERY CAREFULLY WITH A HUGE AMOUNT OF LABOR, AND IT'S EXTRAORDINARY TO THINK THAT THIS REPRESENTS THE BODY OF A WOMAN WHO WAS 70 YEARS OLD.
IT FORCES THE FLESH INTO A VERY UNNATURAL, LONG, NARROW SHAPE, WHICH WAS PARTLY ELIZABETHAN FASHION, BUT IT WAS ALSO THE QUEEN WANTING TO CREATE A VERY STRANGE AND OTHERWORLDLY IMAGE FOR HERSELF.
ELIZABETH'S UNDERWEAR WAS ORIGINALLY ONLY SEEN BY HER LADIES-IN-WAITING, AND IT'S ONLY WHEN THE EFFIGY WAS CONSERVED THAT THIS INTIMATE ITEM WAS ACCIDENTALLY DISCOVERED.
THE STAYS ARE EXCITING BECAUSE THEY FORMED THE FOUNDATION FOR AN INCREDIBLE NUMBER OF LAYERS ABOVE THAT WOULD CONSTRUCT ELIZABETH'S UNIQUE SILHOUETTE.
HOW LONG DO YOU THINK IT WOULD TAKE, MARK, FOR ELIZABETH I TO GET TOTALLY QUEENED UP, THEN, START TO FINISH?
OH, GOSH, WELL, SHE'S NOT IN A RUSH, SO I'D IMAGINE PROBABLY ABOUT TWO HOURS.
OF COURSE, IT'S NOT JUST THE CLOTHES.
IT'S THE JEWELRY, THE MAKEUP, THE WIG.
THE ENTIRE ENSEMBLE TO BE THE QUEEN, ABOUT TWO HOURS.
AND HERE I AM IN MY SATIN-COVERED BODY.
THAT'S ITS NAME, ISN'T IT?
YEAH, A PAIR OF BODIES, EVEN, A PAIR OF BODIES.
AND COVERED IN FINE FABRIC BECAUSE, OF COURSE, IT'S THE QUEEN'S.
IT'S AN AWFULLY LONG AND SORT OF NARROW SHAPE.
THEY'RE NOT AT ALL LIKE VICTORIAN STAYS WHICH GIVE YOU A LOVELY WAIST.
NO, OR INDEED A LOVELY CLEAVAGE.
IT'S A DIFFERENT LOOK.
HA HA HA!
AND WHAT'S NEXT, BUM ROLL?
EXACTLY.
YOU'RE THE QUEEN.
IT'S COVERED IN SILK VELVET.
VELVET.
IT'S LIKE A MASSIVE TRAVEL PILLOW, ISN'T IT?
HA HA!
INDEED.
A GIANT COULD SLEEP LIKE THIS ON THE AIRPLANE.
NO NECK ACHE IN THAT, BUT BRING IT DOWN, AND UNLIKE A VICTORIAN ONE, WHICH WOULD REST RIGHT DOWN WITH THE CORSET, THIS JUST IN THE MIDDLE, AND WE'RE LOOKING FOR A CONE SHAPE.
AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THESE GARMENTS ACHIEVE.
IT MAKES YOU MORE AND MORE LIKE AN INSECT, THE BIZARRE SHAPE OF THE LATE ELIZABETHAN AND JACOBEAN AGE.
THERE WE ARE.
AND WHAT'S THE POINT OF THE BUM ROLL?
IT SEEMS TO BE THAT THE MORE SPACE YOU HAVE, THE RICHER YOU ARE.
SO YOU'RE MAKING SO MUCH SPACE HERE, NO ONE CAN GET CLOSE TO YOU.
YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO WALK VERY SLOWLY, ANYWAY, BECAUSE NO GENTLEMAN OR LADY WOULD HURRY.
SERVANTS DO THAT.
SO NOW I'VE GOT MY SOFT HIPS, I CAN BUMP INTO THINGS IF IT'S LATE AT NIGHT.
WHAT COMES NEXT?
IS IT THE HOOPS?
IT IS, THE FARTHINGALE.
NOW, THESE SHAPES ARE MADE OF OSIER, THE SAME THEY WOULD USE FOR BARRELS, THESE BIG CIRCLES OF WOOD.
SO THIS IS WOOD INSIDE HERE, BIG, ROUND WOOD IN CIRCLES.
THAT'S RIGHT.
OVER YOUR HEAD.
DOES IT DO UP AT THE BACK... AT THE FRONT.
OR AT THE FRONT?
IT'S GOT TO NESTLE JUST ON TOP OF THE BUM PAD AND GO ALL THE WAY DOWN TO GIVE YOU THAT SHAPE, TAKING UP EVEN MORE SPACE.
OF COURSE, IT'S QUITE IMPROPER THAT A GENTLEMAN SHOULD BE DRESSING YOU, OR EVEN A MAN LIKE MYSELF.
OF COURSE IT'S AN IMMENSELY TITILLATING SIGHT FOR YOU, ISN'T IT?
IT CERTAINLY IS.
I'M DOING MY BEST TO CONTROL MYSELF.
HOW DO YOU FEEL?
I FEEL RATHER QUEENLY.
HA HA!
NOW, THE PETTICOAT, LUCY, AND THIS IS BEAUTIFUL.
THIS IS THE FOREPART, AND IT'S WHITE AND GOLD, AS YOU SEE.
THE BACK IS OF SILK.
IT'S NOT AS GOOD AS THE FRONT, BUT IT'S STILL PRETTY GOOD, BUT NO ONE SEES IT EXCEPT THE LADIES WHO ARE DRESSING YOU.
ONLY I KNOW THAT I HAVE A SILKEN BOTTOM?
INDEED.
OK. ALL RIGHT.
NOW, LUCY, TURN AROUND.
GIVE US A TWIRL.
DOES MY BUM LOOK BIG IN THIS?
HA HA HA!
NOW LET'S IMPRISON THOSE WANDERING HANDS OF YOURS IN MILES AND MILES OF VELVET.
HANG ON TO YOUR CUFFS BECAUSE THIS IS JOLLY HEAVY.
OH, THERE WE ARE.
ARE YOU IN?
WHOA.
LET'S SEE.
NOW, HOW DOES THAT FEEL?
VERY COZY.
LOOKS GOOD ON YOU COLORWISE.
IMPOSSIBLE, MOST OF THESE DRESSES, FOR PEOPLE TO GET INTO THEMSELVES.
AND NOW FOR YOUR SO-CALLED CARTWHEEL RUFF, YOUR MAJESTY.
WHOOPS, FORGIVE MY TREMBLING HANDS.
YOU KNOW, IT REALLY WORKS, ALL OF THIS GEAR, BECAUSE I DO ACTUALLY FEEL EXTREMELY QUEENLIKE.
OH, AND YOU LOOK IT, TOO.
QUEEN OF HEARTS.
AH, YEAH.
EXCELLENT.
BEHEAD THAT MAN AND GIVE THAT LADY A PEERAGE.
VERY GOOD, MADAM.
HA HA HA!
YOU LOOK LOVELY.
WORSLEY: ELIZABETH I's DRESSES LITERALLY DAZZLED THE EYES OF HER 16th-CENTURY COURIERS AND VISITORS.
THIS DRESS ALONE WAS COVERED WITH 800 FRESHWATER PEARLS, AND THAT'S NOT INCLUDING THE JEWELRY SHE WORE ON TOP.
AS A RESULT, ELIZABETH'S WARDROBE BECAME LEGENDARY, EVEN IN HER OWN LIFETIME.
IN 1600 WHEN THE MORAVIAN BARON WALDSTEIN VISITED ENGLAND, HE SAID THAT HIS SOLE OBJECT HAD BEEN TO WIN AN AUDIENCE WITH THE QUEEN, AND AFTERWARDS HE SAID THAT SHE'D BEEN "GLITTERING WITH THE GLORY OF MAJESTY" AND SHE'D BEEN ADORNED ALL OVER WITH PRECIOUS JEWELS AND GEMS.
ELIZABETHAN FASHION NOT ONLY BOLSTERED THE INTERNATIONAL REPUTATION OF THE QUEEN HERSELF, BUT ALSO HER ENTIRE COURT.
SHE USED CLOTHES TO CONSTRUCT HER OWN PERSONAL IMAGE BUT EXPECTED THE REST OF HER COURT TO FOLLOW HER LEAD.
A GENTLEMAN'S SUIT APPROPRIATE FOR COURT WEAR WOULD COST AS MUCH AS A YEAR'S RENT ON HIS LONDON TOWNHOUSE.
TO MAINTAIN STANDARDS, ELIZABETH EVEN PASSED LAWS ON WHAT PEOPLE SHOULD AND, IMPORTANTLY, SHOULD NOT WEAR.
ELIZABETH WANTED HER COURTIERS TO LOOK GOOD, BUT SHE DIDN'T WANT THEM GETTING ABOVE THEIR STATION.
SO SHE PASSED NO LESS THAN 10 STATUES OF APPAREL, LAWS THAT SAID WHO COULD WEAR WHAT AT WHAT RANK OF SOCIETY.
SO HERE IS A 16th-CENTURY ACT OF PARLIAMENT AGAINST THE INORDINATE USE OF APPAREL.
IT SAYS HERE THAT IF YOU WANT TO WEAR CLOTH OF GOLD, YOU HAVE TO BE AN EARL OR ABOVE THAT IN STATUS.
IF YOU WANT TO WEAR FUR ON YOUR CLOTHES, YOU HAVE TO BE WORTH AT LEAST £100 A YEAR, AND I ALSO LIKE THE IMPRESSION IT GIVES THAT THE QUEEN CAN SEE YOU, EVEN IN YOUR BEDROOM.
WOE BETIDE YOU IF YOU ARE WORTH LESS THAN £20 A YEAR AND IF YOU WEAR THE SUMPTUOUS FABRIC OF SILK ON YOUR NIGHTCAP.
ELIZABETH'S WARDROBE REALLY PROVES HOW ROYAL DRESS HAS THE POWER TO MAKE A MONARCH.
HER IMAGE CONTRIBUTED TO THE LONGEVITY OF HER 44-YEAR REIGN AND THE RELATIVE PEACE AND PROSPERITY THAT THE COUNTRY ENJOYED THROUGHOUT, BUT THE WARDROBES OF HER SUCCESSORS, THE STUARTS, SHOW US HOW CLOTHES COULD CONTRIBUTE TO THE BREAKING UP OF A MONARCHY.
IN THE 16th CENTURY, THE TUDOR MONARCHS HAD KEPT THEIR ARTISTS ON A TIGHT REIN.
THEY AND THEY ALONE HAD DETERMINED HOW THEY SHOULD BE PAINTED, BUT THE RISE OF THE PRINTING PRESS AND THE SALE OF ILLUSTRATED PAMPHLETS ON STREET CORNERS MEANT THAT THE STUART IMAGE WOULD BE TREATED LESS RESPECTFULLY, AND COURT FASHION BECAME PART OF THE POLITICAL BATTLEGROUND.
NOW, THESE PICTURES FROM SATIRICAL PAMPHLETS SHOW THE POWER OF DRESS AND PARTICULARLY ACCUSATIONS ABOUT THE LAVISHNESS OF DRESS AND THE ROLE IT PLAYED IN THE PROPAGANDA WAR LEADING UP TO THE REAL ACTUAL PHYSICAL CIVIL WAR.
THIS GENTLEMAN IN THIS PICTURE IS A CAVALIER.
HE FIGHTS FOR THE KING, AND THE ARTIST IS BASICALLY SAYING THAT WITH ALL OF HIS CLOTHES AND ALL OF HIS STYLING, THE GENTLEMAN IS A TWIT BECAUSE LOOK AT WHAT HE'S WEARING.
THE KEY TELLS US THAT HE'S WEARING A SILLY HAT.
IT LOOKS LIKE A CLOSE STOOL PAN, OR A TOILET PAN, SET ON THE TOP OF HIS NOODLE.
IT SAYS HERE THAT HE'S WEARING "A LONG-WAISTED DOUBLET UNBUTTONED HALFWAY"-- NOW, THAT SHADES OF SIMON COWELL-- AND THE BUTTON'S A BIT TOO OPEN ON THE SHIRT.
HE'S GOT IN HIS HAND A STICK, PLAYING WITH IT-- WE KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS-- AND HE'S ALSO WEARING A GREAT, BIG PAIR OF SPURS.
SO YOU HEAR HIM COMING ALONG.
HE JINGLES LIKE A MORRIS DANCER AS HE APPROACHES.
SO BASICALLY, HE IS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS.
NOW, THE LUXURIOUS CLOTHING OF THE KING AND HIS CAVALIERS DID NOT LEAD DIRECTLY TO THE CIVIL WAR, BUT NEGATIVE COMMENT ABOUT THEIR WARDROBES OPENED THE WAY FOR OTHER MUCH MORE SERIOUS COMPLAINTS THAT ENDED IN ARMED REBELLION.
SO IT MIGHT SOUND SURPRISING THAT RIGHT AT THE END OF CHARLES I's LIFE WHEN HE WAS INCARCERATED AND AWAITING TRIAL, HE WAS STILL THINKING ABOUT HIS WARDROBE.
YOU MIGHT THINK THAT CHARLES I-- DEFEATED, IN PRISON-- WOULD HAVE OTHER THINGS ON HIS MIND APART FROM HIS CLOTHES, BUT WHEN HE HEARD HE WAS TO BE BOUGHT TO LONDON FOR HIS TRAIL, WHAT DOES HE DO?
HE ORDERS A NEW VELVET SUIT COVERED ALL OVER IN GOLD EMBROIDERY.
HE STILL WANTED TO MAKE A REGAL, A KINGLY IMPRESSION.
THE KING'S TRAIL ENDED WITH THE ORDER FOR HIS EXECUTION.
IT WAS TO TAKE PLACE ON THE 30th OF JANUARY 1649.
THAT MORNING, HE DRESSED WITH GREAT CARE.
HE PUT ON TWO SHIRTS BECAUSE IT WAS VERY COLD THAT DAY AND HE DIDN'T WANT ANYBODY TO SEE HIM SHIVERING ON THE SCAFFOLD.
HE WAS BOUGHT HERE TO THE PALACE OF WHITEHALL, AND HIS GUARDS MARCHED HIM THROUGH THE GALLERIES, THROUGH THIS VERY DOOR INTO THE BANQUETING HOUSE, THE LAST ROOM THAT CHARLES I WOULD EVER SEE.
THE KING WAS FROG-MARCHED THROUGH THIS SPACE AND OUT THROUGH A HOLE IN THE WALL THAT HAD BEEN MADE LEADING ONTO A SCAFFOLD ERECTED IN THE STREET OUTSIDE.
THERE HE SAID HIS LAST PRAYERS.
HE TOOK OFF HIS HAT.
HE MOVED HIS LONG HAIR OUT OF THE WAY TO BARE HIS NECK, AND HE GAVE HIS GLOVES TO HIS FRIEND ARCHBISHOP JUXON.
THEN HE KNELT DOWN AND PUT HIS HEAD ON THE BLOCK.
IT WAS VERY LOW.
HE WAS ALMOST LYING ON HIS STOMACH, AND THEN THE AX CAME DOWN.
FASHION AND CLOTHING WERE CENTRAL TO CHARLES I's KINGSHIP AND ITS POWER IS REVEALED MOST FULLY BY WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS WARDROBE FOLLOWING HIS EXECUTION.
AFTER THE KING'S DEATH, THERE WAS A GREAT DEAL OF INTEREST IN WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN TO HIS CLOTHES.
PEOPLE STARTED TO COLLECT THEM, AND SO WE HAVE THE CAP HE WORE WHEN HE WAS CAPTURED BY THE PARLIAMENTARIANS.
EVEN MORE EXCITINGLY, WE'VE GOT FRAGMENTS OF THE CLOAK HE WORE ON THE MORNING OF HIS EXECUTION AND THOSE GLOVES HE GAVE TO ARCHBISHOP JUXON, WELL, HERE THEY ARE, BUT HANG ON A MINUTE.
THESE ARE ALSO SAID TO HAVE BEEN THE GLOVES HE WORE ON THE MORNING OF THE EXECUTION, AND IF YOU GO TO LAMBETH PALACE, WELL, THEY'VE GOT A THIRD PAIR THERE.
NOW CLEARLY, HE WASN'T WEARING 3 PAIRS OF GLOVES, AND CLEARLY NOT ALL OF THESE THINGS CAN BE REAL, BUT THAT'S NOT REALLY THE POINT.
TO THE SUPPORTERS OF THE DEFEATED KING CHARLES, THESE ITEMS OF ROYAL CLOTHING HAD SUCH POWER, THEY HAD SUCH SIGNIFICANCE, THAT PEOPLE VENERATED THEM LIKE THE RELICS OF A HOLY SAINT.
AFTER A BRIEF SPELL WHEN IT SEEMED THAT THE MONARCHY WAS DEAD AND BURIED FOREVER, CHARLES II EVENTUALLY RECLAIMED HIS FATHER'S THRONE, BUT HIS NEW SUBJECTS NOTICED THAT HE WAS ANXIOUS TO AVOID MAKING THE SAME MISTAKES AS HIS FATHER.
IN HIS DIARY FOR 1666, SAMUEL PEPYS TELLS US ABOUT SOMETHING UNPRECEDENTED THAT THE KING DID IN ONE OF HIS COUNCIL MEETINGS.
CHARLES II HAD DECLARED HIS RESOLUTION OF SETTING A BRAND NEW FASHION FOR CLOTHES FOR EVERYBODY AT COURT.
HE DID THIS TO TEACH THE NOBILITY THRIFT, WHICH SAMUEL PEPYS AND, PRESUMABLY, THE REST OF THE POPULATION THOUGHT WAS A VERY GOOD THING.
CHARLES II WAS INTRODUCING A NEW KIND OF OUTFIT, THE SUIT, ALTHOUGH THE SUIT'S DECORATION COULD BE QUITE THE OPPOSITE OF THRIFTY.
SUSAN, THIS SUIT IS COVERED ALL OVER WITH SILVER EMBROIDERY.
THAT'S A BIT OVER THE TOP, ISN'T IT?
WELL, IT WAS WORN FOR AN IMPORTANT OCCASION BY THE BROTHER OF CHARLES II JAMES WHEN HE WAS DUKE OF YORK WHEN HE MARRIED IN 1673.
IMAGINE HIM COMING INTO A CANDLELIT ROOM.
HE MUST HAVE GLITTERED ALL OVER LIKE A CHRISTMAS TREE.
WELL, YES, AND PERHAPS EVEN MORE SO WHEN THE COAT AND BREECHES WERE FIRST MADE BECAUSE, OF COURSE, THE METAL THREADS WERE THAT MUCH BRIGHTER AND SPARKLING.
MM.
WHAT'S SO NEW ABOUT THIS AS AN OUTFIT OF CLOTHES?
WHAT'S REMARKABLE FOR, UM, ROYAL DRESS IS THE FACT THAT IT'S A COAT HE'S WEARING WITH HIS BREECHES, AND NOT A DOUBLET.
SO THE DOUBLET WOULD HAVE BEEN THE TIGHT, LITTLE JACKET AND THEN BIG, BAGGY BREECHES.
YES.
YES, AND THEN THE DOUBLET BY THIS TIME SORT OF ENDS BARELY AT THE WAISTLINE.
SO PERHAPS, YOU KNOW, IT WAS GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR CHARLES TO KIND OF SET SOMETHING NEW.
MAYBE THE DOUBLET WAS TOO REMINISCENT OF THE OLD COURT OF HIS FATHER.
HERE WAS A CHANCE TO ESTABLISH A LOOK THAT WOULD BE UNIQUELY IDENTIFIED WITH HIM, AN OUTFIT THAT EVERYBODY WAS DESPERATE TO WEAR AND THINKS IS REALLY COOL AND STYLISH.
WHERE DID CHARLES II, THEN, GET HIS FASHION SENSE?
CLEARLY, HE WAS A FASHIONABLE SORT OF FELLOW.
WELL, UM, HE DID VERY SIGNIFICANTLY SPEND TIME AT THE COURT OF LOUIS XIV.
YOU KNOW, LOUIS WAS RECOGNIZED AS BEING THE STYLE LEADER FOR ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING, INCLUDING CLOTHING, AND WAS QUITE DICTATORIAL ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE WERE ALLOWED TO WEAR AND HOW THEY WERE TO PRESENT THEMSELVES.
SURELY, EMULATING SOMEONE WHO'S A BIT DICTATORIAL ABOUT FASHION ISN'T A VERY GOOD IDEAL FOR CHARLES II, BECAUSE HE'S SEEN HIS FATHER BE DICTATORIAL AND GET HIS HEAD CHOPPED OFF AS A RESULT.
WELL, CERTAINLY, HE MUST HAVE TAKEN THAT INTO ACCOUNT, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT'S DECREED.
HE DOESN'T ENFORCE THE WEARING OF THIS GARMENT.
SO IS IT FAIR TO SAY THAT LOUIS XIV IS GOING, "COURTIERS, WEAR WHAT I WANT."
HE'S USING THE FRENCH STICK, IF YOU LIKE, AND THEN WE'VE GOT CHARLES II IN LONDON MAKING EVERYBODY WANT TO WEAR THE SUIT BECAUSE IT LOOKS SO GOOD.
HE'S USING THE CARROT.
YES, ABSOLUTELY.
WE'VE GOT THE FRENCH STICK OR THE ENGLISH CARROT.
WHICH DO YOU PREFER?
OH, WELL, I THINK WE'D ALL GO FOR THE ENGLISH CARROT, WOULDN'T WE?
HA HA HA!
GOOD ANSWER.
NOW, CHARLES II MAY BE REMEMBERED AS THE JOLLY, OLD, MERRY MONARCH, BUT I BELIEVE THAT HE WAS A PARTICULARLY CANNY KING.
HE CLEVERLY DISTANCED HIMSELF FROM HIS FATHER CHARLES I AND ALSO FROM CONTEMPORARY ABSOLUTIST MONARCHS LIKE LOUIS XIV, AND CHARLES II MARKED A REAL TURNING POINT FOR THE BRITISH MONARCHY.
HIS PREDECESSORS HAD ALL BELIEVED THAT THEY HAD A GOD-GIVEN RIGHT TO RULE, BUT FROM CHARLES II ONWARDS, EVERY BRITISH MONARCH KNEW THAT HE OR SHE WAS NO LONGER TOP DOG AND THAT HE OR SHE HAD TO RULE BY PAYING A NOD TO THE POWER OF THEIR PEOPLE.
AFTER THE CIVIL WAR, CHARLES HAD REALIZED THAT MONARCHS COULD LONGER POWER-DRESS LIKE ELIZABETH I BECAUSE THEY SIMPLY DIDN'T WIELD AS MUCH POWER, BUT THEY WERE STILL LEFT WITH THE POMP.
AS A TRILOGY OF GEORGES NAVIGATED THEIR WAY THROUGH THE 18th CENTURY, GENTLEMEN SPORTED THE NEW SENSIBLE SUITS, WHILE LADIES DID QUITE THE OPPOSITE.
NOW, ELERI, WHAT IS THIS EXTRAORDINARY OBJECT?
THIS IS AN 18th-CENTURY VERSION OF AN UNDERSKIRT KNOWN AS A SIDE HOOP OR PANNIERS, AND IT WAS WORN TO CREATE A VERY EXTRAVAGANT SKIRT SHAPE.
SO MY BODY, MY WAIST, GOES IN THAT HOLE THERE, RIGHT?
YOU STAND IN THERE, AND THEN THIS DRAWSTRING GATHERS AROUND YOUR WAIST.
AND YOU TIE THAT UP?
ABSOLUTELY.
IS THIS WHALE BONE UNDER HERE?
YEAH.
IT'S QUITE A FLEXIBLE THING.
EXACTLY AND WHAT CREATES THE SHAPE.
ALTHOUGH IT DOESN'T LOOK VERY MUCH, IT'S ACTUALLY QUITE A SPECIAL LUXURY GARMENT.
AND IT'S AMAZING THAT UNDERWEAR LIKE THIS SURVIVES FROM THE 18th CENTURY.
IT'S VERY RARE.
AND WHAT KIND OF A DRESS WOULD HAVE GONE ON TOP?
AN EXTRAORDINARY DRESS CALLED THE COURT MANTUA.
TELL ME ABOUT THIS, THEN.
IT'S RIDICULOUS, THE SIZE AND THE SHAPE OF THIS THING, IT MUST BE THE LEAST PRACTICAL DRESS EVER.
ABSOLUTELY, BUT THAT'S-- THAT'S SORT OF THE POINT, UM, IS THAT THE PERSON WHO WAS WEARING THIS WAS OBVIOUSLY RICH ENOUGH AND IMPORTANT ENOUGH NOT TO WEAR PRACTICAL CLOTHES.
YOU COULDN'T DO A SHRED OF WORK IN THIS, AND, IN FACT, YOU COULD BARELY MOVE.
THEY WERE WEARING THESE DRESSES AT THE GEORGIAN COURT, AND IT BECAME SOMETHING OF A UNIFORM DIDN'T THEY?
THEY DID.
IT WAS ACTUALLY PRESCRIBED, AND THERE WERE VERY STRICT RULES OF ETIQUETTE ABOUT WHAT SORTS OF DRESSES UM, YOU SHOULD WEAR, AND WOMEN HAD TO WEAR THESE MANTUAS PRETTY MUCH FOR MOST OF THE 18th CENTURY.
I'VE READ THAT THE COURTIERS COMPLAINED ABOUT ALL THE RUFFLES AND THE FRILLS GETTING IN THE WAY OF ANY SORT OF ACTIVITY THEY WANTED TO BE DOING.
WHAT ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR SILK THAT'S BEEN WOVEN HERE?
WHAT'S THE SIGNIFICANCE OF IT?
THIS PARTICULAR SILK IS A VERY EXPENSIVE ONE BECAUSE OF THE COMPLEXITY OF THE WEAVE.
THERE AREN'T THAT MANY REPEATING PATTERNS WITHIN IT, WHICH, TO THE TRAINED EYE AT COURT, WOULD SIGNIFY A VERY RARIFIED SENSIBILITY AND ALSO A LOT OF MONEY.
THIS ONE'S PRETTY WIDE.
IS THIS AS EXTREME AS MANTUAS GET?
YOU DID GET SKIRTS THAT CAME OUT AT COMPLETE RIGHT ANGLES TO THE WAIST AND THEN DOWN.
A BIG, WALKING OBLONG.
ABSOLUTELY.
DO YOU THINK, THEN-- I GET THE SENSE THAT BY THE LATE GEORGIAN PERIOD, GOING TO COURT MUST HAVE BEEN A BIT LIKE GOING TO THE ZOO.
IT WAS LIKE THE DINOSAURS ARE STILL WALKING THE EARTH WEARING THESE CRAZY, OUTMODED DRESSES.
BUT THAT WAS PART OF MAINTAINING AT COURT THIS SPLENDOR OF THE 18th CENTURY BECAUSE EVERYTHING ABOUT THE COURT AND SOCIETY HAD CHANGED SO MUCH DURING THAT CENTURY THAT IT WAS A WAY OF PRESERVING IN ASPIC THE CEREMONY ASSOCIATED WITH COURT.
THIS HAS TO BE THE WORLD'S LEAST PRACTICAL DRESS.
WHEN YOU CAME TO COURT, YOU HAD TO FOLLOW A EXTREMELY STRICT CODE OF BEHAVIOR.
YOU'D BE COACHED BEFOREHAND BY YOUR DANCING MASTER.
SO ONE COURT LADY TELLS US THAT IF A HAIRPIN WAS PRICKING YOUR SCALP, YOU COULDN'T PULL IT OUT.
YOU HAD TO PUT UP WITH THE PAIN.
IF IT GOT REALLY BAD, THEN YOU COULD BITE THE INSIDE OF YOUR CHEEK AND SWALLOW THE BLOOD AS A DIVERSION.
SO WHAT WERE THE RULES OF WEARING A DRESS LIKE THIS?
WELL, FIRSTLY, THERE WERE NO CHAIRS IN THE ROOM.
IT'S CONTRARY TO ETIQUETTE TO SIT DOWN IN THE ROYAL PRESENCE.
SO YOU HAD TO STAND FOR HOURS IN YOUR HEAVY HOOPS AND ALSO IN YOUR HIGH-HEELED SHOES.
MUSTN'T CROSS YOUR ARMS.
THAT'S A COMPLETE NO-NO, AS IS TURNING YOUR BACK ON THE KING OR QUEEN.
IF YOU WANTED TO LEAVE THE ROOM, YOU HAD TO ASK PERMISSION, AND IF IT WAS GIVEN, YOU HAD TO CURTSY 3 TIMES AND THEN BACK OUT OF THE ROOM AVOIDING COLLISIONS WITH OTHER LADIES IN THEIR HOOPS AND GETTING YOURSELF STRAIGHT OUT OF THE DOOR.
EVERYBODY WANTS TO KNOW HOW THE COURT LADIES WENT TO THE LOO, AND THE ANSWER IS, THEY'RE NOT YET WEARING KNICKERS, WHICH HAVEN'T BEEN INVENTED.
SO THEY ARE ABLE TO USE THE CHAMBER POT, BUT TO DO THIS, YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO ASK FOR PERMISSION AND WITHDRAW TO THE ANTEROOM, AND PERMISSION IS NOT NECESSARILY FORTHCOMING.
ONCE, ONE OF QUEEN CAROLINE'S LADIES WAS REFUSED PERMISSION TO WITHDRAW, AND A FEW MINUTES LATER, A HUMILIATING PUDDLE APPEARED FROM UNDERNEATH HER MANTUA, AND--THIS IS THE CONTEMPORARY QUOTATION-- IT "THREATENED THE SHOES OF BYSTANDERS."
BY THE END OF THE 18th CENTURY, COURTLY DRESS HAD BECOME A SOURCE OF DERISION.
THE ROYAL WARDROBE WAS BECOMING LESS AND LESS RELEVANT TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD, AND SO, TOO, WAS THE MONARCHY ITSELF.
THE POPULATION MIGHT HAVE LAUGHED A LOT MORE IF THE ROYAL JOKE HADN'T BEEN QUITE LITERALLY AT THEIR EXPENSE.
THIS IS THE PRINCE REGENT, THE FUTURE GEORGE IV, STANDING IN FOR HIS DAD WHILE HE WAS MAD.
YOU MAY REMEMBER HIM AS THE HUGH LAURIE CHARACTER IN "BLACKADDER," IN OTHER WORDS, A BIT OF A TWIT.
WHEN HE FINALLY BECAME KING IN 1820, HE PUT ON THE MOST WONDERFUL CORONATION.
IT WAS AN ENORMOUS SPECTACLE THAT EVERYBODY ENJOYED UNTIL THEY DISCOVERED HOW MUCH IT HAD COST.
HE SPENT £25,000 ON HIS ROBES THAT HE ONLY WORE FOR A FEW HOURS.
GEORGE IV WAS A VERY STYLISH MAN.
AS HIS WIFE SAID, IT WAS JUST A SHAME THAT HE HAD TO BE KING.
HE WOULD HAVE MADE A MUCH BETTER HAIRDRESSER.
NOW, IF I HAD TO IMAGINE THE SLIPPERS OF THAT BLING LOVER GEORGE IV, THIS IS WHAT I WOULD COME UP WITH.
YEAH, DEFINITELY, AND I LIKE HOW THEY MATCH THE PINK, SORT OF SALMON PINKY LINING, TO THE SILVER TOPS.
OH, LOOK.
THERE'S A PINK LINING, AS WELL-- LOOK AT THAT-- AND THEY GLITTER, AND YOU'VE GOT A MATCHING GOLD PAIR OVER THERE.
YES, WITH A YELLOW LINING, AND THEN, MOST IMPORTANTLY, WE HAVE GEORGE'S ACTUAL CORONATION SHOES.
THE MOMENT OF BECOMING KING, HE WAS WEARING THESE SHOES, AND THEY'RE SILVER AGAIN, AND THEY HAVE THE LITTLE, RED HEELS OF ROYALTY.
NOW, THIS WAS THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH, WASN'T IT?
TELL ME A BIT MORE ABOUT IT.
I THINK IT LOOKED SPECTACULAR, BUT I THINK IT ALSO LOOKED A BIT STRANGE BECAUSE WHAT GEORGE DID, HE MADE ALL THE COURTIERS WEAR SOME SORT OF HISTORIC FANCY DRESS OUTFIT, SOME SORT OF TUDOR/STUART NUMBER.
WAS THIS DIGNIFIED FOR A POOR, AGED PEER WITH KNOBLY KNEES TO BE SENT OUT IN WHITE STOCKINGS?
I-- PROBABLY NOT.
I MEAN, I GUESS THEY WEREN'T ALL OLD.
THERE WERE PROBABLY SOME MEN WITH REALLY NICE KNEES AND NICE LEGS, UM, BUT IT HAS AN AIR OF SORT OF THEATER FANCY DRESS ABOUT IT, I THINK.
DID THEY HAVE TO PAY FOR THEIR OWN COSTUMES?
AS FAR AS I UNDERSTAND, THEY DID.
I'VE READ SOMEWHERE THAT ONE OF THESE COULD COST UP TO ABOUT £250.
THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY.
WHAT DID PEOPLE REALLY THINK OF GEORGES' LOVE OF CLOTHES?
I THINK THEY THOUGHT IT WAS A BIT UNDIGNIFIED.
FOR A KING, YOU SHOULD MAYBE OCCUPY YOUR THOUGHTS WITH OTHER THINGS THAN THE CUT OF YOUR PANTALOONS OR YOUR CRAVATS.
HE WAS TOO BUSY FUSSING AROUND WITH HIS BUTTONS.
I THINK THAT MAY BE WAS WHAT A LOT OF PEOPLE THOUGHT.
WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS FABULOUS WARDROBE AFTER HE DIED?
WELL, QUITE A LOT WAS SOLD OFF.
UM, SO WE HAPPEN TO HAVE AN AUCTION CATALOG WHICH LISTS SOME OF THE THINGS HE HAD.
HE HAD 28 WHITE WAISTCOATS, OF WHICH WE HAVE 3.
BUT WHY DID HE NEED 28 WHITE WAISTCOATS?
WELL, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
WHY DOES ANYONE NEED 28 WAISTCOATS?
[CHUCKLES] ONE OF THEM IS HERE, AND IF YOU OPEN IT UP, YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE IT SAYS HERE P.R.
FOR PRINCE REGENT, AND YOU CAN SEE HOW BIG IT IS...
IT'S LARGE.
BUT WHAT IS REALLY BIZARRE IN HERE, THERE IS ONE LOT THAT YOU COULD BUY-- TWO MASQUERADE NUNS DRESSES AND A RED PETTICOAT.
WHAT WAS DOING WITH THE NUN'S DRESSES?
I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA.
MAYBE HE WENT SOMEWHERE DRESSED UP AS A NUN.
OH, THAT'S A BRILLIANT IMAGE, ISN'T IT?
HA HA!
RATHER LARGE NUN.
WORSLEY: ALL THIS MEANT THAT WHEN THE KING DIED, HE WASN'T MUCH MOURNED.
THIS BOOK WRITTEN ABOUT HIM THE YEAR AFTER HIS DEATH SAYS THAT TO GEORGE IV, "THE CUT OF A COAT "BECAME OF GREATER CONSEQUENCE THAN THE AMELIORATION OF THE CONDITION OF IRELAND."
HE CARED MORE ABOUT "THE TIE OF THE NECKCLOTH" THAN HE DID ABOUT PARLIAMENTARY REFORM.
INSTEAD OF GOVERNING THE COUNTRY, HE'D SPEND ALL MORNING TALKING WITH HIS TAILOR ABOUT THE MERITS "OF LOOSE TROUSERS" OVER "TIGHT PANTALOONS."
HIS OBITUARY IN THE "TIMES" NEWSPAPER CLAIMED THAT NEVER WAS AN INDIVIDUAL REGRETTED LESS BY HIS PEOPLE THAN THIS DECEASED KING.
WHAT EYE HAS WEPT FOR HIM?
GEORGE IV WAS THE LEAST POPULAR KING SINCE CHARLES I, AND HIS WASTEFUL AND EGOTISTICAL ATTITUDE TO CLOTHES WAS ONE OF THE REASONS THAT THE MONARCHY'S IMAGE REACHED SUCH A LOW POINT IN THE EARLY 19th CENTURY.
AN INCREASINGLY CRITICAL PRESS MEANT THAT PEOPLE WERE MORE AWARE THAN EVER OF WHAT THE ROYALS WERE UP TO, YET THE MONARCHY'S STATUS WAS ABOUT TO BE TRANSFORMED BY A RATHER UNLIKELY FIGURE.
IF YOU WERE ASKED TO NAME THE MOST CLOTHES-OBSESSED, IMAGE-CONSCIOUS KING OR QUEEN, YOU PROBABLY WOULDN'T COME UP WITH QUEEN VICTORIA.
MOST PEOPLE THINK OF HER AS A LITTLE, OLD LADY DRESSED IN BLACK, LOOKING LIKE A POTATO, BUT ACTUALLY, SHE LOVED CLOTHES, AND QUEEN VICTORIA IS THE WOMAN WHO GAVE US THE WHITE WEDDING DRESS.
VICTORIA MAY BE REMEMBERED AS THE WIDOW IN BLACK, BUT AT HER WEDDING, SHE ABANDONED THE CONVENTION OF WEARING ROYAL ROBES.
SHE CHOSE INSTEAD A WHITE DRESS AND EVEN DESIGNED HER BRIDESMAIDS' OUTFITS, BUT IT WASN'T ALL BLACK AND WHITE IN VICTORIA'S WARDROBE.
DEIDRE, THIS IS NOT OUR IDEA OF QUEEN VICTORIA, IS IT?
SHE'S PRETTY SHORT, AND SHE'S PRETTY TEENY TINY AROUND THE WAIST.
LOOK HOW SMALL THAT IS.
SHE IS.
WELL, SHE WORE THIS DRESS WHEN SHE WAS ABOUT 16 YEARS OLD.
SO IT IS PRETTY TEENY TINY.
IT'S SO CUTE.
IT IS CUTE.
SHE WAS 5' 1 3/4", AND THE SLEEVES ARE VERY BEAUTIFULLY PUFFED, AS ANY 1830s EVENING GOWN WOULD BE.
THE SILHOUETTE OF THE DRESS IS ALSO OFF THE SHOULDER AND CREATES A VERY BEAUTIFUL LINE AROUND HER NECKLINE.
IT'S POSSIBLE SHE WORE IT THE FIRST TIME SHE MET PRINCE ALBERT.
THAT'S SO ROMANTIC.
WHAT DO YOU THINK SHE THOUGHT OF FASHION?
BECAUSE SHE REALLY DOESN'T HAVE A PLACE ON THE BEST-DRESSED LIST OF QUEENS OF HISTORY, DOES SHE?
SHE WAS CERTAINLY VERY, VERY INTERESTED IN FASHION AND EXTREMELY AWARE OF THE POWER THAT FASHION HAD IN SHAPING PUBLIC OPINION.
FOR BIG PUBLIC OCCASIONS, SHE ALWAYS WORE BRITISH, AND THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS ALWAYS CLEARLY IDENTIFIED IN NEWSPAPER ARTICLES DESCRIBING HER CLOTHES FOR ANY PARTICULAR EVENT.
DO YOU THINK THAT QUEEN VICTORIA SELF-CONSCIOUSLY CONSTRUCTED HER IMAGE?
DEFINITELY.
SHE WAS ABSOLUTELY OBSESSED WITH THEATER TO THE POINT WHERE SHE ACTUALLY DRESSED HER FAMILY AND FRIENDS, AS WELL.
SO SAY, FOR INSTANCE, UM, THIS IS THE CHRISTENING OF PRINCESS VICKY, HER ELDEST DAUGHTER, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THE QUEEN IS HERE WEARING A VERY MAGNIFICENT DRESS IN SILVER AND GOLD, LOOKING VERY QUEENLIKE, BUT IT'S ALSO A VERY SPECIAL GROUP, UM, DISTINGUISHED BY THEIR UNIFIED CLOTHING IN SILVER, GOLD, AND WHITE, AND AGAIN, WHEN QUEEN VICTORIA VISITED SCOTLAND IN 1842, SHE WENT TO DRUMMOND CASTLE FOR THIS ENORMOUS BALL WHERE EVERYONE WORE TARTAN EXCEPT FOR HER.
OH!
IT SAYS HERE, "HER DRESS WAS COMPOSED OF RICH SPITALFIELDS SILK OF A PALE PINK."
ARE YOU SAYING THAT SHE OUTCLASSED EVERYBODY ELSE?
NOT NECESSARILY THAT SHE OUTCLASSED EVERYONE ELSE, BUT SHE'S CERTAINLY DRESSING TO STAND OUT HERE.
SHE HAD WORN TARTAN THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE VISIT TO SCOTLAND IN 1842.
FOR DAYS ON END, SHE'S DRESSED FROM HEAD TO TOE IN TARTAN, AND ON THE BIGGEST, BIGGEST DAY OF THE ENTIRE VISIT, SHE DECIDES TO WEAR PALE PINK IN FRONT OF A BACKDROP OF TARTAN.
MM, THAT SOUNDS RATHER LOVELY, DOESN'T IT?
WORSLEY: MICROMANAGING HER OWN AND HER FAMILY'S WARDROBE HELPED QUEEN VICTORIA TO WIN OVER THE HEARTS OF HER PEOPLE AND TO MAKE THE MONARCHY POPULAR ONCE AGAIN.
VICTORIA UNDERSTOOD NOT ONLY THE POWER OF DRESS, BUT ALSO THE POWER OF THE PRESS.
HERE'S A LETTER FROM QUEEN VICTORIA TO HER SON ABOUT HER BELIEF IN THE POWER OF DRESS.
SHE SAYS, "IT'S THE ONE OUTWARD SIGN FROM WHICH PEOPLE "CAN AND OFTEN DO JUDGE "THE INWARD STATE OF MIND OF A PERSON, "AND IT'S OF PARTICULAR IMPORTANCE IN PERSONS OF HIGH RANK."
SO SHE SAYS TO HIM, "WE DO EXPECT THAT YOU WILL NEVER WEAR ANYTHING EXTRAVAGANT OR SLANG," AS SHE PUTS IT, TOO CASUAL, "BECAUSE THAT WOULD PROVE A WANT OF SELF-RESPECT AND BE AN OFFENSE AGAINST DECENCY."
LIKE ELIZABETH I, VICTORIA MADE CAREFUL CLOTHING CHOICES THAT PLAYED WELL TO HER PEOPLE, AND, LIKE ELIZABETH, VICTORIA ENJOYED A LONG AND STABLE REIGN.
SHE KNEW THAT HER DRESSES WOULD MAKE THEIR IMPACT THROUGH NEWSPAPER REPORTS.
WITH EXPANDING READERSHIPS AND THE INTRODUCTION OF PHOTOGRAPHY, SHE, HER FAMILY, AND THEIR DECEDENTS WOULD BE UNDER CLOSER SCRUTINY THAN EVER BEFORE, BUT SOME OF HER SUCCESSORS WERE LESS PRUDENT, AND THE RESULTS FOR THE MONARCHY WERE NEARLY CATASTROPHIC.
THIS IS A GENTLEMAN'S SUIT FROM THE 1930s.
NOW, YOU MIGHT THINK THAT IT'S A BIT LOUD.
LOOK AT THIS HOUNDSTOOTH IN THE TWEED, AND YOU CAN IMAGINE BERTIE WOOSTER, PERHAPS, GOING OUT IN A SUIT LIKE THIS, BUT IT ISN'T ACTUALLY OFFENSIVE TO OUR EYES.
AT THE TIME, THOUGH, THE ESTABLISHMENT THOUGHT THAT THIS SUIT WAS SCANDALOUS, AS THEY DID ALSO ITS OWNER, WHO WAS EDWARD VIII.
EDWARD VIII's APPROACH TO CLOTHING WAS RATHER LIKE GEORGE IV's.
HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE AMERICAN DIVORCEE WALLIS SIMPSON WAS THE REAL REASON THAT HE ABDICATED IN 1936, BUT EDWARD'S PLAYBOY LIFESTYLE AND THE WARDROBE THAT HE FAVORED-- HERE AT HIS GOLF CLUB, FOR EXAMPLE== HAD CAUSE CONCERN MUCH EARLIER ON.
SHAUN, LOOKING AT THESE PHOTOS OF THE PRINCE OF WALES, THE FUTURE EDWARD VIII, HE LOOKS PRETTY SMART IN ALL OF THEM, I'D SAY.
I'D SAY THAT WAS A PRETTY SMART JACKET THAT HE'S WEARING THERE.
WHAT WAS THE PROBLEM WITH THIS?
WELL, IN TODAY'S CONVENTIONS, IT IS A SMART JACKET.
IT'S A GLEN PLAID JACKET, BUT TWEEDS, GLEN PLAIDS LIKE THIS, IT WAS WEAR FOR THE COUNTRY.
IT WASN'T CITY WEAR, AND HE WAS WEARING THESE THINGS OUTSIDE THE PLACE AT WHICH THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE WORN.
THAT'S WHERE HE WAS PUSHING THOSE BOUNDARIES.
SO IS THAT LIKE TURNING UP TO ROYAL ASCOT WEARING A SHELL SUIT?
I DON'T THINK IT'S QUITE AS EXTREME AS THAT, BUT CERTAINLY, YES, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN-- IT WAS ABOUT THE APPROPRIATENESS.
SO IN A TIME WHEN HE WOULD HAVE BEEN INSPECTING THE TROOPS AND HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN WEARING SOMETHING FORMAL, PERHAPS UNIFORM, IN THIS IMAGE, HE'S WEARING A DOUBLE-BREASTED JACKET, WHICH, AGAIN, WE THINK FOR BEING, YOU KNOW, RATHER CONVENTIONAL, BUT HE'S WEARING IT WITH A PAIR OF SHEPHERD TWEED TROUSERS.
THE FASHION CONVENTION WAS FOR NARROWER EDWARDIAN TROUSERS THAT HIS FATHER WOULD HAVE WORN, WHEREAS-- THESE ARE BAGS.
THEY ARE BAGS, ABSOLUTELY, AND HE VERY MUCH, YOU KNOW, PUSHED THIS BOUNDARY WITH HIS TROUSERS, AND HIS BIOGRAPHY SAYS HE DOESN'T WEAR BAGS, AS SUCH.
THOSE ARE BAGGY TROUSERS.
THEY ARE VERY BAGGY TROUSERS, AND, IN FACT, WHILE HE HAD HIS JACKETS MADE AT A TAILOR IN LONDON, SCHOLTE'S, HE HAD HIS TROUSERS MADE BY AN AMERICAN TAILOR.
HE DIDN'T LIKE THE CUT AND HAD THEM FLOWN OVER.
THAT'S SO-- THAT'S SO PROFLIGATE.
ABSOLUTELY, WHAT WALLIS SIMPSON CALLED "HIS PANTS ACROSS THE OCEAN."
NO WAY.
"HIS PANTS ACROSS THE OCEAN"?
ABSOLUTELY, "PANTS ACROSS THE OCEAN."
THAT'S BRILLIANT.
LOOK AT THE CONTRAST BETWEEN THIS VERY FORMAL-LOOKING GENT OVER HERE.
ABSOLUTELY, AND THE BOWLER HAT, AS WELL.
WHILE WE THINK OF THAT AS BEING, YOU KNOW, THE EPITOME OF BRITISH TRADITION, YOU KNOW, IT STARTED OFF AS A HAT FOR THE COUNTRY, FOR SERVANTS.
YOU KNOW, HE'S WEARING IT IN TOWN, WEARING IT TO INSPECT THE TROOPS.
HE STARTED TO WEAR KNITWEAR.
HE POPULARIZED FAIR ISLE KNITWEAR, CERTAINLY IN GOLF AND THEN INTO OTHER FORMS OF LEISURE.
YOU ARE WEARING HIS LEGACY TODAY.
IT'S WONDERFUL.
INDEED.
SO IT JUST SHOWS, DOESN'T IT, HOW IMPORTANT HE WAS.
THIS SEEMS LIKE THE ICONIC IMAGE TO ME BECAUSE-- WHAT IS HE DOING?
HE'S GOT OFF AN AIRPLANE.
HE'S WEARING A VERY STYLISH SUIT.
HE'S GOT THIS FUNNY, LITTLE DOG WITH HIM, AND HE'S DOING SOMETHING VERY CAMP WITH HIS ARM.
HE IS, AND, CERTAINLY, HE WAS THE MODERN MAN.
THIS, FOR ME, SUMS UP EDWARD VIII.
WOULD YOU HAVE EMPLOYED HIM AT THE LONDON COLLEGE OF FASHION?
ABSOLUTELY.
HA HA HA!
I'D EMPLOY HIM AS MY TAILOR AND MY DRESSER.
HE'D HAVE YOUR JOB.
HA HA HA!
[BIRDS CHIRPING] NOW, OBVIOUSLY, EDWARD VIII DIDN'T ABDICATE BECAUSE HE SPENT TOO MUCH TIME ON THE GOLF COURSE OR BECAUSE OF HIS FONDNESS FOR KNITWEAR, BUT IN THE EYES OF THE ESTABLISHMENT, THESE THINGS WERE SYMPTOMATIC.
TO THEM, EDWARD VIII WAS TOO FASHIONABLE.
HE WAS TOO SLANG.
IF HE WASN'T DRESSED LIKE A ROYAL, PEOPLE THOUGHT HE WASN'T BEHAVING LIKE A ROYAL, AND THIS WAS MORALLY LAX.
EDWARD'S LOVE OF CLOTHES KICKED OFF A DEBATE THAT WOULD AFFECT THE WARDROBE CHOICES OF EVERY YOUNG ROYAL FROM THEN UNTIL NOW-- HOW TO RESPOND TO FASHION.
[CAR HORN HONKS] IT WAS SOMETHING THAT THE PRESENT QUEEN HAD TO DEAL WITH FROM AN EARLY AGE, WHEN BRITAIN'S WARDROBES WERE INVADED BY-- QUELLE HORREUR-- THE FRENCH FASHION HOUSE DIOR.
HAVING WOWED PARISIAN AUDIENCES WITH HIS SUMPTUOUS YET CONTROVERSIAL NEW LOOK IN 1947, CHRISTIAN DIOR THEN UNLEASHED IT UPON THE BRITISH PUBLIC.
DIOR'S NEW LOOK WAS PRETTY CONTROVERSIAL.
IN PARIS, SOME OF HIS MODELS HAD THEIR CLOTHES RIPPED FROM THEIR BODIES BY DISAPPROVING CROWDS, AND IN LONDON, THE HEAD OF THE BOARD OF TRADE THOUGHT THAT THIS WAS A RIDICULOUSLY PROFLIGATE USE OF FABRIC WHEN RATIONING WAS STILL ENFORCED.
THE TROUBLE WAS, THOUGH, THAT EVERY FEMALE FASHION LOVER IN LONDON LOVED THIS, INCLUDING THE FEMALE MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL FAMILY.
WHILE DIOR'S TRIP TO LONDON CAUSED A PUBLIC FRENZY, THERE WAS SOMETHING SECRET GOING ON BEHIND THE SCENES.
ONE DAY, HE PACKS UP ALL OF HIS DRESSES INTO BAGS, AND HE SNEAKS OUT THE BACK OF HIS HOTEL TO TRAVEL ACROSS LONDON TO THE FRENCH EMBASSY, AND THERE HE PUT ON A PRIVATE SHOWING OF HIS COLLECTION TO A WHOLE GAGGLE OF ROYALS, INCLUDING THE DUCHESS OF KENT AND PRINCESS MARGARET, BUT APPARENTLY, ONE PERSON WAS CONSPICUOUS BY HER ABSENCE.
THAT WAS PRINCESS ELIZABETH, THE FUTURE QUEEN.
IT WAS ACCEPTABLE FOR JUNIOR ROYALS TO DROOL OVER DIOR AND HIS FRENCH FROCKS, BUT APPARENTLY, IT WASN'T ALL RIGHT FOR THE HEIR TO THE BRITISH THRONE.
PRINCESS ELIZABETH'S YOUNGER SISTER MARGARET WAS THE ONE WITH THE FREEDOM TO FROLIC WITH FASHION.
PRINCESS MARGARET REMAINED AT THE FRONT OF THE FASHION PACK FOR HER WHOLE LIFE.
AFTER ALL, SHE WAS MARRIED TO A FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER.
SHE WENT ON WEARING DIOR FROM THE NEW LOOK RIGHT INTO THE 1970s.
THIS DRESS FROM 1977 IS BY DIOR, AND SHE WORE IT AT THE QUEEN'S SILVER JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS.
LOUIS ARMSTRONG DESCRIBES THE FASHION-LOVING PRINCESS MARGARET AS "ONE HIP CHICK."
I DON'T THINK HE WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SAY THAT ABOUT HER ELDER SISTER THE QUEEN.
WHILE MARGARET LOOKED EXOTIC AND GLAMOROUS AND COOL, HER ELDER SISTER REALIZED THAT WITH HER POSITION CAME RESPONSIBILITY.
LIKE HER GREAT-GREAT-GRANDMOTHER QUEEN VICTORIA, HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN HAD TO MAKE CHOICES THAT WERE CONSERVATIVE AND VERY, VERY BRITISH.
AT FIRST, SHE USED THE DESIGNER NORMAN HARTNELL, WHO SHE'D INHERITED FROM HER MOTHER, BEFORE CHOOSING HARDY AMIES, WHO'S FASHION HOUSE STILL LIES AT THE HEART OF BRITISH TAILORING.
OK.
HERE WE HAVE THE QUEEN'S PRESS BOOK.
LOOK HOW BIG IT IS, AND IT SAYS "THE QUEEN."
YEAH, A GARGANTUAN PRESS LOOK.
SO HERE WE GO FROM THE BEGINNING.
SO HERE, THIS IS THE PROCESSION, ALMOST, THE PROCESS OF HARDY GOING TO BUCKINGHAM PALACE, AND THERE'S HARDY IN THE MIDDLE THERE.
IT'S OBVIOUSLY QUITE A MOMENT, AT IT SAYS, "SETTING OFF FOR BUCKINGHAM PALACE, 1954."
YES.
IT WAS.
YOU KNOW, HARDY AMIES WAS REALLY PROUD, REALLY PROUD OF HIS ROLE DESIGNING FOR THE QUEEN.
UM, IT WAS HIS LIFE'S WORK, REALLY.
WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THEY GOT TO BUCKINGHAM PALACE?
THEY HAD TO GO THROUGH THE BACK DOOR, WHICH ALWAYS REALLY IRRITATED HARDY...
THE BACK DOOR, WAS IT?
HE ALWAYS THOUGHT HE SHOULD HAVE GONE THROUGH THE FRONT.
SO THEY GO THROUGH THE BACK, BACK DOOR AND MEET HER MAJESTY WITH HER OWN TEAM OF PEOPLE.
THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN HER OWN FITTER.
SO HE DIDN'T DO IT HIMSELF.
NO.
HE WOULD HAVE HAD-- THE QUEEN WOULD HAVE HAD SOMEONE, DISTANCE.
YEAH, AND HE WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, "JUST MAYBE DO SOMETHING HERE WITH THE LAPEL" OR THE HEM OF THE SKIRT OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT MAYBE LENGTHWISE.
IF YOU WERE THE QUEEN'S DESIGNER THEN, WHAT WERE THE RULES AND REGULATIONS THAT YOU HAD TO SORT OF WORK WITHIN?
WELL, A HUGE BONUS WOULD BE TO GET A COLOR RIGHT.
FOR EXAMPLE, HERE, THE QUEEN IS WEARING MAUVE IN JAPAN, AND THAT'S THE IMPERIAL COLOR OF JAPAN.
SO WHEN HER MAJESTY STEPPED FROM THE AIRCRAFT WEARING THIS, THE HOST NATION WERE DELIGHTED THAT SHE WAS PAYING HOMAGE TO THEM.
SO IT'S A COMPLIMENT TO THE HOST NATION TO INCORPORATE SOME SORT OF A REFERENCE TO THEIR OWN-- THEIR OWN CULTURE.
ABSOLUTELY.
ABSOLUTELY.
THE QUEEN CONSIDERED THIS HER WORKING WARDROBE.
SHE WANTED TO BE SEEN, EVEN ON A RAINY DAY-- NOW WE JUST SEE A TIP OF IT THERE--AN UMBRELLA, NORMALLY A TRANSPARENT UMBRELLA THAT THE PUBLIC, HER PUBLIC, COULD STILL SEE HER IN ALL HER MAGNIFICENCE.
SO THAT'S WHY SHE'S IN THE REALLY BRIGHT JADE AND THE MAGENTA AND WHAT I WOULD DESCRIBE AS RATHER A TERRIBLE SHADE OF ORANGE.
HA HA HA!
THIS INCREDIBLE TANGERINE.
THIS IS YOUR ROYAL DUTY.
YOU WILL WEAR THESE COLORS.
YES.
YOU WILL STAND OUT.
HA HA!
AND I CAN'T HELP NOTICING THE ICONIC SHOES AND HANDBAGS, THE LOW-HEELED, SHINY PUMPS AND THAT OLD HANDBAG.
SO HE FELT THAT SOMETIMES THAT BLACKNESS DIDN'T REALLY COMPLIMENT SOME OF THE SHADES HE PUT THE QUEEN IN, AND HERE WE HAVE A SHOE.
THIS IS A 1976 COURT SHOE FOR HER MAJESTY.
MM-HMM.
VERY IMPORTANTLY, SCRATCHES ON THE BOTTOM.
THEY'VE BEEN SCORED.
OH, YES.
LOOK.
YOU CAN SEE CRISSCROSSES TO STOP HER FROM FALLING OVER.
THEY ARE AWFULLY SLIPPY, THOSE LEATHER SOLES, AREN'T THEY?
THEY ARE AND SLIGHTLY RAISED HERE.
THAT MUST BE TO SUPPORT THE ARCHES.
THAT'S RIGHT.
YOU COULD STAND UP ALL DAY IN THAT SHOE.
YES.
ALL ABOUT COMFORT.
YES.
SO IF YOU'RE THE QUEEN'S DESIGNER, I IMAGINE THAT THIS IS A LITTLE BIT CONSTRICTING.
IS IT DIFFICULT?
IS IT A BIT FRUSTRATING, DO YOU THINK?
I THINK SO.
SHE HAD A LITTLE BYLINE THAT SAID-- SHE'D SAY TO HARDY, "I DON'T WANT TO LOOK LIKE THE GIRL ON THE COVER OF "VOGUE," AND BY SAYING THAT, SHE WAS SAYING TO HARDY, "THIS IS TOO FASHIONABLE FOR ME."
WORSLEY: THE QUEEN WOULD NEVER HAVE BECOME THE CLOTHES HORSE THAT HARDY LONGED TO DRESS, BUT INSTEAD, SHE WON RESPECT BY STICKING TO HER STYLE.
BY WEARING THE SAME SORT OF THING FOR 70 YEARS, SHE HAS CREATED A TIMELESS LOOK THAT'S WON PRAISE FROM SOME OF THE GREATEST FASHION ARBITERS.
MIUCCIA PRADA HAS SAID THAT THE QUEEN IS SIMPLY "ONE OF THE MOST ELEGANT WOMEN IN THE WORLD."
JUST AS QUEEN VICTORIA COMMANDED, RECENT ROYALS HAVE CAREFULLY STUCK TO THE RULES ABOUT NOT FLIRTING TOO MUCH WITH FASHION.
WHEN A MEMBER OF THE ROYAL FAMILY DID MAKE THE BREAK AND WEAR FOREIGN FASHION, IT WAS ONLY AFTER THE ENDING OF HER ROYAL CAREER, WHEN THE WORLD WITNESSED THE MOST GLAMOROUS AND SUCCESSFUL CLOTHING SALE IN HISTORY-- THE CHRISTIE'S NEW YORK CHARITY AUCTION OF THE ROYAL WARDROBE OF DIANA, PRINCESS OF WALES.
MEREDITH, WHAT WERE THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE AUCTION OF ALL OF THE DRESSES IN 1997?
WELL, RATHER SURPRISING ONES.
WELL, I WAS CERTAINLY VERY SURPRISED, BECAUSE ONE SUNDAY MORNING IN SEPTEMBER, I WAS SUMMONED TO THE MAN WHO WAS RUNNING CHRISTIE'S AT THE TIME, WHO SAID, "I WANT YOU TO GO DOWN TO KENSINGTON PALACE.
PRINCESS DIANA HAS DECIDED TO SELL HER WARDROBE," AND I SAID, "YOU MUST BE JOKING."
HE SAID, "I'M NOT.
I THINK IT'S FOR CHARITY.
"YOU KNOW, SHE'S VERY EXCITED.
YOU BETTER GO AND MEET HER."
SO I RANG UP, AND A VOICE ANSWERED, AND IT WAS PAUL BURRELL, THE BUTLER, I THOUGHT SOUNDING RATHER KIND OF POMPOUS.
UM, SO OFF I WENT, AND SHE EXPLAINED HER IDEA OF LESSENING THE LOAD ON HER WARDROBE BY SELLING A LOT OF DRESSES FOR CHARITY, WHICH WAS KIND OF A BIT OF A SHOWSTOPPER, QUITE FRANKLY, OVER A CUP OF COFFEE AND A BICKIE.
WHAT DO YOU THINK HER MOTIVATION WAS FOR DOING THIS?
I THINK TWO THINGS.
FIRST OF ALL, SHE'D SERIOUSLY RUN OUT OF SPACE IN HER WARDROBE IN HER DRESSING ROOM, BUT THAT'S A SORT OF JOKEY ANSWER.
THE SERIOUS ANSWER WAS, YOU KNOW, IT WAS THE END OF ONE KIND OF LIFE.
SHE WASN'T GOING TO DO STATE VISITS ANYMORE.
SHE WASN'T GOING TO SORT OF OPEN THINGS, CUT RIBBONS, AND ALL OF THOSE SORT OF THINGS COULD GO, AND THE THIRD REASON, I SUSPECT, WAS THAT SHE ACTUALLY QUITE WANTED TO CLAMBER INTO CHANEL AND VERSACE.
SHE LIKED FRENCH AND ITALIAN CLOTHES, AND SHE'D ONLY EVER BEEN ABLE TO WEAR, QUITE RIGHTLY SO, ENGLISH CLOTHES BEFORE THAT.
HOW DID YOU GO ABOUT SELECTING THESE PARTICULAR 80 LOTS?
WELL, IT WAS A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT BETWEEN ME, THE PRINCESS, SOMETIMES PRINCE WILLIAM, WHO WAS OFTEN DOWN FROM EATON FOR DENTISTS OR WHATEVER.
UM, THE BUTLER PLAYED A PART.
WE USED TO HAVE THEM ON RACKS IN THE DRAWING ROOM AND GO THROUGH THEM AND ELIMINATE, UM, SOME OF THEM.
PRINCE WILLIAM WOULD SAY, "REALLY, YOU CAN'T SELL THAT.
IT'S JUST, YOU'VE WORN IT A BIT TOO MUCH," AND THEN THE ONES THAT WE SORT OF SELECTED HAD TAGS.
PRINCE WILLIAM WAS TOLD HOW TO TAG THINGS BY THE BUTLER.
SO HE BUSILY TAGGED THINGS, UM, AND WE FINALLY ARRIVED AT THE SORT OF, WE THOUGHT, PRETTY MUCH THE BALANCE.
SO WE HAD SOME VERY GRAND DRESSES AND SOME NOT-SO-GRAND DRESSES.
SOME THINGS, YOU MIGHT SAY, WERE NOT FOR EVERYBODY, BUT FOR PEOPLE WHO WANTED TO BE PRINCESSES FOR A DAY, I GUESS.
YEAH, AND THE CLIMAX-- THE CLIMAX OF THE WHOLE THING WAS-- THE FIRST NIGHT, THE SALE, AND THE CLIMAX WAS THE LOT BEFORE THE END-- LOT 79, THE-- WHAT I CALL, THE JOHN TRAVOLTA DRESS THAT SHE DANCED WITH JOHN TRAVOLTA IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
I THINK I'VE ACTUALLY MARKED-- "X" MARKS THE SPOT, AND IT'S VERY FAMOUS.
IT WAS DARK BLUE VELVET, MADE BY VICTOR EDELSTEIN, AND SHE LOOKED RAVISHING IN IT.
AND AM I RIGHT IN SAYING THAT AT THE TIME THAT IT WAS SOLD, IT WAS THE MOST EXPENSIVE ITEM OF CLOTHING EVER?
YES.
IT WAS.
I'LL HAVE TO REFRESH MY MEMORY, AND IT SAYS HERE, WE SOLD IT FOR 222,500, WHICH IS A LOT OF MONEY.
YOU WOULDN'T WANT TO SPILL YOUR BAKED BEANS DOWN THAT ONE, WOULD YOU?
NO.
SHE WAS ALWAYS WORRIED.
SHE SAID, "YOU KNOW, IT'S AWFUL GOING TO BANQUETS.
"YOU'RE ALWAYS WORRIED ABOUT THE CHICKEN "BECAUSE IT'S ALWAYS IN A SAUCE.
"YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T TUCK A NAPKIN IN, CAN YOU, IF YOU'RE SITTING AT A KIND OF STATE BANQUET."
I DID-- I DID SYMPATHIZE, I MUST SAY.
THIS IS JUST ONE OF THE 80 DRESSES FROM THE SALE, WHICH MADE A TOTAL OF £3.25 MILLION.
IT'S A GREEN VELVET HALTER-NECK EVENING DRESS WITH DIAMOND BUTTONS, AND THIS AND THE REST MADE SO MUCH MONEY NOT BECAUSE THEY'RE LOVELY DRESSES, WHICH THEY ARE, BUT BECAUSE THEY WERE ROYAL, BECAUSE DIANA, PRINCESS OF WALES, WORE THEM HERSELF.
HER DRESSES WERE HER PERSONAL STATEMENTS.
THIS IS HOW SHE SPOKE TO US.
SHE EVEN TOLD ONE OF HER DESIGNERS WHAT WENT THROUGH HER MIND WHEN SHE WAS PICKING AN OUTFIT.
SHE WOULD THINK, "WHAT AM I COMMUNICATING IF I WEAR THIS?"
THESE WORDS OF PRINCESS DIANA'S SUM UP THE REASON WHY THE ROYAL WARDROBE THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAS BEEN SO IMPORTANT.
FOR EACH AND EVERY KING AND QUEEN OR PRINCE AND PRINCESS, THERE'S BEEN NO SUCH THING AS AN ORDINARY DRESS OR A BORING, OLD PAIR OF TROUSERS.
IN THE EYES OF THEIR PEOPLE, EVERY SINGLE OUTFIT HAS ALWAYS BEEN SEEN AS A STATEMENT.
CLOTHING HAS CREATED THEIR IMAGE AND HELPED DETERMINE WHETHER THEY'VE BEEN LOVED OR LOATHED.
FOR THE ROYAL FAMILY, ONE WAS, ONE IS, AND ONE PROBABLY ALWAYS WILL BE WHAT ONE WEARS.
FEMALE ANNOUNCER: "TALES FROM THE ROYAL WARDROBE" IS AVAILABLE ON DVD.
TO ORDER, VISIT SHOPPBS.ORG OR CALL 1-800-PLAY-PBS.
