Bizarre story behind Princess Beatrice's daughter's Christening gown
The current gown is a replica of one made for Queen Victoria's children.
A Christening for Princess Beatrice's daughter, Athena Mapelli Mozzi, was held today at the Chapel Royal of St James's Palace. While no official photographs are expected to be released, it was thought that Athena was baptised in the replica of the Honiton Lace Christening gown that Queen Elizabeth II had commissioned for the next generation of her family.
The original version of the delicate royal artefact was designed for Queen Victoria's eldest daughter, Victoria, Princess Royal, in 1841, and was placed in conservation after it was worn for the last time by Lady Louise Windsor in 2004. An exact replica of the dress was then created and first worn by Lady Louise's brother, James, Earl of Wessex, in 2008.
Much to the surprise of royal fans, the method used to recreate it was far from expected.
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The important task of recreating the piece fell to the late Queen Elizabeth II's dressmaker and close friend, Angela Kelly, who revealed exactly how she did it in her eye-opening book, The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe.
Along with dresser Barbara Buckfield, Angela travelled to Italy to find the perfect lace for the new gown while she carried the priceless original in her handbag. She wrote: "Together, we sourced lace to complement that being made in Italy, and to make sure it looks authentic, we dyed it in Yorkshire tea (the strongest, as we all know).
"We placed each piece of lace in a small bowl, from the Dressers' kitchen, filled with cool water and a tea bag, and left it for about five minutes, checking regularly until the colour was perfect." Angela showed the Queen the gown at each stage of the process, which took about nine months. She said: "Her Majesty was very interested to see how it was developing."
The Christening gown isn't the only vintage item that Angela Kelly was given the honour to alter. For Princess Beatrice's wedding, she wore one of the monarch's dresses, and Kelly adapted it for the special occasion.
The Queen had previously worn the dress to the premiere of Lawrence of Arabia in 1962, and she trusted her close friend to make the alterations for her granddaughter's wedding.
Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi married in private at the Chapel of All Saints near Royal Lodge on the Windsor Estate during the pandemic on July 17, 2020.
