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Date: 6th July 1893.

Duchess of Fife:

The Bridesmaids' Dresses

Of the ten Royal bridesmaids who attended H.S.H. Princess May of Teck to the altar on the 6th, the Princesses Victoria and Maud of Wales, the Princesses Victoria and Alexandra of Edinburg [sic], and Princess Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein wore very pretty white-satin dresses, the skirts of which were cut long enough to trail about a yard on the ground. Round the bottom of each was a deep chiffon flounce, over which was laid a row of silver and crystal passementarie, and finished round the neck with pleatings of chiffon, with two elegant sweeping loops joining in the centre, and the passementarie was laid on this and carried as a strap over the shoulder. The sleeves consisted of single drooping puffs of chiffon coming down just over the elbow, and each Princess wore a breast-bouquet of pale pink roses. The remaining five bridesmaids, Princess Beatrice of Edinburgh, Princesses Norah and Patricia of Connaught, Princess Eugenie of Battenberg, and Princess Alice - the little daughter of Prince and Princess Louis of Battenberg - wore short frocks of the same white satin, with proportionate chiffon flounces headed with silver passementerie, white satin sashes tied behind, full bodies with chiffon puffings at the top and silver passementerie and short puff sleeves. They had pink roses on their shoulders. All the satin was of English manufacture, and the silver passementerie was made by cottage workers at Amersham, Penn Street, Winchmore Hill, and the adjacent villages and hamlets of South Bucks. The order for it was given to Messrs. Muddiman of Tabernacle Street, Finsbury, who have for several years been doing a great deal to cultivate trimming-making as a cottage industry, and also to resuscitate pillow-lace making, with silk and gold and silver threads.

The Graphic Royal Wedding Number, 10 July 1893, p 10

tiara of brilliant, rose-cut and large pear-shaped diamonds

[see: Tiaras: A History of Splendour, Geoffrey C Munn, London, 2001, plate 103, The Royal Collection, © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II]

"The tiara Queen Louise is wearing belongs to her personal collection. It could be mounted without the large pear shaped pearls. It looks as if it is not a real tiara and I am not sure about that. She had the tiara when she was young so I should think that it comes from her mother Landgravine Louise Charlotte of Hesse, born Princess of Denmark. When her mother died her jewelry was parted into as many parts as she had daughters and she stated in her will that her son, Landgrave Friedrich, should not have any of her personal jewelry. I guess that he inherited jewelry belonging to the house.

The earrings seem to be pearl drops. They also are part of her private collection."

"Above the sash at the decolleté there is a brooch that also belongs to the Danish crown jewelry: a brooch made of rubies, diamonds and pearls. The
pearls are not seen here, and the brooch is only the lower part of the devant-de-corsage of the crown jewels."

The necklace is a brillant necklace belonging to the Danish crown jewels that can be seen at the Rosenborg Palace in Copenhagen. It was made by the jewellers Weishaupt und Söhne in Hanau, Germany, in 1840. The stones already belonged to the Danish royal family for years and they had been part of the other pieces of jewelry in the family. So was the square cut diamond in the middle of the necklace (17 carats) once set in a ring that was given as a wedding ring from King Christian VII to his unfortunate queen Caroline Mathilde, born a Princess of Great Britain. The pear shaped diamonds (the biggest in the middle is 19 carats) had all been used in aigrettes for earlier queens. Most of the stones were given by Queen Sophie Magdalene to the crown and they are the basis in the Crown jewel collection.

The necklace has a matching set of earrings but they are not used as so by the Queen in this photo. You can see them though as brooches on the dress along the sash of the Russian St. Katharina's Order. There are 2 more brooches at the line of the sash and those two must also belong to her
personally."

diamond fringe tiara, Garrard & Co., 1888, (Silver Wedding gift from the 'Ladies of Society')

dog-collar edged with pearls; diamond rivière; diamond & pearl festoon necklace [with additional pendant jewels]

Leslie Field, p 45
The elaborate diamond and pearl necklace she is wearing beneath the rows of chokers was her wedding present from the Prince of Wales.

diamond & pearl brooch, Garrard & Co., c. 1863, (wedding gifts from King Edward VII); inscribed horseshoe brooch; serpent bangle

Leslie Field, p 45
[brooch] ...made by Garrard and given to Princess Alexandra by the Prince of Wales as a Wedding present in 1863, and which she wore on her wedding day... the oblong diamond brooch, set with three pearls and three detachable pendant pearls suspended fromsingle large diamonds...

Provenance: Pinewood Studios; acquired 1989.

Note:

Illustrated London News, 3 September 1897, p 329 - detail showing the clutter of studio photographs in the Amalienborg Palace.

References:

Biog: Dictionary of National Biography; Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd ed., Burke's Royal Families of the World, Vol 1, London, 1977.

Costume: (Queen Alexandra) The Court Journal, 8 July 1893, p 1216; The Gentlewoman, 15 July 1893, pp 77b, 78c & 79a; (Queen Louise of Denmark) The Court Journal, 8 July 1893, p 1216.

Jewellery: (Queen Alexandra) Illustrated London News, 7 March 1863, p 239c & 21 March 1863 pp 298 & 325; Sir William Howard Russell, A Memorial of the Marriage of HRH Albert Edward Prince of Wales and HRH Alexandra Princess of Denmark: The Various Events and Bridal Gifts, illustrated by Robert Dudley, 1864; Leslie Field, The Queen's Jewels, London, 1987, pp 44-45; Suzy Menkes, The Royal Jewels, London, 1988 pp 30 & 46-7; Shirley Bury, Jewellery 1789-1910: The International Era, Vol II, London, 1991, pp 501, 503, 504, 507, 603 & 606. (Queen Louise) Illustrated London News, 21 March 1863, pp 321 & 338a. (Duchess of Fife) Illustrated London News, 31 July 1889 pp 6 & 7; The Lady, 1 August 1889, p 119.

Location & Photog: Copyright Records, Public Record Office, Kew, COPY 1/413, 14 July 1893, (1 pose registered).

Reproduced: The Gentlewoman, 22 July 1893, p 103; Madame, 7 December 1895, p 769.

NB: Also published, cropped, as a cabinet card:

Additional Information: Two firms, W. & D. Downey of 61, Ebury St. London, and Lafayette of Dublin, were invited to take official portraits after the marriage ceremony of King George V. An almost identical image, was registered for copyright by W. & D. Downey. Refs: (Downey) The Times, 6 July 1893, p 7a; Public Record Office, Kew, COPY 1/413, 9 September 1893. Much of the jewellery descriptions have been kindly provided by Bjarne Steen Jensen