Queen Victoria in her wedding gown by Franz Xaver Winterhalter. Painted in 1847 as a present for Prince Albert
For anyone getting married this spring, the excitement levels will certainly be increasing steadily about now! On the 10th February 1840 Queen Victoria married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The couple had met at her 17th birthday party where Victoria fell head over heels for the handsome German. She proposed to him in 1839.
Up until this point in history women had generally worn their best dress on their wedding day, rather than one bought specially for the occasion, as the cost of doing so would have been too much for many people. Dark colours (which hid stains) or blue dresses, representing piety, were typical.
White wedding gowns were almost un heard of owing to the high cost of white material. Queen Victoria’s sumptuous silk white dress (made to incorporate a piece of treasured Honition lace) set a trend that continues to the present day.
A Mrs History Victorians session is an ideal way of discovering continuity and change and the wealth of traditions stemming from the reign of Queen Victoria.
