Uploaded January 2024 | Updated September 2026, 58 minutes ago
Princess Charlotte of Wales (daughter of George IV and Caroline of Brunswick, not Prince William and Kate Middleton) married Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, future King of the Belgians and uncle to Queen Victoria, in London on 2 May 1816. As the heiress presumptive to the throne and the woman who should have been Queen, if not for her untimely death the following year, her wedding was the social event of the decade and she needed a dress fit for a Princess in order to match the occasion. She had one.
In this royal fashion history documentary from History Calling we look at one of the earliest surviving royal wedding dresses in British history which was recently on display in the Queen’s Gallery in Buckingham Palace. Despite the increasing popularity of white wedding dresses at the time of her nuptials, Charlotte wore silver silk and satin overlaid with lace and embellished with shell motifs. We’ll trace her dress’s journey from its creation by the Princess’s dressmaker, Mrs Triud of Bolton Street, to the day Charlotte wore it, to what happened to it after her death and how it came to be in its present home. By comparing photographs of the dress as seen today to historical descriptions and a picture of it from 1816, we’ll see how well the current gown matches early 19th century fashions, examine how much of the original garment is left and ask whether this unique piece of dress history can really be called the wedding dress of Princess Charlotte.
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Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
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THE HANOVERIANS
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0Gj_TFTK4PG0BWJ93dE2EHK
FASHION AND JEWELLERY PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0H2taj_rXWmqyI3BoTbQfFn
ROYAL WOMEN PLAYLIST youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0HnqxlXmoJ1C3iQK3bXNO_g
DIANA’S TRAVOLTA DRESS
youtu.be/sWBDaJz_qY4
WHAT HAPPENED TO JACQUELINE KENNEDY’S PINK SUIT? youtu.be/IAyXLnP3PKM
MARILYN MONROE’S HAPPY BIRTHDAY DRESS
youtu.be/_3w_tE06xQo
ALL THE PRINCESSES OF WALES
youtu.be/-6f1WmRs-v8
THE REAL QUEEN CHARLOTTE
youtu.be/ZIORImLJ3gg
SPARES WHO BECAME HEIRS
youtu.be/myPAhU5Ujzw
GEAR USED
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DJI Drone: amzn.to/38h1vXr (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/39hROZm (US LINK)
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Memory Card: amzn.to/36QvcOQ (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3KeLZZs (US LINK)
Microphone: amzn.to/3MFtoaK (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rYtjH8 (US LINK)
LEARN MORE:
Want to watch/hear/read more about history (and a whole host of other topics)? Then you might benefit from a free Audible or Prime video trial. They are available from the following links:
AUDIBLE
amzn.to/44MvlMi
AUDIBLE PLUS & AUDIBLE PREMIUM PLUS
amzn.to/42rh3PF
PRIME VIDEO
amzn.to/3LW7ykg
READ MORE
Janice Hadlow, The strangest family: the private lives of George III, Queen Charlotte and the Hanoverians (2014), available at amzn.to/43XfdqG
Jeremy Black, The Hanoverians: the history of a dynasty (2004), available at amzn.to/3mRbGd6
Kay Staniland, ‘Princess Charlotte’s wedding dress’ in Costume, vol. 34, no. 1 (2000), pp 70–80. Available at tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1179/cos.2000.34.1.70
THUMBNAIL: photo of Princess Charlotte’s dress by History Calling. All rights reserved. Photo of portrait of Princess Charlotte from Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa. No known copyright restrictions.
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
Princess Charlotte of Wales (daughter of George IV and Caroline of Brunswick, not Prince William and Kate Middleton) married Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, future King of the Belgians and uncle to Queen Victoria, in London on 2 May 1816. As the heiress presumptive to the throne and the woman who should have been Queen, if not for her untimely death the following year, her wedding was the social event of the decade and she needed a dress fit for a Princess in order to match the occasion. She had one.
In this royal fashion history documentary from History Calling we look at one of the earliest surviving royal wedding dresses in British history which was recently on display in the Queen’s Gallery in Buckingham Palace. Despite the increasing popularity of white wedding dresses at the time of her nuptials, Charlotte wore silver silk and satin overlaid with lace and embellished with shell motifs. We’ll trace her dress’s journey from its creation by the Princess’s dressmaker, Mrs Triud of Bolton Street, to the day Charlotte wore it, to what happened to it after her death and how it came to be in its present home. By comparing photographs of the dress as seen today to historical descriptions and a picture of it from 1816, we’ll see how well the current gown matches early 19th century fashions, examine how much of the original garment is left and ask whether this unique piece of dress history can really be called the wedding dress of Princess Charlotte.
BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG
Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:
THE HANOVERIANS
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0Gj_TFTK4PG0BWJ93dE2EHK
FASHION AND JEWELLERY PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0H2taj_rXWmqyI3BoTbQfFn
ROYAL WOMEN PLAYLIST youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0HnqxlXmoJ1C3iQK3bXNO_g
DIANA’S TRAVOLTA DRESS
youtu.be/sWBDaJz_qY4
WHAT HAPPENED TO JACQUELINE KENNEDY’S PINK SUIT? youtu.be/IAyXLnP3PKM
MARILYN MONROE’S HAPPY BIRTHDAY DRESS
youtu.be/_3w_tE06xQo
ALL THE PRINCESSES OF WALES
youtu.be/-6f1WmRs-v8
THE REAL QUEEN CHARLOTTE
youtu.be/ZIORImLJ3gg
SPARES WHO BECAME HEIRS
youtu.be/myPAhU5Ujzw
GEAR USED
Apple MacBook Pro Laptop (for video editing): amzn.to/3S6IoRK
DJI Drone: amzn.to/38h1vXr (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/39hROZm (US LINK)
Go-Pro Hero 10 camera: amzn.to/3EPIK9U (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rTWScL (US LINK)
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/37CdC1r (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3vaVxjU (US LINK)
Memory Card: amzn.to/36QvcOQ (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3KeLZZs (US LINK)
Microphone: amzn.to/3MFtoaK (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rYtjH8 (US LINK)
LEARN MORE:
Want to watch/hear/read more about history (and a whole host of other topics)? Then you might benefit from a free Audible or Prime video trial. They are available from the following links:
AUDIBLE
amzn.to/44MvlMi
AUDIBLE PLUS & AUDIBLE PREMIUM PLUS
amzn.to/42rh3PF
PRIME VIDEO
amzn.to/3LW7ykg
READ MORE
Janice Hadlow, The strangest family: the private lives of George III, Queen Charlotte and the Hanoverians (2014), available at amzn.to/43XfdqG
Jeremy Black, The Hanoverians: the history of a dynasty (2004), available at amzn.to/3mRbGd6
Kay Staniland, ‘Princess Charlotte’s wedding dress’ in Costume, vol. 34, no. 1 (2000), pp 70–80. Available at tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1179/cos.2000.34.1.70
THUMBNAIL: photo of Princess Charlotte’s dress by History Calling. All rights reserved. Photo of portrait of Princess Charlotte from Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa. No known copyright restrictions.
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
