Dressing the Crown

Buckingham Palace opens in April a major exhibition dedicated to Elizabeth II, built around the language that more than any other accompanied her reign: style. Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style traces over seventy years of public and private life through garments, accessories and documents from the Royal Collection, many of them on display for the first time. The exhibition follows a chronological path, starting with childhood and early years and moving through the defining moments of the reign. Coronation dresses, evening gowns worn during state visits, outfits chosen for public appearances and official tours become tools for reading a carefully constructed visual language, developed over time with consistency and precision. The show highlights how the Queen’s clothing was never merely decorative, but a central component of the monarchy’s institutional communication. Significant attention is given to the collaboration with designers and ateliers who helped shape Elizabeth II’s image, including Norman Hartnell and Hardy Amies, key figures in translating the balance between tradition, representation and modernity required by the role. Alongside the garments, sketches, photographs and archival materials document the creative process and the decisions that turned the royal wardrobe into an immediately recognisable code, capable of adapting to social and political change without losing authority. The exhibition also addresses the evolution of style in the later decades, focusing on the strategic use of colour, clean lines and functional elements designed for public visibility. In this context, clothing becomes a lens through which to observe how the monarchy navigated the second half of the twentieth century and the beginning of the new millennium, maintaining symbolic continuity in a changing world. Installed in the State Rooms of Buckingham Palace, the exhibition moves beyond a purely celebratory narrative, presenting Elizabeth II as a figure acutely aware of the power of images and of style as a form of silent diplomacy. A portrait that weaves together fashion, history and national identity, offering a grounded and documented view of one of the most recognisable figures of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.