Installation view, “The Edwardians: Age of Elegance.”
Photo: © Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2025 | Royal Collection Trust
Queen Alexandra’s Coronation Dress Takes Center Stage in New Exhibit at Buckingham Palace
“The Edwardians: Age of Elegance” also features large-scale portraits by John Singer Sargent and Philip de László
Queen Alexandra’s Coronation Dress, 1902. Designer: Morin Blossier. Embroidery: Manick Chand. Photo: © Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2025 | Royal Collection Trust
Queen Alexandra’s opulent coronation dress is on display for the first time in over three decades, as part of a new exhibit at The King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace. From April 11th through November 23rd, “The Edwardians: Age of Elegance” will showcase more than 300 works from the Royal Collection. This exhibit marks the first time since King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra’s coronation that various items they commissioned and wore for the occasion are reunited.
While a coronation dress would typically be a plain white or cream gown, Queen Alexandra chose a unique option, given her status as a fashion trailblazer. Hers was a regal gold dress by female-led Paris-based fashion house Morin Blossier. It features thousands of small gold spangles, meant to shine in the new electric lights inside Westminster Abbey, which were installed specifically for this coronation.
Tiffany & Co. opera glasses, 1893. Photo: © Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2025 | Royal Collection Trust
Ostrich fan. Photo: © Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2025 | Royal Collection Trust
Queen Alexandra’s historic coronation gown was also the first royal outfit to feature the national emblems of Britain—rose, thistle, and shamrock—thanks to a suggestion made by the queen herself. Since then, this design element has been a noticeable feature of every coronation dress; most recently, on those of Queen Elizabeth II and Queen Camilla. Given the fragility of Queen Alexandra’s coronation dress, conservators have spent over 100 hours prepping it for its starring role in this exhibit.
Julius Diderikson, The Dagmar Necklace, 1863. Photo: © Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2025 | Royal Collection Trust
“While it has darkened over time, Alexandra’s choice of a shimmering gold fabric would have been incredibly striking at the coronation; there are descriptions in contemporary newspapers of moments in the ceremony where the Queen appears in an extraordinary blaze of golden light, the dress glowing in the new electric lighting,” says exhibition curator Kathryn Jones. “It’s a powerful example of Edward and Alexandra’s attempts to balance tradition and modernity as they stood on the cusp of the 20th century: a shining moment of glamour before the world was at war.”
Fabergé, Cigarette case, 1908. Photo: © Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2025 | Royal Collection Trust
Installation view, “The Edwardians: Age of Elegance.” Photo: © Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2025 | Royal Collection Trust
Other highlights from this exhibit include large-scale portraits by John Singer Sargent and Philip de László, as well as the Kokoshnik Tiara, Alexandra’s copy of Sir Edward Elgar’s Coronation Ode for King Edward VII, Tiffany & Co. gold opera glasses, Fabergé animal sculptures, and a copy of Oscar Wilde’s Poems, which features a rare hand-written message by the author.
“The Edwardians: Age of Elegance” is on view at The King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace through Nov. 23, 2025.
Cover: Installation view, “The Edwardians: Age of Elegance.”
Photo: © Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2025 | Royal Collection Trust
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