Original subtitles

Downloaded from YTS.MX

Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX

WOMAN: TODAY FEW PEOPLE'S WARDROBES ATTRACT

AS MUCH ATTENTION AS THE BRITISH ROYAL FAMILY'S.

HARDLY A DAY GOES BY WITHOUT SOME PRESS COMMENT

ON A LITTLE ROYAL ROMPER SUIT OR A DESIGNER DRESS

OR A SNEAKY HIGH STREET PURCHASE,

AND YOU MIGHT THINK THAT THE WORLD TODAY HAS GONE MAD

FOR A PEEK INSIDE THE ROYAL WARDROBE,

BUT, BELIEVE ME, IT'S ALWAYS BEEN LIKE THIS.

IN THIS PROGRAM, I'M GOING TO OPEN WIDE THE DOORS

OF THE ROYAL WARDROBE TO UNCOVER ITS SECRETS,

EXPLORING THE CLOTHES OF KINGS AND QUEENS PAST AND PRESENT,

FROM ELIZABETH I OVER 400 YEARS

TO OUR CURRENT BRITISH MONARCH-- QUEEN ELIZABETH II.

I BELIEVE THAT THE FASCINATION OF ROYAL CLOTHING

GOES BEYOND ITS CUT OR ITS COLOR.

THESE THINGS ARE MORE THAN CLOTHES.

THEY'RE SYMBOLS OR STATEMENTS,

AND I THINK THAT THROUGHOUT HISTORY,

THE ROYAL WARDROBE HAS BEEN IMPORTANT IN SHAPING THE IMAGE

OF THE MONARCHY FOR BETTER AND SOMETIMES FOR WORSE.

WORSLEY: I'M GOING TO START RIFLING THROUGH

THE ROYAL WARDROBES OF HISTORY WITH ELIZABETH I.

SHE'S A QUEEN WHO I PARTICULARLY ADMIRE FOR HER SKILL IN USING

CLOTHING TO CONSTRUCT AN IMAGE OF POWER AND MAJESTY.

AS A CHILD, ELIZABETH SPENT MUCH TIME

AT HATFIELD HOUSE IN HERTFORDSHIRE,

AND IT WAS HER FAVORITE RESIDENCE THROUGHOUT HER LIFE.

IT WAS HERE, BENEATH THIS OAK IN HATFIELD'S GROUNDS,

THAT SHE DISCOVERED THAT SHE WAS NOW QUEEN AT THE AGE OF 25.

RIGHT FROM THE START OF HER REIGN,

ELIZABETH HAD TO CONTROL HER IMAGE VERY CAREFULLY.

SHE KNEW THAT THE ODDS WERE STACKED

AGAINST HER BEING A SUCCESSFUL MONARCH.

FIRSTLY, SHE WAS FEMALE-- BEING A KING WAS A MAN'S JOB--

AND SECONDLY, BECAUSE HER MOTHER HAD BEEN ANNE BOLEYN,

MANY PEOPLE BELIEVED THAT SHE WAS ILLEGITIMATE.

THIRDLY, SHE HAD VERY BIG SHOES TO FILL,

THOSE OF HER FATHER HENRY VIII, WHO HAD EVERY NATURAL

AND ARTIFICIAL ADVANTAGE.

HE WAS A FINE FIGURE OF A MAN,

ALTHOUGH WHEN IT TURNED TO FAT LATER ON,

HE WAS 54 INCHES AROUND THE WAIST,

BUT HERE, HE'S HAD HOLBEIN MAKE THE MOST

OF HIS VERY SPLENDID COSTUME,

AND THE EYE CANNOT HELP BUT BE DRAWN

TO THIS PARTICULAR GARMENT HERE, THE CODPIECE,

WHICH, FOLLOWING TUDOR FASHION, HAS BECOME OUTSIZED.

MEN USED THEM AS LITTLE PURSES TO CARRY MONEY IN

OR SOMETIMES PRECIOUS THINGS, LIKE JEWELS,

HENCE THE EXPRESSION A MAN'S "CROWN JEWELS,"

BUT WHAT HOLBEIN IS REALLY SAYING HERE

IS THAT HENRY IS FERTILE.

HE'S FULL OF LOVELY SPERM.

HE IS THE IDEAL MEDIEVAL MACHO MONARCH.

ELIZABETH OBVIOUSLY DIDN'T HAVE HER FATHER'S

IMPOSING PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES,

BUT SHE HELPED TO MAKE UP FOR THAT USING CLOTHES,

AND TO SPREAD THE MESSAGE OF HOW QUEENLY THIS QUEEN WAS,

PORTRAITS OF HER WERE HUNG IN EVERY GREAT HOUSE OF THE REALM,

INCLUDING HATFIELD.

THIS IS AN EXTRAORDINARY DRESS THAT SHE'S WEARING,

AND WHAT'S THIS WHITE, GAUZY STUFF

THAT'S SORT OF SWIRLING AROUND HER LIKE A CLOUD?

WELL, THAT'S VERY FINE FABRIC.

IT'S WIRED AT THE EDGES SO IT GIVES

THE EFFECT UP THERE OF WINGS.

SO IT'S GIVING HER, AS SHE MOVES,

TREMENDOUS SORT OF PRESENCE

AND CONSEQUENCE.

IT LOOKS LIKE A SORT OF PERSONAL CLOUD

OF DRY ICE SWIRLING AROUND HER WHEREVER SHE GOES.

IT LOOKS FANTASTIC IN THE PORTRAIT.

WHAT IT WAS LIKE IN REALITY WALKING AROUND

WITH GREAT, WIRED WINGS, YOU KNOW,

PARTICULARLY IF THERE WAS ANY KIND OF WIND--

I GUESS YOU'D BLOW AWAY IF THE WIND GOT BEHIND YOU.

WELL, I WOULDN'T TRY IT OUT A BIT.

WORSLEY, VOICE-OVER: WHILE ELIZABETH'S INCREDIBLE DRESS

MAY HAVE BEEN IMPRACTICAL, IT CERTAINLY GAVE HER PRESENCE,

BUT IT WASN'T JUST THE COLOR AND SHAPE THAT HAD SIGNIFICANCE.

THE DRESS IS FULL OF SYMBOLISM

THAT AN ELIZABETHAN VIEWER COULD READ LIKE A BOOK.

TO THEM, THE PEARLS SIGNIFIED PEACE AND PURITY.

SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE VIRGIN QUEEN.

THE BEJEWELED SNAKE SYMBOLIZED WISDOM.

THE HEART SYMBOLIZED LOVE.

THIS QUEEN RULED WITH BOTH HEART AND HEAD

AND SHE HAD EYES EVERYWHERE.

WHAT'S GOING ON, FOR EXAMPLE, WITH THESE LITTLE EYES?

WELL, THE EYES AND THE EARS--

THEY REALLY ARE VERY FREAKISH, AREN'T THEY?

THEY ARE EXTRAORDINARY.

AND DO YOU THINK THIS IS THE QUEEN SAYING,

"I CAN HEAR EVERYTHING,

AND I CAN SEE EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO"?

IT IS.

RULE OF THE STATE, AS IT WERE,

IS SYMBOLIZED BY EYES AND EARS.

AND WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE RAINBOW?

WE KNOW THIS AS THE "RAINBOW PICTURE"

BECAUSE SHE'S HOLDING THIS THING

THAT LOOKS LIKE A GRAY HOSEPIPE.

THIS AT ONE STAGE MUST HAVE BEEN ALL THE COLORS

OF THE RAINBOW, BUT NOW THEY'VE FADED.

SO WE HAVE THIS LITTLE INSCRIPTION HERE.

THAT'S A CLUE.

THE INSCRIPTION IN LATIN SAYS,

"WITHOUT THE SUN, YOU DON'T GET THE RAINBOW."

SO SHE IS THE SUN, BASICALLY.

SHE IS THE SUN, A VERY COMMON METAPHOR

FOR A RULER, AND THE RAINBOW IS A SYMBOL

OF PEACE, AND THIS IS REALLY WHAT

EVERYBODY WANTS-- PEACE AND TRANQUILITY.

THE PICTURE IS SAYING, "I'VE GOT A HEART.

"I'M WISE. I'M WEARING A SNAKE.

"I CAN HEAR YOU AND SEE YOU WITH THE EYES AND EARS,

"AND ALSO, I'M HOLDING A RAINBOW.

I CAN CONTROL THE WEATHER."

THAT'S A PRETTY GOOD RANGE OF SKILLS

AND ATTRIBUTES, ISN'T IT?

WELL, EFFECTIVELY, IT IS.

WORSLEY, VOICE-OVER: ELIZABETH'S DRESSES WERE AN IMPORTANT PART

OF THE TUDOR PROPAGANDA MACHINE, WHERE THE PEOPLE SAW THEM

IN PICTURES OR ON HER PROGRESSES AROUND THE COUNTRY,

AND WE KNOW THEY WERE IMPORTANT TO HER

FROM THE NUMBER SHE POSSESSED.

THIS LITTLE STREET HERE IS CALLED WARDROBE PLACE

BECAUSE 400 YEARS AGO, A VAST BUILDING STOOD HERE

TO HOUSE THE ROYAL WARDROBE.

IT HAD ITS OWN SPECIAL STAFF, THE WARDERS OF THE ROBES,

AND THIS MAP OF ELIZABETHAN LONDON

SHOWS THAT IT TOOK UP A WHOLE CITY BLOCK.

IT WAS LIKE A VAST WAREHOUSE FULL OF DRESSES.

AN INVENTORY TAKEN IN 1599 REVEALED THAT ELIZABETH I

HAD 1,326 OF THEM.

ELIZABETH'S VAST CLOTHING COLLECTION

REQUIRED A HUGE RETINUE OF STAFF TO LOOK AFTER IT.

ONE MAN WAS EMPLOYED JUST TO LOOK AFTER HER MUFFS.

SO CONSIDERING THE SHEER NUMBER OF HER DRESSES,

IT'S QUITE REMARKABLE THAT NONE SURVIVE TODAY.

AT WESTMINSTER ABBEY, THOUGH, THE RESTING PLACE OF THE ROYALS

FOR THE LAST 1,000 YEARS, YOU DO GET A TANTALIZING

AND INTIMATE GLIMPSE OF ONE SINGLE ITEM.

THIS IS ONE OF THE VERY EARLIEST SURVIVING BITS

OF ROYAL CLOTHING.

WE STILL GOT IT BECAUSE OF THE WEIRD TRADITION

OF THE FUNERAL EFFIGY.

THIS WAS A MODEL OF THE DEAD KING OR QUEEN THAT WAS MADE

TO BE CARRIED IN THEIR FUNERAL PROCESSION TO WESTMINSTER ABBEY.

ELIZABETH I's HEAD IS MISSING, BUT ORIGINALLY, IT WAS PAINTED

AND COLORED SO BEAUTIFULLY THAT IT APPARENTLY LOOKED

LIKE SHE WAS STILL ALIVE, AND HER FIGURE WAS DRESSED

IN HER CORONATION ROBES AND UNDERNEATH THAT,

SPECIALLY CONSTRUCTED UNDERWEAR.

THIS CORSET-TYPE THING, CALLED A SET OF STAYS,

DOESN'T LOOK LIKE MUCH, BUT IT IS REMARKABLE.

ORIGINALLY, IT WAS A VERY HIGH-STATUS ITEM.

IT'S MADE WITH MANY, MANY STRIPS OF WHALE BONE FOR SUPPORT

THAT HAVE BEEN SEWED INTO IT VERY CAREFULLY

WITH A HUGE AMOUNT OF LABOR, AND IT'S EXTRAORDINARY TO THINK

THAT THIS REPRESENTS THE BODY OF A WOMAN WHO WAS 70 YEARS OLD.

IT FORCES THE FLESH INTO A VERY UNNATURAL, LONG, NARROW SHAPE,

WHICH WAS PARTLY ELIZABETHAN FASHION,

BUT IT WAS ALSO THE QUEEN WANTING TO CREATE

A VERY STRANGE AND OTHERWORLDLY IMAGE FOR HERSELF.

ELIZABETH'S UNDERWEAR WAS ORIGINALLY ONLY SEEN

BY HER LADIES-IN-WAITING,

AND IT'S ONLY WHEN THE EFFIGY WAS CONSERVED

THAT THIS INTIMATE ITEM WAS ACCIDENTALLY DISCOVERED.

THE STAYS ARE EXCITING BECAUSE THEY FORMED THE FOUNDATION

FOR AN INCREDIBLE NUMBER OF LAYERS ABOVE

THAT WOULD CONSTRUCT ELIZABETH'S UNIQUE SILHOUETTE.

HOW LONG DO YOU THINK IT WOULD TAKE, MARK,

FOR ELIZABETH I TO GET

TOTALLY QUEENED UP, THEN, START TO FINISH?

OH, GOSH, WELL, SHE'S NOT IN A RUSH,

SO I'D IMAGINE PROBABLY ABOUT TWO HOURS.

OF COURSE, IT'S NOT JUST THE CLOTHES.

IT'S THE JEWELRY, THE MAKEUP, THE WIG.

THE ENTIRE ENSEMBLE TO BE THE QUEEN,

ABOUT TWO HOURS.

AND HERE I AM IN MY SATIN-COVERED BODY.

THAT'S ITS NAME, ISN'T IT?

YEAH, A PAIR OF BODIES, EVEN,

A PAIR OF BODIES.

AND COVERED IN FINE FABRIC

BECAUSE, OF COURSE, IT'S THE QUEEN'S.

IT'S AN AWFULLY LONG AND SORT OF NARROW SHAPE.

THEY'RE NOT AT ALL LIKE VICTORIAN STAYS

WHICH GIVE YOU A LOVELY WAIST.

NO, OR INDEED A LOVELY CLEAVAGE.

IT'S A DIFFERENT LOOK. HA HA HA!

AND WHAT'S NEXT, BUM ROLL?

EXACTLY. YOU'RE THE QUEEN.

IT'S COVERED IN SILK VELVET.

VELVET. IT'S LIKE A MASSIVE TRAVEL PILLOW, ISN'T IT?

HA HA! INDEED.

A GIANT COULD SLEEP LIKE THIS ON THE AIRPLANE.

NO NECK ACHE IN THAT, BUT BRING IT DOWN,

AND UNLIKE A VICTORIAN ONE, WHICH WOULD REST

RIGHT DOWN WITH THE CORSET,

THIS JUST IN THE MIDDLE,

AND WE'RE LOOKING FOR A CONE SHAPE.

AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THESE GARMENTS ACHIEVE.

IT MAKES YOU MORE AND MORE LIKE AN INSECT,

THE BIZARRE SHAPE OF THE LATE ELIZABETHAN

AND JACOBEAN AGE.

THERE WE ARE.

AND WHAT'S THE POINT OF THE BUM ROLL?

IT SEEMS TO BE THAT THE MORE SPACE YOU HAVE,

THE RICHER YOU ARE.

SO YOU'RE MAKING SO MUCH SPACE HERE,

NO ONE CAN GET CLOSE TO YOU.

YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO WALK VERY SLOWLY,

ANYWAY, BECAUSE NO GENTLEMAN

OR LADY WOULD HURRY.

SERVANTS DO THAT.

SO NOW I'VE GOT MY SOFT HIPS,

I CAN BUMP INTO THINGS IF IT'S LATE AT NIGHT.

WHAT COMES NEXT? IS IT THE HOOPS?

IT IS, THE FARTHINGALE.

NOW, THESE SHAPES ARE MADE OF OSIER,

THE SAME THEY WOULD USE FOR BARRELS,

THESE BIG CIRCLES OF WOOD.

SO THIS IS WOOD INSIDE HERE,

BIG, ROUND WOOD IN CIRCLES.

THAT'S RIGHT. OVER YOUR HEAD.

DOES IT DO UP AT THE BACK...

AT THE FRONT.

OR AT THE FRONT?

IT'S GOT TO NESTLE JUST ON TOP OF THE BUM PAD

AND GO ALL THE WAY DOWN TO GIVE YOU THAT SHAPE,

TAKING UP EVEN MORE SPACE.

OF COURSE, IT'S QUITE IMPROPER THAT

A GENTLEMAN SHOULD BE DRESSING YOU,

OR EVEN A MAN LIKE MYSELF.

OF COURSE IT'S AN IMMENSELY TITILLATING SIGHT

FOR YOU, ISN'T IT?

IT CERTAINLY IS.

I'M DOING MY BEST TO CONTROL MYSELF.

HOW DO YOU FEEL?

I FEEL RATHER QUEENLY. HA HA!

NOW, THE PETTICOAT, LUCY,

AND THIS IS BEAUTIFUL.

THIS IS THE FOREPART,

AND IT'S WHITE AND GOLD, AS YOU SEE.

THE BACK IS OF SILK.

IT'S NOT AS GOOD AS THE FRONT,

BUT IT'S STILL PRETTY GOOD, BUT NO ONE SEES IT

EXCEPT THE LADIES WHO ARE DRESSING YOU.

ONLY I KNOW THAT I HAVE A SILKEN BOTTOM?

INDEED. OK. ALL RIGHT.

NOW, LUCY, TURN AROUND. GIVE US A TWIRL.

DOES MY BUM LOOK BIG IN THIS?

HA HA HA!

NOW LET'S IMPRISON THOSE WANDERING HANDS OF YOURS

IN MILES AND MILES OF VELVET.

HANG ON TO YOUR CUFFS

BECAUSE THIS IS JOLLY HEAVY.

OH, THERE WE ARE. ARE YOU IN?

WHOA. LET'S SEE.

NOW, HOW DOES THAT FEEL?

VERY COZY.

LOOKS GOOD ON YOU COLORWISE.

IMPOSSIBLE, MOST OF THESE DRESSES,

FOR PEOPLE TO GET INTO THEMSELVES.

AND NOW FOR YOUR SO-CALLED

CARTWHEEL RUFF, YOUR MAJESTY.

WHOOPS, FORGIVE MY TREMBLING HANDS.

YOU KNOW, IT REALLY WORKS, ALL OF THIS GEAR,

BECAUSE I DO ACTUALLY FEEL EXTREMELY QUEENLIKE.

OH, AND YOU LOOK IT, TOO.

QUEEN OF HEARTS. AH, YEAH. EXCELLENT.

BEHEAD THAT MAN AND GIVE THAT LADY A PEERAGE.

VERY GOOD, MADAM.

HA HA HA! YOU LOOK LOVELY.

ELIZABETH I's DRESSES LITERALLY DAZZLED THE EYES

OF HER 16th-CENTURY COURIERS AND VISITORS.

THIS DRESS ALONE WAS COVERED WITH 800 FRESHWATER PEARLS,

AND THAT'S NOT INCLUDING THE JEWELRY SHE WORE ON TOP.

AS A RESULT, ELIZABETH'S WARDROBE BECAME LEGENDARY,

EVEN IN HER OWN LIFETIME.

IN 1600 WHEN THE MORAVIAN BARON WALDSTEIN VISITED ENGLAND,

HE SAID THAT HIS SOLE OBJECT HAD BEEN TO WIN AN AUDIENCE

WITH THE QUEEN, AND AFTERWARDS HE SAID

THAT SHE'D BEEN "GLITTERING WITH THE GLORY OF MAJESTY"

AND SHE'D BEEN ADORNED ALL OVER

WITH PRECIOUS JEWELS AND GEMS.

ELIZABETHAN FASHION NOT ONLY BOLSTERED

THE INTERNATIONAL REPUTATION OF THE QUEEN HERSELF,

BUT ALSO HER ENTIRE COURT.

SHE USED CLOTHES TO CONSTRUCT HER OWN PERSONAL IMAGE

BUT EXPECTED THE REST OF HER COURT TO FOLLOW HER LEAD.

A GENTLEMAN'S SUIT APPROPRIATE FOR COURT WEAR WOULD COST

AS MUCH AS A YEAR'S RENT ON HIS LONDON TOWNHOUSE.

TO MAINTAIN STANDARDS, ELIZABETH EVEN PASSED LAWS

ON WHAT PEOPLE SHOULD AND, IMPORTANTLY, SHOULD NOT WEAR.

ELIZABETH WANTED HER COURTIERS TO LOOK GOOD,

BUT SHE DIDN'T WANT THEM GETTING ABOVE THEIR STATION.

SO SHE PASSED NO LESS THAN 10 STATUES OF APPAREL,

LAWS THAT SAID WHO COULD WEAR WHAT AT WHAT RANK OF SOCIETY.

SO HERE IS A 16th-CENTURY ACT OF PARLIAMENT

AGAINST THE INORDINATE USE OF APPAREL.

IT SAYS HERE THAT IF YOU WANT TO WEAR CLOTH OF GOLD,

YOU HAVE TO BE AN EARL OR ABOVE THAT IN STATUS.

IF YOU WANT TO WEAR FUR ON YOUR CLOTHES,

YOU HAVE TO BE WORTH AT LEAST £100 A YEAR,

AND I ALSO LIKE THE IMPRESSION IT GIVES

THAT THE QUEEN CAN SEE YOU, EVEN IN YOUR BEDROOM.

WOE BETIDE YOU IF YOU ARE WORTH LESS THAN £20 A YEAR

AND IF YOU WEAR THE SUMPTUOUS FABRIC

OF SILK ON YOUR NIGHTCAP.

ELIZABETH'S WARDROBE REALLY PROVES

HOW ROYAL DRESS HAS THE POWER TO MAKE A MONARCH.

HER IMAGE CONTRIBUTED TO THE LONGEVITY

OF HER 44-YEAR REIGN AND THE RELATIVE PEACE

AND PROSPERITY THAT THE COUNTRY ENJOYED THROUGHOUT,

BUT THE WARDROBES OF HER SUCCESSORS, THE STUARTS,

SHOW US HOW CLOTHES COULD CONTRIBUTE

TO THE BREAKING UP OF A MONARCHY.

IN THE 16th CENTURY, THE TUDOR MONARCHS

HAD KEPT THEIR ARTISTS ON A TIGHT REIN.

THEY AND THEY ALONE HAD DETERMINED

HOW THEY SHOULD BE PAINTED,

BUT THE RISE OF THE PRINTING PRESS AND THE SALE

OF ILLUSTRATED PAMPHLETS ON STREET CORNERS MEANT

THAT THE STUART IMAGE WOULD BE TREATED LESS RESPECTFULLY,

AND COURT FASHION BECAME PART OF THE POLITICAL BATTLEGROUND.

NOW, THESE PICTURES FROM SATIRICAL PAMPHLETS

SHOW THE POWER OF DRESS AND PARTICULARLY ACCUSATIONS

ABOUT THE LAVISHNESS OF DRESS AND THE ROLE IT PLAYED

IN THE PROPAGANDA WAR LEADING UP TO THE REAL

ACTUAL PHYSICAL CIVIL WAR.

THIS GENTLEMAN IN THIS PICTURE IS A CAVALIER.

HE FIGHTS FOR THE KING, AND THE ARTIST

IS BASICALLY SAYING THAT WITH ALL OF HIS CLOTHES

AND ALL OF HIS STYLING, THE GENTLEMAN IS A TWIT

BECAUSE LOOK AT WHAT HE'S WEARING.

THE KEY TELLS US THAT HE'S WEARING A SILLY HAT.

IT LOOKS LIKE A CLOSE STOOL PAN, OR A TOILET PAN,

SET ON THE TOP OF HIS NOODLE.

IT SAYS HERE THAT HE'S WEARING

"A LONG-WAISTED DOUBLET UNBUTTONED HALFWAY"--

NOW, THAT SHADES OF SIMON COWELL--

AND THE BUTTON'S A BIT TOO OPEN ON THE SHIRT.

HE'S GOT IN HIS HAND A STICK, PLAYING WITH IT--

WE KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS-- AND HE'S ALSO WEARING

A GREAT, BIG PAIR OF SPURS.

SO YOU HEAR HIM COMING ALONG.

HE JINGLES LIKE A MORRIS DANCER AS HE APPROACHES.

SO BASICALLY, HE IS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS.

NOW, THE LUXURIOUS CLOTHING OF THE KING AND HIS CAVALIERS

DID NOT LEAD DIRECTLY TO THE CIVIL WAR,

BUT NEGATIVE COMMENT ABOUT THEIR WARDROBES

OPENED THE WAY FOR OTHER MUCH MORE SERIOUS COMPLAINTS

THAT ENDED IN ARMED REBELLION.

SO IT MIGHT SOUND SURPRISING THAT RIGHT AT THE END

OF CHARLES I's LIFE WHEN HE WAS INCARCERATED AND AWAITING TRIAL,

HE WAS STILL THINKING ABOUT HIS WARDROBE.

YOU MIGHT THINK THAT CHARLES I-- DEFEATED, IN PRISON--

WOULD HAVE OTHER THINGS ON HIS MIND APART FROM HIS CLOTHES,

BUT WHEN HE HEARD HE WAS TO BE BOUGHT TO LONDON

FOR HIS TRAIL, WHAT DOES HE DO?

HE ORDERS A NEW VELVET SUIT

COVERED ALL OVER IN GOLD EMBROIDERY.

HE STILL WANTED TO MAKE A REGAL, A KINGLY IMPRESSION.

THE KING'S TRAIL ENDED WITH THE ORDER FOR HIS EXECUTION.

IT WAS TO TAKE PLACE ON THE 30th OF JANUARY 1649.

THAT MORNING, HE DRESSED WITH GREAT CARE.

HE PUT ON TWO SHIRTS BECAUSE IT WAS VERY COLD THAT DAY

AND HE DIDN'T WANT ANYBODY

TO SEE HIM SHIVERING ON THE SCAFFOLD.

HE WAS BOUGHT HERE TO THE PALACE OF WHITEHALL,

AND HIS GUARDS MARCHED HIM THROUGH THE GALLERIES,

THROUGH THIS VERY DOOR INTO THE BANQUETING HOUSE,

THE LAST ROOM THAT CHARLES I WOULD EVER SEE.

THE KING WAS FROG-MARCHED THROUGH THIS SPACE

AND OUT THROUGH A HOLE IN THE WALL THAT HAD BEEN MADE

LEADING ONTO A SCAFFOLD ERECTED IN THE STREET OUTSIDE.

THERE HE SAID HIS LAST PRAYERS. HE TOOK OFF HIS HAT.

HE MOVED HIS LONG HAIR OUT OF THE WAY TO BARE HIS NECK,

AND HE GAVE HIS GLOVES TO HIS FRIEND ARCHBISHOP JUXON.

THEN HE KNELT DOWN AND PUT HIS HEAD ON THE BLOCK.

IT WAS VERY LOW.

HE WAS ALMOST LYING ON HIS STOMACH,

AND THEN THE AX CAME DOWN.

FASHION AND CLOTHING WERE CENTRAL TO CHARLES I's KINGSHIP

AND ITS POWER IS REVEALED MOST FULLY

BY WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS WARDROBE FOLLOWING HIS EXECUTION.

AFTER THE KING'S DEATH, THERE WAS A GREAT DEAL OF INTEREST

IN WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN TO HIS CLOTHES.

PEOPLE STARTED TO COLLECT THEM, AND SO WE HAVE THE CAP HE WORE

WHEN HE WAS CAPTURED BY THE PARLIAMENTARIANS.

EVEN MORE EXCITINGLY, WE'VE GOT FRAGMENTS

OF THE CLOAK HE WORE ON THE MORNING OF HIS EXECUTION

AND THOSE GLOVES HE GAVE TO ARCHBISHOP JUXON,

WELL, HERE THEY ARE, BUT HANG ON A MINUTE.

THESE ARE ALSO SAID TO HAVE BEEN THE GLOVES HE WORE

ON THE MORNING OF THE EXECUTION, AND IF YOU GO TO LAMBETH PALACE,

WELL, THEY'VE GOT A THIRD PAIR THERE.

NOW CLEARLY, HE WASN'T WEARING 3 PAIRS OF GLOVES,

AND CLEARLY NOT ALL OF THESE THINGS CAN BE REAL,

BUT THAT'S NOT REALLY THE POINT.

TO THE SUPPORTERS OF THE DEFEATED KING CHARLES,

THESE ITEMS OF ROYAL CLOTHING HAD SUCH POWER,

THEY HAD SUCH SIGNIFICANCE, THAT PEOPLE VENERATED THEM

LIKE THE RELICS OF A HOLY SAINT.

AFTER A BRIEF SPELL WHEN IT SEEMED

THAT THE MONARCHY WAS DEAD AND BURIED FOREVER,

CHARLES II EVENTUALLY RECLAIMED HIS FATHER'S THRONE,

BUT HIS NEW SUBJECTS NOTICED THAT HE WAS ANXIOUS

TO AVOID MAKING THE SAME MISTAKES AS HIS FATHER.

IN HIS DIARY FOR 1666, SAMUEL PEPYS TELLS US

ABOUT SOMETHING UNPRECEDENTED THAT THE KING DID

IN ONE OF HIS COUNCIL MEETINGS.

CHARLES II HAD DECLARED HIS RESOLUTION OF SETTING

A BRAND NEW FASHION FOR CLOTHES FOR EVERYBODY AT COURT.

HE DID THIS TO TEACH THE NOBILITY THRIFT,

WHICH SAMUEL PEPYS AND, PRESUMABLY,

THE REST OF THE POPULATION THOUGHT WAS A VERY GOOD THING.

CHARLES II WAS INTRODUCING A NEW KIND OF OUTFIT, THE SUIT,

ALTHOUGH THE SUIT'S DECORATION

COULD BE QUITE THE OPPOSITE OF THRIFTY.

SUSAN, THIS SUIT IS COVERED

ALL OVER WITH SILVER EMBROIDERY.

THAT'S A BIT OVER THE TOP, ISN'T IT?

WELL, IT WAS WORN FOR AN IMPORTANT OCCASION

BY THE BROTHER OF CHARLES II JAMES

WHEN HE WAS DUKE OF YORK

WHEN HE MARRIED IN 1673.

IMAGINE HIM COMING INTO A CANDLELIT ROOM.

HE MUST HAVE GLITTERED ALL OVER

LIKE A CHRISTMAS TREE.

WELL, YES, AND PERHAPS EVEN MORE SO

WHEN THE COAT AND BREECHES WERE FIRST MADE

BECAUSE, OF COURSE, THE METAL THREADS

WERE THAT MUCH BRIGHTER AND SPARKLING.

MM. WHAT'S SO NEW ABOUT THIS AS AN OUTFIT OF CLOTHES?

WHAT'S REMARKABLE FOR, UM, ROYAL DRESS

IS THE FACT THAT IT'S A COAT HE'S WEARING

WITH HIS BREECHES, AND NOT A DOUBLET.

SO THE DOUBLET WOULD HAVE BEEN THE TIGHT,

LITTLE JACKET AND THEN BIG, BAGGY BREECHES.

YES. YES, AND THEN THE DOUBLET BY THIS TIME

SORT OF ENDS BARELY AT THE WAISTLINE.

SO PERHAPS, YOU KNOW, IT WAS GOOD OPPORTUNITY

FOR CHARLES TO KIND OF SET SOMETHING NEW.

MAYBE THE DOUBLET WAS TOO REMINISCENT

OF THE OLD COURT OF HIS FATHER.

HERE WAS A CHANCE TO ESTABLISH A LOOK

THAT WOULD BE UNIQUELY IDENTIFIED WITH HIM,

AN OUTFIT THAT EVERYBODY WAS DESPERATE TO WEAR

AND THINKS IS REALLY COOL AND STYLISH.

WHERE DID CHARLES II, THEN, GET HIS FASHION SENSE?

CLEARLY, HE WAS A FASHIONABLE SORT OF FELLOW.

WELL, UM, HE DID VERY SIGNIFICANTLY SPEND TIME

AT THE COURT OF LOUIS XIV.

YOU KNOW, LOUIS WAS RECOGNIZED AS BEING

THE STYLE LEADER FOR ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING,

INCLUDING CLOTHING, AND WAS QUITE DICTATORIAL

ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE WERE ALLOWED TO WEAR

AND HOW THEY WERE TO PRESENT THEMSELVES.

SURELY, EMULATING SOMEONE WHO'S A BIT DICTATORIAL

ABOUT FASHION ISN'T A VERY GOOD IDEAL FOR CHARLES II,

BECAUSE HE'S SEEN HIS FATHER BE DICTATORIAL

AND GET HIS HEAD CHOPPED OFF AS A RESULT.

WELL, CERTAINLY, HE MUST HAVE TAKEN THAT

INTO ACCOUNT, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND,

IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT'S DECREED.

HE DOESN'T ENFORCE THE WEARING OF THIS GARMENT.

SO IS IT FAIR TO SAY THAT LOUIS XIV IS GOING,

"COURTIERS, WEAR WHAT I WANT."

HE'S USING THE FRENCH STICK, IF YOU LIKE,

AND THEN WE'VE GOT CHARLES II IN LONDON

MAKING EVERYBODY WANT TO WEAR THE SUIT

BECAUSE IT LOOKS SO GOOD.

HE'S USING THE CARROT.

YES, ABSOLUTELY.

WE'VE GOT THE FRENCH STICK

OR THE ENGLISH CARROT.

WHICH DO YOU PREFER?

OH, WELL, I THINK WE'D ALL GO

FOR THE ENGLISH CARROT, WOULDN'T WE?

HA HA HA! GOOD ANSWER.

NOW, CHARLES II MAY BE REMEMBERED

AS THE JOLLY, OLD, MERRY MONARCH,

BUT I BELIEVE THAT HE WAS A PARTICULARLY CANNY KING.

HE CLEVERLY DISTANCED HIMSELF FROM HIS FATHER CHARLES I

AND ALSO FROM CONTEMPORARY ABSOLUTIST MONARCHS

LIKE LOUIS XIV, AND CHARLES II MARKED

A REAL TURNING POINT FOR THE BRITISH MONARCHY.

HIS PREDECESSORS HAD ALL BELIEVED THAT THEY HAD

A GOD-GIVEN RIGHT TO RULE,

BUT FROM CHARLES II ONWARDS, EVERY BRITISH MONARCH

KNEW THAT HE OR SHE WAS NO LONGER TOP DOG

AND THAT HE OR SHE HAD TO RULE BY PAYING A NOD

TO THE POWER OF THEIR PEOPLE.

AFTER THE CIVIL WAR, CHARLES HAD REALIZED

THAT MONARCHS COULD LONGER POWER-DRESS LIKE ELIZABETH I

BECAUSE THEY SIMPLY DIDN'T WIELD AS MUCH POWER,

BUT THEY WERE STILL LEFT WITH THE POMP.

AS A TRILOGY OF GEORGES NAVIGATED THEIR WAY

THROUGH THE 18th CENTURY, GENTLEMEN SPORTED

THE NEW SENSIBLE SUITS,

WHILE LADIES DID QUITE THE OPPOSITE.

NOW, ELERI, WHAT IS THIS EXTRAORDINARY OBJECT?

THIS IS AN 18th-CENTURY

VERSION OF AN UNDERSKIRT

KNOWN AS A SIDE HOOP OR PANNIERS,

AND IT WAS WORN TO CREATE

A VERY EXTRAVAGANT SKIRT SHAPE.

SO MY BODY, MY WAIST,

GOES IN THAT HOLE THERE, RIGHT?

YOU STAND IN THERE, AND THEN THIS DRAWSTRING

GATHERS AROUND YOUR WAIST.

AND YOU TIE THAT UP?

ABSOLUTELY.

IS THIS WHALE BONE UNDER HERE?

YEAH.

IT'S QUITE A FLEXIBLE THING.

EXACTLY AND WHAT CREATES THE SHAPE.

ALTHOUGH IT DOESN'T LOOK VERY MUCH,

IT'S ACTUALLY QUITE A SPECIAL LUXURY GARMENT.

AND IT'S AMAZING THAT UNDERWEAR LIKE THIS

SURVIVES FROM THE 18th CENTURY.

IT'S VERY RARE.

AND WHAT KIND OF A DRESS WOULD HAVE GONE ON TOP?

AN EXTRAORDINARY DRESS CALLED THE COURT MANTUA.

TELL ME ABOUT THIS, THEN.

IT'S RIDICULOUS,

THE SIZE AND THE SHAPE OF THIS THING,

IT MUST BE THE LEAST PRACTICAL DRESS EVER.

ABSOLUTELY, BUT THAT'S-- THAT'S SORT OF THE POINT,

UM, IS THAT THE PERSON WHO WAS WEARING THIS

WAS OBVIOUSLY RICH ENOUGH AND IMPORTANT ENOUGH

NOT TO WEAR PRACTICAL CLOTHES.

YOU COULDN'T DO A SHRED OF WORK IN THIS,

AND, IN FACT, YOU COULD BARELY MOVE.

THEY WERE WEARING THESE DRESSES

AT THE GEORGIAN COURT, AND IT BECAME

SOMETHING OF A UNIFORM DIDN'T THEY?

THEY DID.

IT WAS ACTUALLY PRESCRIBED, AND THERE WERE

VERY STRICT RULES OF ETIQUETTE ABOUT

WHAT SORTS OF DRESSES UM, YOU SHOULD WEAR,

AND WOMEN HAD TO WEAR THESE MANTUAS

PRETTY MUCH FOR MOST OF THE 18th CENTURY.

I'VE READ THAT THE COURTIERS COMPLAINED

ABOUT ALL THE RUFFLES AND THE FRILLS

GETTING IN THE WAY OF ANY SORT

OF ACTIVITY THEY WANTED TO BE DOING.

WHAT ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR SILK

THAT'S BEEN WOVEN HERE?

WHAT'S THE SIGNIFICANCE OF IT?

THIS PARTICULAR SILK IS A VERY EXPENSIVE ONE

BECAUSE OF THE COMPLEXITY OF THE WEAVE.

THERE AREN'T THAT MANY REPEATING PATTERNS WITHIN IT,

WHICH, TO THE TRAINED EYE AT COURT,

WOULD SIGNIFY A VERY RARIFIED SENSIBILITY

AND ALSO A LOT OF MONEY.

THIS ONE'S PRETTY WIDE.

IS THIS AS EXTREME AS MANTUAS GET?

YOU DID GET SKIRTS THAT CAME OUT

AT COMPLETE RIGHT ANGLES TO THE WAIST

AND THEN DOWN.

A BIG, WALKING OBLONG.

ABSOLUTELY.

DO YOU THINK, THEN--

I GET THE SENSE THAT BY THE LATE

GEORGIAN PERIOD, GOING TO COURT MUST HAVE BEEN

A BIT LIKE GOING TO THE ZOO.

IT WAS LIKE THE DINOSAURS ARE STILL

WALKING THE EARTH WEARING THESE CRAZY,

OUTMODED DRESSES.

BUT THAT WAS PART OF MAINTAINING AT COURT

THIS SPLENDOR OF THE 18th CENTURY BECAUSE

EVERYTHING ABOUT THE COURT AND SOCIETY HAD CHANGED

SO MUCH DURING THAT CENTURY THAT IT WAS

A WAY OF PRESERVING IN ASPIC

THE CEREMONY ASSOCIATED WITH COURT.

THIS HAS TO BE THE WORLD'S LEAST PRACTICAL DRESS.

WHEN YOU CAME TO COURT, YOU HAD TO FOLLOW

A EXTREMELY STRICT CODE OF BEHAVIOR.

YOU'D BE COACHED BEFOREHAND BY YOUR DANCING MASTER.

SO ONE COURT LADY TELLS US THAT IF A HAIRPIN

WAS PRICKING YOUR SCALP, YOU COULDN'T PULL IT OUT.

YOU HAD TO PUT UP WITH THE PAIN.

IF IT GOT REALLY BAD,

THEN YOU COULD BITE THE INSIDE OF YOUR CHEEK

AND SWALLOW THE BLOOD AS A DIVERSION.

SO WHAT WERE THE RULES OF WEARING A DRESS LIKE THIS?

WELL, FIRSTLY, THERE WERE NO CHAIRS IN THE ROOM.

IT'S CONTRARY TO ETIQUETTE TO SIT DOWN IN THE ROYAL PRESENCE.

SO YOU HAD TO STAND FOR HOURS IN YOUR HEAVY HOOPS

AND ALSO IN YOUR HIGH-HEELED SHOES.

MUSTN'T CROSS YOUR ARMS.

THAT'S A COMPLETE NO-NO, AS IS TURNING YOUR BACK

ON THE KING OR QUEEN.

IF YOU WANTED TO LEAVE THE ROOM, YOU HAD TO ASK PERMISSION,

AND IF IT WAS GIVEN, YOU HAD TO CURTSY 3 TIMES

AND THEN BACK OUT OF THE ROOM AVOIDING COLLISIONS

WITH OTHER LADIES IN THEIR HOOPS

AND GETTING YOURSELF STRAIGHT OUT OF THE DOOR.

EVERYBODY WANTS TO KNOW HOW THE COURT LADIES

WENT TO THE LOO, AND THE ANSWER IS,

THEY'RE NOT YET WEARING KNICKERS,

WHICH HAVEN'T BEEN INVENTED.

SO THEY ARE ABLE TO USE THE CHAMBER POT,

BUT TO DO THIS, YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO ASK FOR PERMISSION

AND WITHDRAW TO THE ANTEROOM,

AND PERMISSION IS NOT NECESSARILY FORTHCOMING.

ONCE, ONE OF QUEEN CAROLINE'S LADIES WAS REFUSED PERMISSION

TO WITHDRAW, AND A FEW MINUTES LATER, A HUMILIATING PUDDLE

APPEARED FROM UNDERNEATH HER MANTUA,

AND--THIS IS THE CONTEMPORARY QUOTATION--

IT "THREATENED THE SHOES OF BYSTANDERS."

BY THE END OF THE 18th CENTURY,

COURTLY DRESS HAD BECOME A SOURCE OF DERISION.

THE ROYAL WARDROBE WAS BECOMING LESS AND LESS RELEVANT

TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD, AND SO, TOO, WAS THE MONARCHY ITSELF.

THE POPULATION MIGHT HAVE LAUGHED A LOT MORE

IF THE ROYAL JOKE HADN'T BEEN

QUITE LITERALLY AT THEIR EXPENSE.

THIS IS THE PRINCE REGENT,

THE FUTURE GEORGE IV,

STANDING IN FOR HIS DAD WHILE HE WAS MAD.

YOU MAY REMEMBER HIM

AS THE HUGH LAURIE CHARACTER IN "BLACKADDER,"

IN OTHER WORDS, A BIT OF A TWIT.

WHEN HE FINALLY BECAME KING IN 1820,

HE PUT ON THE MOST WONDERFUL CORONATION.

IT WAS AN ENORMOUS SPECTACLE THAT EVERYBODY ENJOYED

UNTIL THEY DISCOVERED HOW MUCH IT HAD COST.

HE SPENT £25,000 ON HIS ROBES

THAT HE ONLY WORE FOR A FEW HOURS.

GEORGE IV WAS A VERY STYLISH MAN.

AS HIS WIFE SAID, IT WAS JUST A SHAME THAT HE HAD TO BE KING.

HE WOULD HAVE MADE A MUCH BETTER HAIRDRESSER.

NOW, IF I HAD TO IMAGINE THE SLIPPERS

OF THAT BLING LOVER GEORGE IV,

THIS IS WHAT I WOULD COME UP WITH.

YEAH, DEFINITELY, AND I LIKE HOW THEY MATCH

THE PINK, SORT OF SALMON PINKY LINING,

TO THE SILVER TOPS.

OH, LOOK. THERE'S A PINK LINING, AS WELL--

LOOK AT THAT-- AND THEY GLITTER,

AND YOU'VE GOT A MATCHING

GOLD PAIR OVER THERE.

YES, WITH A YELLOW LINING, AND THEN, MOST IMPORTANTLY,

WE HAVE GEORGE'S ACTUAL CORONATION SHOES.

THE MOMENT OF BECOMING KING,

HE WAS WEARING THESE SHOES,

AND THEY'RE SILVER AGAIN, AND THEY HAVE

THE LITTLE, RED HEELS OF ROYALTY.

NOW, THIS WAS THE GREATEST SHOW

ON EARTH, WASN'T IT?

TELL ME A BIT MORE ABOUT IT.

I THINK IT LOOKED SPECTACULAR,

BUT I THINK IT ALSO LOOKED A BIT STRANGE

BECAUSE WHAT GEORGE DID, HE MADE ALL THE COURTIERS

WEAR SOME SORT OF HISTORIC FANCY DRESS OUTFIT,

SOME SORT OF TUDOR/STUART NUMBER.

WAS THIS DIGNIFIED FOR A POOR, AGED PEER

WITH KNOBLY KNEES TO BE SENT OUT

IN WHITE STOCKINGS?

I-- PROBABLY NOT.

I MEAN, I GUESS THEY WEREN'T ALL OLD.

THERE WERE PROBABLY SOME MEN

WITH REALLY NICE KNEES AND NICE LEGS,

UM, BUT IT HAS AN AIR OF SORT OF THEATER

FANCY DRESS ABOUT IT, I THINK.

DID THEY HAVE TO PAY FOR THEIR OWN COSTUMES?

AS FAR AS I UNDERSTAND, THEY DID.

I'VE READ SOMEWHERE THAT ONE OF THESE

COULD COST UP TO ABOUT £250.

THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY.

WHAT DID PEOPLE REALLY THINK

OF GEORGES' LOVE OF CLOTHES?

I THINK THEY THOUGHT IT WAS A BIT UNDIGNIFIED.

FOR A KING, YOU SHOULD MAYBE OCCUPY YOUR THOUGHTS

WITH OTHER THINGS THAN THE CUT

OF YOUR PANTALOONS OR YOUR CRAVATS.

HE WAS TOO BUSY FUSSING AROUND WITH HIS BUTTONS.

I THINK THAT MAY BE WAS WHAT A LOT OF PEOPLE THOUGHT.

WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS FABULOUS WARDROBE

AFTER HE DIED?

WELL, QUITE A LOT WAS SOLD OFF.

UM, SO WE HAPPEN TO HAVE AN AUCTION CATALOG

WHICH LISTS SOME OF THE THINGS HE HAD.

HE HAD 28 WHITE WAISTCOATS, OF WHICH WE HAVE 3.

BUT WHY DID HE NEED 28 WHITE WAISTCOATS?

WELL, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.

WHY DOES ANYONE NEED 28 WAISTCOATS?

ONE OF THEM IS HERE, AND IF YOU OPEN IT UP,

YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE IT SAYS HERE P.R. FOR PRINCE REGENT,

AND YOU CAN SEE HOW BIG IT IS...

IT'S LARGE.

BUT WHAT IS REALLY BIZARRE IN HERE,

THERE IS ONE LOT THAT YOU COULD BUY--

TWO MASQUERADE NUNS DRESSES AND A RED PETTICOAT.

WHAT WAS DOING WITH THE NUN'S DRESSES?

I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA.

MAYBE HE WENT SOMEWHERE DRESSED UP AS A NUN.

OH, THAT'S A BRILLIANT IMAGE, ISN'T IT? HA HA!

RATHER LARGE NUN.

WORSLEY: ALL THIS MEANT THAT WHEN THE KING DIED,

HE WASN'T MUCH MOURNED.

THIS BOOK WRITTEN ABOUT HIM THE YEAR AFTER HIS DEATH

SAYS THAT TO GEORGE IV, "THE CUT OF A COAT

"BECAME OF GREATER CONSEQUENCE

THAN THE AMELIORATION OF THE CONDITION OF IRELAND."

HE CARED MORE ABOUT "THE TIE OF THE NECKCLOTH"

THAN HE DID ABOUT PARLIAMENTARY REFORM.

INSTEAD OF GOVERNING THE COUNTRY,

HE'D SPEND ALL MORNING TALKING WITH HIS TAILOR

ABOUT THE MERITS "OF LOOSE TROUSERS"

OVER "TIGHT PANTALOONS."

HIS OBITUARY IN THE "TIMES" NEWSPAPER CLAIMED

THAT NEVER WAS AN INDIVIDUAL REGRETTED LESS

BY HIS PEOPLE THAN THIS DECEASED KING.

WHAT EYE HAS WEPT FOR HIM?

GEORGE IV WAS THE LEAST POPULAR KING SINCE CHARLES I,

AND HIS WASTEFUL AND EGOTISTICAL ATTITUDE TO CLOTHES

WAS ONE OF THE REASONS THAT THE MONARCHY'S IMAGE

REACHED SUCH A LOW POINT IN THE EARLY 19th CENTURY.

AN INCREASINGLY CRITICAL PRESS MEANT THAT PEOPLE

WERE MORE AWARE THAN EVER OF WHAT THE ROYALS WERE UP TO,

YET THE MONARCHY'S STATUS WAS ABOUT TO BE TRANSFORMED

BY A RATHER UNLIKELY FIGURE.

IF YOU WERE ASKED TO NAME THE MOST CLOTHES-OBSESSED,

IMAGE-CONSCIOUS KING OR QUEEN,

YOU PROBABLY WOULDN'T COME UP WITH QUEEN VICTORIA.

MOST PEOPLE THINK OF HER AS A LITTLE, OLD LADY

DRESSED IN BLACK, LOOKING LIKE A POTATO,

BUT ACTUALLY, SHE LOVED CLOTHES, AND QUEEN VICTORIA

IS THE WOMAN WHO GAVE US THE WHITE WEDDING DRESS.

VICTORIA MAY BE REMEMBERED AS THE WIDOW IN BLACK,

BUT AT HER WEDDING, SHE ABANDONED THE CONVENTION

OF WEARING ROYAL ROBES.

SHE CHOSE INSTEAD A WHITE DRESS

AND EVEN DESIGNED HER BRIDESMAIDS' OUTFITS,

BUT IT WASN'T ALL BLACK AND WHITE IN VICTORIA'S WARDROBE.

DEIDRE, THIS IS NOT OUR IDEA

OF QUEEN VICTORIA, IS IT?

SHE'S PRETTY SHORT, AND SHE'S PRETTY

TEENY TINY AROUND THE WAIST.

LOOK HOW SMALL THAT IS.

SHE IS. WELL, SHE WORE THIS DRESS

WHEN SHE WAS ABOUT

16 YEARS OLD.

SO IT IS PRETTY TEENY TINY.

IT'S SO CUTE. IT IS CUTE.

SHE WAS 5' 1 3/4",

AND THE SLEEVES ARE VERY BEAUTIFULLY PUFFED,

AS ANY 1830s EVENING GOWN WOULD BE.

THE SILHOUETTE OF THE DRESS IS ALSO OFF THE SHOULDER

AND CREATES A VERY BEAUTIFUL LINE AROUND HER NECKLINE.

IT'S POSSIBLE SHE WORE IT

THE FIRST TIME SHE MET PRINCE ALBERT.

THAT'S SO ROMANTIC.

WHAT DO YOU THINK SHE THOUGHT OF FASHION?

BECAUSE SHE REALLY DOESN'T HAVE A PLACE

ON THE BEST-DRESSED LIST

OF QUEENS OF HISTORY, DOES SHE?

SHE WAS CERTAINLY VERY, VERY INTERESTED IN FASHION

AND EXTREMELY AWARE OF THE POWER

THAT FASHION HAD IN SHAPING PUBLIC OPINION.

FOR BIG PUBLIC OCCASIONS, SHE ALWAYS WORE BRITISH,

AND THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS ALWAYS

CLEARLY IDENTIFIED IN NEWSPAPER ARTICLES

DESCRIBING HER CLOTHES FOR ANY PARTICULAR EVENT.

DO YOU THINK THAT QUEEN VICTORIA

SELF-CONSCIOUSLY CONSTRUCTED HER IMAGE?

DEFINITELY.

SHE WAS ABSOLUTELY OBSESSED WITH THEATER

TO THE POINT WHERE SHE ACTUALLY DRESSED

HER FAMILY AND FRIENDS, AS WELL.

SO SAY, FOR INSTANCE, UM, THIS IS THE CHRISTENING

OF PRINCESS VICKY, HER ELDEST DAUGHTER,

AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THE QUEEN IS HERE

WEARING A VERY MAGNIFICENT DRESS

IN SILVER AND GOLD, LOOKING VERY QUEENLIKE,

BUT IT'S ALSO A VERY SPECIAL GROUP, UM, DISTINGUISHED

BY THEIR UNIFIED CLOTHING IN SILVER, GOLD, AND WHITE,

AND AGAIN, WHEN QUEEN VICTORIA VISITED SCOTLAND IN 1842,

SHE WENT TO DRUMMOND CASTLE FOR THIS ENORMOUS BALL

WHERE EVERYONE WORE TARTAN EXCEPT FOR HER.

OH! IT SAYS HERE, "HER DRESS WAS COMPOSED

OF RICH SPITALFIELDS SILK OF A PALE PINK."

ARE YOU SAYING THAT

SHE OUTCLASSED EVERYBODY ELSE?

NOT NECESSARILY THAT SHE OUTCLASSED EVERYONE ELSE,

BUT SHE'S CERTAINLY DRESSING TO STAND OUT HERE.

SHE HAD WORN TARTAN THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE

VISIT TO SCOTLAND IN 1842.

FOR DAYS ON END, SHE'S DRESSED FROM HEAD

TO TOE IN TARTAN, AND ON THE BIGGEST, BIGGEST DAY

OF THE ENTIRE VISIT, SHE DECIDES TO WEAR

PALE PINK IN FRONT OF A BACKDROP OF TARTAN.

MM, THAT SOUNDS RATHER LOVELY, DOESN'T IT?

WORSLEY: MICROMANAGING HER OWN AND HER FAMILY'S WARDROBE

HELPED QUEEN VICTORIA TO WIN OVER THE HEARTS OF HER PEOPLE

AND TO MAKE THE MONARCHY POPULAR ONCE AGAIN.

VICTORIA UNDERSTOOD NOT ONLY THE POWER OF DRESS,

BUT ALSO THE POWER OF THE PRESS.

HERE'S A LETTER FROM QUEEN VICTORIA TO HER SON

ABOUT HER BELIEF IN THE POWER OF DRESS.

SHE SAYS, "IT'S THE ONE OUTWARD SIGN FROM WHICH PEOPLE

"CAN AND OFTEN DO JUDGE

"THE INWARD STATE OF MIND OF A PERSON,

"AND IT'S OF PARTICULAR IMPORTANCE

IN PERSONS OF HIGH RANK."

SO SHE SAYS TO HIM, "WE DO EXPECT THAT YOU WILL NEVER WEAR

ANYTHING EXTRAVAGANT OR SLANG," AS SHE PUTS IT, TOO CASUAL,

"BECAUSE THAT WOULD PROVE A WANT OF SELF-RESPECT

AND BE AN OFFENSE AGAINST DECENCY."

LIKE ELIZABETH I,

VICTORIA MADE CAREFUL CLOTHING CHOICES

THAT PLAYED WELL TO HER PEOPLE,

AND, LIKE ELIZABETH, VICTORIA ENJOYED A LONG AND STABLE REIGN.

SHE KNEW THAT HER DRESSES WOULD MAKE THEIR IMPACT

THROUGH NEWSPAPER REPORTS.

WITH EXPANDING READERSHIPS AND THE INTRODUCTION OF PHOTOGRAPHY,

SHE, HER FAMILY, AND THEIR DECEDENTS

WOULD BE UNDER CLOSER SCRUTINY THAN EVER BEFORE,

BUT SOME OF HER SUCCESSORS WERE LESS PRUDENT,

AND THE RESULTS FOR THE MONARCHY WERE NEARLY CATASTROPHIC.

THIS IS A GENTLEMAN'S SUIT FROM THE 1930s.

NOW, YOU MIGHT THINK THAT IT'S A BIT LOUD.

LOOK AT THIS HOUNDSTOOTH IN THE TWEED,

AND YOU CAN IMAGINE BERTIE WOOSTER, PERHAPS,

GOING OUT IN A SUIT LIKE THIS,

BUT IT ISN'T ACTUALLY OFFENSIVE TO OUR EYES.

AT THE TIME, THOUGH, THE ESTABLISHMENT THOUGHT

THAT THIS SUIT WAS SCANDALOUS, AS THEY DID ALSO ITS OWNER,

WHO WAS EDWARD VIII.

EDWARD VIII's APPROACH TO CLOTHING

WAS RATHER LIKE GEORGE IV's.

HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE AMERICAN DIVORCEE WALLIS SIMPSON

WAS THE REAL REASON THAT HE ABDICATED IN 1936,

BUT EDWARD'S PLAYBOY LIFESTYLE

AND THE WARDROBE THAT HE FAVORED--

HERE AT HIS GOLF CLUB, FOR EXAMPLE==

HAD CAUSE CONCERN MUCH EARLIER ON.

SHAUN, LOOKING AT THESE PHOTOS

OF THE PRINCE OF WALES, THE FUTURE EDWARD VIII,

HE LOOKS PRETTY SMART IN ALL OF THEM, I'D SAY.

I'D SAY THAT WAS A PRETTY SMART JACKET

THAT HE'S WEARING THERE.

WHAT WAS THE PROBLEM WITH THIS?

WELL, IN TODAY'S CONVENTIONS,

IT IS A SMART JACKET.

IT'S A GLEN PLAID JACKET,

BUT TWEEDS, GLEN PLAIDS LIKE THIS,

IT WAS WEAR FOR THE COUNTRY.

IT WASN'T CITY WEAR, AND HE WAS WEARING

THESE THINGS OUTSIDE THE PLACE AT WHICH

THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE WORN.

THAT'S WHERE HE WAS PUSHING

THOSE BOUNDARIES.

SO IS THAT LIKE TURNING UP TO ROYAL ASCOT

WEARING A SHELL SUIT?

I DON'T THINK IT'S QUITE AS EXTREME AS THAT,

BUT CERTAINLY, YES, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN--

IT WAS ABOUT THE APPROPRIATENESS.

SO IN A TIME WHEN HE WOULD HAVE BEEN

INSPECTING THE TROOPS AND HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN

WEARING SOMETHING FORMAL, PERHAPS UNIFORM,

IN THIS IMAGE, HE'S WEARING

A DOUBLE-BREASTED JACKET, WHICH, AGAIN,

WE THINK FOR BEING, YOU KNOW,

RATHER CONVENTIONAL,

BUT HE'S WEARING IT WITH A PAIR

OF SHEPHERD TWEED TROUSERS.

THE FASHION CONVENTION

WAS FOR NARROWER EDWARDIAN TROUSERS

THAT HIS FATHER WOULD HAVE WORN,

WHEREAS-- THESE ARE BAGS.

THEY ARE BAGS, ABSOLUTELY,

AND HE VERY MUCH, YOU KNOW,

PUSHED THIS BOUNDARY WITH HIS TROUSERS,

AND HIS BIOGRAPHY SAYS

HE DOESN'T WEAR BAGS, AS SUCH.

THOSE ARE BAGGY TROUSERS.

THEY ARE VERY BAGGY TROUSERS,

AND, IN FACT, WHILE HE HAD HIS JACKETS

MADE AT A TAILOR IN LONDON, SCHOLTE'S,

HE HAD HIS TROUSERS MADE BY AN AMERICAN TAILOR.

HE DIDN'T LIKE THE CUT AND HAD THEM FLOWN OVER.

THAT'S SO-- THAT'S SO PROFLIGATE.

ABSOLUTELY, WHAT WALLIS SIMPSON

CALLED "HIS PANTS ACROSS THE OCEAN."

NO WAY. "HIS PANTS ACROSS THE OCEAN"?

ABSOLUTELY, "PANTS ACROSS THE OCEAN."

THAT'S BRILLIANT.

LOOK AT THE CONTRAST BETWEEN THIS VERY FORMAL-LOOKING

GENT OVER HERE. ABSOLUTELY,

AND THE BOWLER HAT, AS WELL.

WHILE WE THINK OF THAT AS BEING,

YOU KNOW, THE EPITOME OF BRITISH TRADITION,

YOU KNOW, IT STARTED OFF AS A HAT

FOR THE COUNTRY, FOR SERVANTS.

YOU KNOW, HE'S WEARING IT IN TOWN,

WEARING IT TO INSPECT THE TROOPS.

HE STARTED TO WEAR KNITWEAR.

HE POPULARIZED FAIR ISLE KNITWEAR,

CERTAINLY IN GOLF

AND THEN INTO OTHER FORMS OF LEISURE.

YOU ARE WEARING HIS LEGACY TODAY.

IT'S WONDERFUL. INDEED.

SO IT JUST SHOWS, DOESN'T IT,

HOW IMPORTANT HE WAS.

THIS SEEMS LIKE THE ICONIC IMAGE TO ME

BECAUSE-- WHAT IS HE DOING?

HE'S GOT OFF AN AIRPLANE.

HE'S WEARING A VERY STYLISH SUIT.

HE'S GOT THIS FUNNY, LITTLE DOG WITH HIM,

AND HE'S DOING SOMETHING VERY CAMP WITH HIS ARM.

HE IS, AND, CERTAINLY, HE WAS THE MODERN MAN.

THIS, FOR ME, SUMS UP EDWARD VIII.

WOULD YOU HAVE EMPLOYED HIM

AT THE LONDON COLLEGE OF FASHION?

ABSOLUTELY. HA HA HA!

I'D EMPLOY HIM AS MY TAILOR AND MY DRESSER.

HE'D HAVE YOUR JOB. HA HA HA!

NOW, OBVIOUSLY, EDWARD VIII DIDN'T ABDICATE

BECAUSE HE SPENT TOO MUCH TIME ON THE GOLF COURSE

OR BECAUSE OF HIS FONDNESS FOR KNITWEAR,

BUT IN THE EYES OF THE ESTABLISHMENT,

THESE THINGS WERE SYMPTOMATIC.

TO THEM, EDWARD VIII WAS TOO FASHIONABLE.

HE WAS TOO SLANG.

IF HE WASN'T DRESSED LIKE A ROYAL,

PEOPLE THOUGHT HE WASN'T BEHAVING LIKE A ROYAL,

AND THIS WAS MORALLY LAX.

EDWARD'S LOVE OF CLOTHES KICKED OFF A DEBATE

THAT WOULD AFFECT THE WARDROBE CHOICES

OF EVERY YOUNG ROYAL FROM THEN UNTIL NOW--

HOW TO RESPOND TO FASHION.

IT WAS SOMETHING THAT THE PRESENT QUEEN

HAD TO DEAL WITH FROM AN EARLY AGE,

WHEN BRITAIN'S WARDROBES WERE INVADED BY--

QUELLE HORREUR-- THE FRENCH FASHION HOUSE DIOR.

HAVING WOWED PARISIAN AUDIENCES WITH HIS SUMPTUOUS

YET CONTROVERSIAL NEW LOOK IN 1947,

CHRISTIAN DIOR THEN UNLEASHED IT UPON THE BRITISH PUBLIC.

DIOR'S NEW LOOK WAS PRETTY CONTROVERSIAL.

IN PARIS, SOME OF HIS MODELS HAD THEIR CLOTHES

RIPPED FROM THEIR BODIES BY DISAPPROVING CROWDS,

AND IN LONDON, THE HEAD OF THE BOARD OF TRADE THOUGHT

THAT THIS WAS A RIDICULOUSLY PROFLIGATE USE OF FABRIC

WHEN RATIONING WAS STILL ENFORCED.

THE TROUBLE WAS, THOUGH, THAT EVERY FEMALE FASHION LOVER

IN LONDON LOVED THIS,

INCLUDING THE FEMALE MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL FAMILY.

WHILE DIOR'S TRIP TO LONDON CAUSED A PUBLIC FRENZY,

THERE WAS SOMETHING SECRET GOING ON BEHIND THE SCENES.

ONE DAY, HE PACKS UP ALL OF HIS DRESSES INTO BAGS,

AND HE SNEAKS OUT THE BACK OF HIS HOTEL TO TRAVEL

ACROSS LONDON TO THE FRENCH EMBASSY,

AND THERE HE PUT ON A PRIVATE SHOWING OF HIS COLLECTION

TO A WHOLE GAGGLE OF ROYALS, INCLUDING THE DUCHESS OF KENT

AND PRINCESS MARGARET, BUT APPARENTLY, ONE PERSON

WAS CONSPICUOUS BY HER ABSENCE.

THAT WAS PRINCESS ELIZABETH, THE FUTURE QUEEN.

IT WAS ACCEPTABLE FOR JUNIOR ROYALS TO DROOL OVER DIOR

AND HIS FRENCH FROCKS, BUT APPARENTLY,

IT WASN'T ALL RIGHT FOR THE HEIR TO THE BRITISH THRONE.

PRINCESS ELIZABETH'S YOUNGER SISTER MARGARET

WAS THE ONE WITH THE FREEDOM TO FROLIC WITH FASHION.

PRINCESS MARGARET REMAINED AT THE FRONT

OF THE FASHION PACK FOR HER WHOLE LIFE.

AFTER ALL, SHE WAS MARRIED TO A FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER.

SHE WENT ON WEARING DIOR

FROM THE NEW LOOK RIGHT INTO THE 1970s.

THIS DRESS FROM 1977 IS BY DIOR,

AND SHE WORE IT AT THE QUEEN'S SILVER JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS.

LOUIS ARMSTRONG DESCRIBES THE FASHION-LOVING PRINCESS MARGARET

AS "ONE HIP CHICK."

I DON'T THINK HE WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SAY THAT

ABOUT HER ELDER SISTER THE QUEEN.

WHILE MARGARET LOOKED EXOTIC AND GLAMOROUS AND COOL,

HER ELDER SISTER REALIZED THAT

WITH HER POSITION CAME RESPONSIBILITY.

LIKE HER GREAT-GREAT-GRANDMOTHER QUEEN VICTORIA,

HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN HAD TO MAKE CHOICES

THAT WERE CONSERVATIVE AND VERY, VERY BRITISH.

AT FIRST, SHE USED THE DESIGNER NORMAN HARTNELL,

WHO SHE'D INHERITED FROM HER MOTHER,

BEFORE CHOOSING HARDY AMIES, WHO'S FASHION HOUSE STILL LIES

AT THE HEART OF BRITISH TAILORING.

OK. HERE WE HAVE THE QUEEN'S PRESS BOOK.

LOOK HOW BIG IT IS, AND IT SAYS "THE QUEEN."

YEAH, A GARGANTUAN PRESS LOOK.

SO HERE WE GO FROM THE BEGINNING.

SO HERE, THIS IS THE PROCESSION, ALMOST,

THE PROCESS OF HARDY GOING TO BUCKINGHAM PALACE,

AND THERE'S HARDY IN THE MIDDLE THERE.

IT'S OBVIOUSLY QUITE A MOMENT,

AT IT SAYS, "SETTING OFF

FOR BUCKINGHAM PALACE, 1954."

YES. IT WAS.

YOU KNOW, HARDY AMIES WAS REALLY PROUD,

REALLY PROUD OF HIS ROLE DESIGNING FOR THE QUEEN.

UM, IT WAS HIS LIFE'S WORK, REALLY.

WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THEY GOT

TO BUCKINGHAM PALACE?

THEY HAD TO GO THROUGH THE BACK DOOR,

WHICH ALWAYS REALLY IRRITATED HARDY...

THE BACK DOOR, WAS IT?

HE ALWAYS THOUGHT HE SHOULD HAVE GONE THROUGH THE FRONT.

SO THEY GO THROUGH THE BACK, BACK DOOR AND MEET

HER MAJESTY WITH HER OWN TEAM OF PEOPLE.

THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN HER OWN FITTER.

SO HE DIDN'T DO IT HIMSELF.

NO. HE WOULD HAVE HAD--

THE QUEEN WOULD HAVE HAD SOMEONE,

DISTANCE. YEAH,

AND HE WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, "JUST MAYBE DO

SOMETHING HERE WITH THE LAPEL"

OR THE HEM OF THE SKIRT OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT

MAYBE LENGTHWISE.

IF YOU WERE THE QUEEN'S DESIGNER THEN,

WHAT WERE THE RULES AND REGULATIONS

THAT YOU HAD TO SORT OF WORK WITHIN?

WELL, A HUGE BONUS WOULD BE TO GET A COLOR RIGHT.

FOR EXAMPLE, HERE, THE QUEEN IS WEARING

MAUVE IN JAPAN, AND THAT'S THE IMPERIAL COLOR OF JAPAN.

SO WHEN HER MAJESTY STEPPED FROM THE AIRCRAFT

WEARING THIS, THE HOST NATION WERE

DELIGHTED THAT SHE WAS PAYING HOMAGE TO THEM.

SO IT'S A COMPLIMENT TO THE HOST NATION

TO INCORPORATE SOME SORT OF A REFERENCE

TO THEIR OWN-- THEIR OWN CULTURE.

ABSOLUTELY. ABSOLUTELY.

THE QUEEN CONSIDERED THIS HER WORKING WARDROBE.

SHE WANTED TO BE SEEN, EVEN ON A RAINY DAY--

NOW WE JUST SEE A TIP OF IT THERE--AN UMBRELLA,

NORMALLY A TRANSPARENT UMBRELLA

THAT THE PUBLIC, HER PUBLIC,

COULD STILL SEE HER IN ALL HER MAGNIFICENCE.

SO THAT'S WHY SHE'S IN THE REALLY BRIGHT JADE

AND THE MAGENTA AND WHAT I WOULD DESCRIBE

AS RATHER A TERRIBLE SHADE OF ORANGE. HA HA HA!

THIS INCREDIBLE TANGERINE.

THIS IS YOUR ROYAL DUTY. YOU WILL WEAR THESE COLORS.

YES. YOU WILL STAND OUT.

HA HA! AND I CAN'T HELP NOTICING

THE ICONIC SHOES AND HANDBAGS,

THE LOW-HEELED, SHINY PUMPS

AND THAT OLD HANDBAG.

SO HE FELT THAT SOMETIMES THAT BLACKNESS

DIDN'T REALLY COMPLIMENT SOME OF THE SHADES

HE PUT THE QUEEN IN, AND HERE WE HAVE A SHOE.

THIS IS A 1976 COURT SHOE FOR HER MAJESTY.

MM-HMM.

VERY IMPORTANTLY, SCRATCHES ON THE BOTTOM.

THEY'VE BEEN SCORED. OH, YES.

LOOK. YOU CAN SEE CRISSCROSSES

TO STOP HER FROM FALLING OVER.

THEY ARE AWFULLY SLIPPY,

THOSE LEATHER SOLES, AREN'T THEY?

THEY ARE AND SLIGHTLY RAISED HERE.

THAT MUST BE TO SUPPORT THE ARCHES.

THAT'S RIGHT.

YOU COULD STAND UP ALL DAY IN THAT SHOE.

YES. ALL ABOUT COMFORT. YES.

SO IF YOU'RE THE QUEEN'S DESIGNER,

I IMAGINE THAT THIS IS A LITTLE BIT CONSTRICTING.

IS IT DIFFICULT?

IS IT A BIT FRUSTRATING, DO YOU THINK?

I THINK SO. SHE HAD A LITTLE BYLINE THAT SAID--

SHE'D SAY TO HARDY, "I DON'T WANT TO LOOK

LIKE THE GIRL ON THE COVER OF "VOGUE,"

AND BY SAYING THAT, SHE WAS SAYING TO HARDY,

"THIS IS TOO FASHIONABLE FOR ME."

WORSLEY: THE QUEEN WOULD NEVER HAVE BECOME THE CLOTHES HORSE

THAT HARDY LONGED TO DRESS, BUT INSTEAD, SHE WON RESPECT

BY STICKING TO HER STYLE.

BY WEARING THE SAME SORT OF THING FOR 70 YEARS,

SHE HAS CREATED A TIMELESS LOOK THAT'S WON PRAISE

FROM SOME OF THE GREATEST FASHION ARBITERS.

MIUCCIA PRADA HAS SAID THAT THE QUEEN IS SIMPLY

"ONE OF THE MOST ELEGANT WOMEN IN THE WORLD."

JUST AS QUEEN VICTORIA COMMANDED,

RECENT ROYALS HAVE CAREFULLY STUCK TO THE RULES

ABOUT NOT FLIRTING TOO MUCH WITH FASHION.

WHEN A MEMBER OF THE ROYAL FAMILY DID MAKE THE BREAK

AND WEAR FOREIGN FASHION, IT WAS ONLY AFTER THE ENDING

OF HER ROYAL CAREER, WHEN THE WORLD WITNESSED

THE MOST GLAMOROUS AND SUCCESSFUL

CLOTHING SALE IN HISTORY-- THE CHRISTIE'S NEW YORK

CHARITY AUCTION OF THE ROYAL WARDROBE

OF DIANA, PRINCESS OF WALES.

MEREDITH, WHAT WERE THE CIRCUMSTANCES

OF THE AUCTION OF ALL OF THE DRESSES IN 1997?

WELL, RATHER SURPRISING ONES.

WELL, I WAS CERTAINLY VERY SURPRISED,

BECAUSE ONE SUNDAY MORNING IN SEPTEMBER, I WAS SUMMONED

TO THE MAN WHO WAS RUNNING CHRISTIE'S AT THE TIME,

WHO SAID, "I WANT YOU TO GO DOWN TO KENSINGTON PALACE.

PRINCESS DIANA HAS DECIDED TO SELL HER WARDROBE,"

AND I SAID, "YOU MUST BE JOKING."

HE SAID, "I'M NOT. I THINK IT'S FOR CHARITY.

"YOU KNOW, SHE'S VERY EXCITED. YOU BETTER GO AND MEET HER."

SO I RANG UP, AND A VOICE ANSWERED,

AND IT WAS PAUL BURRELL, THE BUTLER,

I THOUGHT SOUNDING RATHER KIND OF POMPOUS.

UM, SO OFF I WENT, AND SHE EXPLAINED HER IDEA

OF LESSENING THE LOAD ON HER WARDROBE

BY SELLING A LOT OF DRESSES FOR CHARITY,

WHICH WAS KIND OF A BIT OF A SHOWSTOPPER,

QUITE FRANKLY, OVER A CUP OF COFFEE AND A BICKIE.

WHAT DO YOU THINK HER MOTIVATION

WAS FOR DOING THIS?

I THINK TWO THINGS.

FIRST OF ALL, SHE'D SERIOUSLY RUN OUT OF SPACE

IN HER WARDROBE IN HER DRESSING ROOM,

BUT THAT'S A SORT OF JOKEY ANSWER.

THE SERIOUS ANSWER WAS, YOU KNOW,

IT WAS THE END OF ONE KIND OF LIFE.

SHE WASN'T GOING TO DO STATE VISITS ANYMORE.

SHE WASN'T GOING TO SORT OF OPEN THINGS, CUT RIBBONS,

AND ALL OF THOSE SORT OF THINGS COULD GO,

AND THE THIRD REASON, I SUSPECT, WAS THAT

SHE ACTUALLY QUITE WANTED TO CLAMBER

INTO CHANEL AND VERSACE.

SHE LIKED FRENCH AND ITALIAN CLOTHES,

AND SHE'D ONLY EVER BEEN ABLE TO WEAR,

QUITE RIGHTLY SO, ENGLISH CLOTHES BEFORE THAT.

HOW DID YOU GO ABOUT SELECTING

THESE PARTICULAR 80 LOTS?

WELL, IT WAS A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT BETWEEN ME,

THE PRINCESS, SOMETIMES PRINCE WILLIAM,

WHO WAS OFTEN DOWN FROM EATON

FOR DENTISTS OR WHATEVER.

UM, THE BUTLER PLAYED A PART.

WE USED TO HAVE THEM ON RACKS IN THE DRAWING ROOM

AND GO THROUGH THEM AND ELIMINATE, UM, SOME OF THEM.

PRINCE WILLIAM WOULD SAY, "REALLY, YOU CAN'T SELL THAT.

IT'S JUST, YOU'VE WORN IT A BIT TOO MUCH,"

AND THEN THE ONES THAT WE SORT OF SELECTED HAD TAGS.

PRINCE WILLIAM WAS TOLD HOW TO TAG THINGS BY THE BUTLER.

SO HE BUSILY TAGGED THINGS, UM, AND WE FINALLY ARRIVED

AT THE SORT OF, WE THOUGHT, PRETTY MUCH THE BALANCE.

SO WE HAD SOME VERY GRAND DRESSES

AND SOME NOT-SO-GRAND DRESSES.

SOME THINGS, YOU MIGHT SAY, WERE NOT FOR EVERYBODY,

BUT FOR PEOPLE WHO WANTED TO BE

PRINCESSES FOR A DAY, I GUESS.

YEAH, AND THE CLIMAX--

THE CLIMAX OF THE WHOLE THING WAS--

THE FIRST NIGHT, THE SALE, AND THE CLIMAX

WAS THE LOT BEFORE THE END-- LOT 79, THE-- WHAT I CALL,

THE JOHN TRAVOLTA DRESS THAT SHE DANCED

WITH JOHN TRAVOLTA IN THE WHITE HOUSE.

I THINK I'VE ACTUALLY MARKED--

"X" MARKS THE SPOT, AND IT'S VERY FAMOUS.

IT WAS DARK BLUE VELVET, MADE BY VICTOR EDELSTEIN,

AND SHE LOOKED RAVISHING IN IT.

AND AM I RIGHT IN SAYING THAT AT THE TIME

THAT IT WAS SOLD, IT WAS THE MOST EXPENSIVE

ITEM OF CLOTHING EVER?

YES. IT WAS.

I'LL HAVE TO REFRESH MY MEMORY, AND IT SAYS HERE,

WE SOLD IT FOR 222,500,

WHICH IS A LOT OF MONEY.

YOU WOULDN'T WANT TO SPILL YOUR BAKED BEANS

DOWN THAT ONE, WOULD YOU?

NO. SHE WAS ALWAYS WORRIED.

SHE SAID, "YOU KNOW, IT'S AWFUL GOING TO BANQUETS.

"YOU'RE ALWAYS WORRIED ABOUT THE CHICKEN

"BECAUSE IT'S ALWAYS IN A SAUCE.

"YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T TUCK A NAPKIN IN, CAN YOU,

IF YOU'RE SITTING AT A KIND OF STATE BANQUET."

I DID-- I DID SYMPATHIZE, I MUST SAY.

THIS IS JUST ONE OF THE 80 DRESSES FROM THE SALE,

WHICH MADE A TOTAL OF £3.25 MILLION.

IT'S A GREEN VELVET HALTER-NECK EVENING DRESS

WITH DIAMOND BUTTONS, AND THIS AND THE REST

MADE SO MUCH MONEY NOT BECAUSE THEY'RE LOVELY DRESSES,

WHICH THEY ARE, BUT BECAUSE THEY WERE ROYAL,

BECAUSE DIANA, PRINCESS OF WALES,

WORE THEM HERSELF.

HER DRESSES WERE HER PERSONAL STATEMENTS.

THIS IS HOW SHE SPOKE TO US.

SHE EVEN TOLD ONE OF HER DESIGNERS

WHAT WENT THROUGH HER MIND WHEN SHE WAS PICKING AN OUTFIT.

SHE WOULD THINK, "WHAT AM I COMMUNICATING IF I WEAR THIS?"

THESE WORDS OF PRINCESS DIANA'S SUM UP THE REASON WHY

THE ROYAL WARDROBE THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAS BEEN SO IMPORTANT.

FOR EACH AND EVERY KING AND QUEEN OR PRINCE AND PRINCESS,

THERE'S BEEN NO SUCH THING AS AN ORDINARY DRESS

OR A BORING, OLD PAIR OF TROUSERS.

IN THE EYES OF THEIR PEOPLE, EVERY SINGLE OUTFIT

HAS ALWAYS BEEN SEEN AS A STATEMENT.

CLOTHING HAS CREATED THEIR IMAGE

AND HELPED DETERMINE WHETHER THEY'VE BEEN LOVED OR LOATHED.

FOR THE ROYAL FAMILY, ONE WAS, ONE IS,

AND ONE PROBABLY ALWAYS WILL BE WHAT ONE WEARS.