The coronation gown with tudor rose, thistle, leek, shamrock, protea, maple leaf, wattle flower, fern & the Lotus flower of India-all deeply embroidered on the gown-symbols of Elizabeth's empire.
"The first coronation dress design was for a very simply styled gown similar to that worn by Queen Victoria at her Coronation. The only decoration on the white satin was a Greek key design which formed an embroidered border on the hem and bodice. The second design was a modern slim-fitting sheath gown, embroidered in gold and trimmed with black and white ermine tails at the hemline. The Queen rejected this as too form fitting. The third was a crinoline style coronation dress of white satin, silver tissue and crusty silver lace, the whole shimmering with crystals and diamante. The fourth was white satin embroidered with Madonna and arum lilies and encrusted with pendant pearls. The fifth introduced colour and although the Queen was dubious about the design of violets, roses and wheat, she liked the departure from the traditional all white gown with just the addition of gold or silver. The Queen very much approved of the sixth design which was the first of the emblematic Ideas. Spreading branches of oak leaves with acorns, were embroidered in gold, silver and copper bullion thread on a white satin background. The seventh introduced the Tudor Rose of England, appliquéd in gold tissue and softly padded amidst looped fringes of golden crystals against white satin.
Finally, the eighth design was a variation of the seventh, but incorporating all the floral emblems of Great Britain. It pleased the Queen, but the fact that it was embroidered in silver and crystal caused her to remark that it closely resembled her wedding dress. Queen Victoria wore all white at her Coronation, but she was only eighteen and unmarried, whereas the Queen would be a twenty seven year old mother of two at her Coronation. The Queen thought the latter design would be ideal if Hartnell could introduce some colour. In a short time the necessary tints were applied and the coronation dress design was approved.
Then Prince Philip made the observation that his wife was Queen of the Commonwealth as well as Great Britain, so Hartnell was asked to draw up a ninth design which included the Dominion emblems. Hartnell juggled with the eleven emblems until he arrived at a satisfactory arrangement within the design. Hartnell also checked them with the Garter King of Anno and was horrified to discover that the emblem for Wales was not a daffodil, but a dull vegetable, the leek. The Garter flatly refused to allow the use of the daffodil. Hartnell finally 'borrowed' the leek on the cap of the Welsh Guards and his embroideresses interpreted it into an attractive motif using fine silks and diamante. The leek became a source of inspiration and most of the other emblems were interpreted in the same way. With the completed emblem samples, Hartnell travelled to Sandringham where he showed the Queen his ninth design.
For England there was a Tudor Rose, embroidered in palest pink silk, pearls, gold and silver bullion and rose diamante.
The Wales the Welsh Leek, embroidered in white silk with leaves of palest green silk, was enhanced with diamante.
For Scotland the Thistle was worked in pale mauve silk and amethysts. The calyx was embroidered in reseda green silk, silver thread and diamante dewdrops.
The Irish emblem, the Shamrock, was embroidered in soft green silk, silver thread, bullion and diamante.
For Canada, the Maple Leaf was worked in green silk embroideries, veined in crystal and bordered with gold bullion.
The Australian Wattle flower, was, after countless attempts, successfully achieved with fuzzy mimosa yellow wool and green and gold foliage.
The Fern of New Zealand was embroidered in straight stitches using soft green silk and veined in silver and crystal.
The South African Protea was embroidered in shaded pink silk, each petal bordered with silver thread. The leaves of shaded green silk were embellished with rose diamante.
The Lotus flower of India was worked in seed pearls and diamante, and mother of pearl embroidered petals, whilst the Lotus flower of Ceylon was of opals, mother of pearl, diamante and soft green silk.
Pakistan's three emblems are Wheat, Cotton and Jute. The Wheat was in oat-shaped diamante and fronds of golden crystal. The Jute was embroidered as a spray of leaves in green silk and golden thread. Finally, the Cotton blossom was worked in silver with leaves of green silk.
The Queen liked the interpretation of each emblem and asked only that the green of the Shamrock be subdued.
Once Hartnell had the Queen's approval, work commenced on the white satin which had been obtained from Lady Hart Dyke's silk farm at Lullington Castle. Six embroideresses worked in utmost secrecy and all involved on the project were closely surveilled until Coronation day.
By Christmas the Coronation dress, constructed by three girls, was ready for its first fitting. Madame Isabelle, who was in charge of the construction of the dress, had experienced some difficulties in getting the weighty bejewelled skirt to fall correctly. On its wooden model the skirt of the dress swung to one side. She solved the problem by backing the silk fabric with cream taffeta throughout and reinforced it with three layers of horsehair. The additional support not only solved the problem, but also gave the skirt a certain stability which dispersed the weight of -the beading over the whole of the bell-shape, making it as light as air to wear.
[dress information courtesy of fashion-era.com]
