Queen Victoria’s Petticoat

Dating from the late 1830’s this hand stitched cotton lawn petticoat was acquired and underwent conservation.

In 2017, the curators of Historic Royal Palaces with support from Art Fund acquired at auction some rare personal objects belonging to Queen Victoria . One of the pieces, a simple cotton petticoat, which dated to around the time of her marriage, gives us a detailed view of the attention to detail paid to even the most basic of women’s fashion pieces as undergarments.

Stitched by hand in tiny, perfectly regular stitches, the waist measures 27 inches (69 cm) and corresponds almost exactly to the measurements of her wedding dress.

Claudia Acott Williams, Assistant Curator of the collection says in her blog, “Petticoats played an important dual role in the nineteenth-century woman’s wardrobe. They protected the outer garments and provided warmth and modesty as well as giving shape to the dress. In the 1830s, multiple petticoats were worn to create the fashionably full bell-shaped skirt. This was also aided by the masterfully hand-stitched pleating we can see at the waist of this petticoat. The wide neck, delicately trimmed with valenciennes lace, and natural positioning of the waistline tell us that it dates from the mid to late 1830s.”

Although most of the Queen’s possessions were preserved by the Royal Collection Trust, occasionally, the Queen would give some of her items that were more costly to friends, family and valued servants.

Sure enough, this petticoat was passed down the generations of the Bagster family who were close associates of Queen Victoria. Carefully attached was a label in a nineteenth-century hand, indicating that it had once belonged to the Queen and suggesting that rather than it being reused, it became a treasured gift.

If you want to learn more about the process of preparing Queen Victoria's petticoat for display at Kensington Palace, click on the video link below.