I’m heading off today on my trip to London to attend the press preview for the major new Royal Collection Trust exhibition on the life and style of the late Queen. Because I’ll be traveling for some time, I’ve scheduled an interesting series of articles for all of you, appropriately on some fascinating jewelry and fashion moments in the life of Elizabeth II. Let’s begin today near the beginning: during Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s official visit to Paris in 1948.
On May 14, 1948, Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip arrived at the Élysée Palace in Paris for a banquet hosted by President Vincent Auriol. The dinner took place on the first evening of the royal visit, which was Elizabeth’s first trip to Paris. (Philip, of course, had spent a good deal of his childhood in the city.)
The couple had arrived in France earlier that morning and participated in a round of iconic moments, including a wreath-laying ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe and the presentation of decorations (the Legion d’Honneur for Elizabeth and the Croix de Guerre with palm for Philip, in recognition to his notable naval service in World War II).
The visit was a success overall, but it was not without its challenges. Extra security was provided following worries about threats to the princess. In the middle of the visit, the party learned of the death of Kathleen, Marchioness of Hartington (née Kick Kennedy) in a plane crash in the south of France, and sympathy messages had to be dispatched to the family. The weather added an extra level of difficulty as well, as the visit took place during one of the hottest May weekends that anyone could remember.
All of these things would have exhausted anyone, but Elizabeth felt them more keenly. She was three months pregnant with her first child, the future King Charles III, during the visit. The pregnancy had been the source of speculation for months, but it wasn’t acknowledged by the palace until June, so the princess had to soldier on as if nothing was happening during her time in Paris.
For the glittering banquet hosted in their honor by President Auriol, Philip wore white tie with his Garter insignia and medals, and Elizabeth was in full gala attire: gown, jewels and the red sash and diamond star of the Legion d’Honneur. Her dress was more colorful than the black-and-white photographs from the evening suggest.
The white satin gown was decorated with turquoise beading, and the skirt featured a panel of turquoise-blue fabric as an underskirt, revealed by a split in the center of the dress. It was one of the garments that her couturier, Norman Hartnell, and his team hastily reworked to accommodate her changing figure in the early months of pregnancy.
Elizabeth’s jewels for the evening were a mix of pieces that she had added to her collection during various milestone celebrations in recent years. Two of these, the Girls of Great Britain & Ireland Tiara and the Edinburgh Wedding Bracelet, had been gifts presented to celebrate her wedding seven months earlier.
The tiara was a present from her grandmother, Queen Mary, who had received during her own wedding festivities in 1893, while the bracelet was a gift from Philip, who had it made using Russian imperial diamonds from one of his mother’s tiaras. Elizabeth wore the Edinburgh bracelet on her right wrist and a watch (her custom Jaeger-LeCoultre 101, I think) on her left.
Elizabeth also wore two gifts—a necklace and a pair of earrings—that she had received to during the celebrations of her 21st birthday in April 1947. The diamond necklace was a gift from the government of the Union of South Africa, featuring 21 graduated brilliant diamonds, the largest of which weighed 10 carats. The clip earrings, which echoed the floral embellishments on her dress, were diamond blossoms. They had been a gift from the members of the Diplomatic Corps. Elizabeth wore them often until she pierced her ears in the autumn of 1951.
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