Behind the scenes: The Lost Dress of Elizabeth I

Journey behind the scenes with the Rainbow portrait of Elizabeth I and the Bacton Altar Cloth as they are transported through Hampton Court Palace ready for our new exhibition, The Lost Dress of Elizabeth I.
The exhibition explores the incredible discovery of the Bacton Altar Cloth, a hidden Tudor treasure which curators believe once formed part of a dress belonging to Elizabeth I herself.
See The Lost Dress of Elizabeth I at Hampton Court Palace from 12 October 2019 - 23 February 2020: bit.ly/TheLostDress

[@lebkha]

The british royal vaults are filled with extraordinary priceless art objects; it is so important that they share/ display them with the public otherwise these objects would be lonely laying around palaces.

[@criticalhard]

Lonely places sound like heaven next to nasty greedy private collections

[@mackenziekramer4251]

I read an article about finding this dress and the royals did not have that fabric in their possession. It was very common for Elizabeth to gift her old clothes to her ladies in waiting or other higher ranking court members, because clothes were so expensive there was no wasting or discarding to storage. The article said there is almost no known clothing of Elizabeth I still identified. This fabric was gifted to a lady in waiting, whose family donated it to their local church as alter fabric and that is why it has survived in that condition. It was very rarely displayed and mostly stored away. The fact they were able to match this fabric to that portrait is pretty incredible.

[@dukeofhaas]

MackenzieKramer: Just a note: We visited this exhibit on Saturday and HCP warden explained to us that the altar fabric on display is not identical to that seen in the famous Rainbow Portrait of QEI. The fabric is, however, of very similar design, made of gold and silver thread and so incredibly rare for the time that it was concluded that only one person in England could possess such a textile...Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth.

[@TorchwoodPandP]

How lovely that a large piece of cloth hung in a church for centuries gets reunited with the portrait it was painted into four and a half centuries down the line. And Liz is looking good too!

[@Knoyle1632]

My favourite portrait of Elizabeth I !! Here, the great queen looks like a fairy tale goddess !!

[@grzegorz8966]

Gloriana ❤

[@ariesmichaelsayan4013]

Probably the most powerful/influential monarch in English history!!

[@scook5599]

Amazing to see cloth from Elizabeth I dress! In the painting it is as if she is watching you, following you with her eyes. The painting is that good.

[@jbradshaw4236]

Magnificent. The whole team should be proud of this.

[@joansmith3296]

This is so cool! This was found in an old church. It had been there forever, used as an altar cloth, and nobody knew how it got there originally or where it was from. Queen Liz really loved her clothes!

[@ItsJustLisa]

It’s so extraordinary seeing the portrait on the wall next to the altar cloth. Just beautiful.

[@dukeofhaas]

We visited HCP this past Saturday (30 Nov 2019) having no idea that these 2 national treasures were on exhibit in a small, ground floor palace room. What a delight! What luck!

[@b.walker5955]

I so envy those who got to see it. Truly incredible experience just watching the behind the scenes. Well done crew, well done.

[@jfree1998]

So amazing that the dress in the painting is the one that survived. Just astonishing.

[@yooringonghan]

no one said it was the same cloth, only that it looked similar huge difference

[@catherinerobilliard7662]

@@yooringonghan it's the same dress, only after her death it was turned into an altar cloth. The gold thread is real gold.

[@downtonviewer]

@@catherinerobilliard7662 "possibly, thought to be, may be, similar to".... It has _never_ been definitively determined to be of any relation to Elizabeth 1. The embroidery shown in the portrait is NOT on the Altar Cloth either, so....

[@catherinerobilliard7662]

@@downtonviewer an expert from the V&A did a talk on it just over a year ago, and was convinced the dress had been “up cycled”. That’s about all I remember.

[@Vampyresdontdodishes]

They did an extraordinary job restoring the cloth! I would love to be able to travel to see it.

[@Rye_Toast]

Right? If there was ever a time to book an impulsive trip to England this is when I would do it.

[@alexaez3567]

Hope one day you would be able to so

[@brianrodney712]

@@Rye_Toast You are right, travel now before travel is banned - except, of course , for those of us who can afford private jets and gas-guzzling automobiles.

[@artisallthat]

I love how they take the portrait through doors in the upright position to make it tighter, rather than horizontal position which would be easier. Out of all of her dresses, this remains because it was in a church on display. Amazing where you can find things.

[@DenaInWyo]

I was so incredibly honored and lucky to get to see this in January. It was one of the top highlights of my trip to England. It captured my imagination on such a personal level..seeing it in person made me feel like I was almost close enough to touch someone I've been fascinated by for years. Thank you so much for this display, and for this video showing it being set up..just came across it today and it was so neat to see it being put together!!

[@gretchenzwicker338]

I know that feeling. I had it when I went to a Van Gogh exhibit. I cried❤

[@DenaInWyo]

@@gretchenzwicker338 I stealthily wiped away a few myself.

[@elizabethpoulianakis8404]

Wow - isn’t the cloth so gorgeous and the embroidery is lovely!

[@lisastallingskeelor3328]

I actually like the new frame. It is a shame though that all of Elizabeth the 1st’s garments were lost or destroyed. It would be wonderful if they suddenly appeared one day. She had some exquisite clothing.

[@briananavarrolopez9286]

This is so awesome! I remember when they had a King Tut exhibition in Los Angeles with all the things he owned and the things that were in his burial site! It was so amazing because those things were actually use and touched by him thousands of years ago and I was actually seeing it before they put it back to Egypt where it would most likely stay there forever. I say if you really want to see the Lost Dress, go! They might never put it back for the public to see!

[@poutygorilla2698]

All things Tudor ♥️

[@Dstew57A]

Thrilling. Absolutely Thrilling!

[@jeffreypease]

Exciting and invigorating story about my favorite Tudor! Anybody know the music?

[@starrmcurry2718]

Wow! The picture and dress fabric on display...wish I had the money to fly and see it in person...Elizabeth I was an amazing person in history even after all these centuries past.

[@kyrahbrownsimpson9891]

I never realise How big the paintings were

[@janh5199]

Beautiful. I just watched a video with the background of finding the cloth. I wish I could have seen the exhibit. Elegantly and tastefully done.

[@pheebsbee1280]

This looks more like an ad for a removal company than a well edited mini doc on the dress.

[@timothykemei5839]

The first frame was way better and more elegant

[@cwayzums]

Timothy Kemei I wonder if that gold frame was the original. Why did they transfer it? I love the first one was well!

[@jessicadaffon2616]

Maybe because the first one has no glass to protect the portrait, so they transferred it to a different frame?

[@nd2329]

The first one is a late 18th Century carved and gilded frame. The second one is an 16th Century (Renaissance-) frame. The first one might look better, but it is completely untypical for the said period.

[@ToanNguyenTenore]

The frame was used for display purpose, as u can see the frame has glass on it. It’s in order to protect the painting in case if the painting falls or someone accidentally did something the painting won’t take damage. It is a sturdy frame

[@iosephvscarrizozae7887]

The first one is the so called Louis XVI style, it may have been added to embellished the painting from being in a more rustic renaissance frame.

[@historylvr8000]

To me, this was my Christmas...Thank You!

[@ericowensnyc]

This has made me smile this weekend!!!! :)

[@brendadrumm9708]

Is it from Primark put it in the wheelie bin x

[@snow.flower]

incredible!!!

[@carlinkay1151]

I can see why people suggest the painting has been cut off at the bottom...the artist would have painted the whole of the dress, not cut it off at the knees. What symbolism was removed, we shall never know!

[@kimmycupreacts]

Wow. This made me emotional.

[@elizabethmcleod246]

Me to.

[@cynthiabroyles4890]

The honor to work on and around our tangible history is semething few of us will know, thank you for sharing. USA born with my father's English heart.

[@baleevet]

An honor indeed

[@dannyp2058]

A superb history and work which I admire beyond words, God forbid one of them painting were to take a drop and get seriously damaged what would happen? A restoration possibly or probably!?

[@missagatha774]

Une pure merveille ❤️

[@stephengreen215]

Excellent video

[@aaronobryan9715]

Amazing..

[@myblacksmile]

I was expecting more guards and security while they transported it.

[@manmaje3596]

The provenance of the painting would be unquestionable even if it were stolen and appeared on a international market.

[@scarlet4109]

I wish I could see it!!!

[@demariejones3438]

Why did they remove the original frame? It was really beautiful

[@yooringonghan]

protective glass because exhibition

[@joannegallagher2792]

Amazing I've always wondered what royal regailier queen Elizabeth I was dressed in when she was interred at Westminster Abbey are there any records of this?

[@Midlife_Manical_Mayhem]

why was her portrait removed from the ornate gold frame and placed in the more subdued black frame? was it because of the glass to protect it?

[@patriciabilinkas3911]

TheLaydewlf I believe it was because the frame had to be able to fit into the holder on the wall, for a secure fit.

[@kbraz1970]

The frame they replaced it with was ugly, also the last shot of the painting wasnt well lit at all.

[@patriciabilinkas3911]

Kim Brazell I think this is only for an exhibition, so the painting will probably go back into the gilt frame and be returned to its owner after the exhibition ends.

[@lebkha]

Because they needed to add protective glass, it is a common procedure when you put on display a painting up close and personal to visitors (prevent touching, camera flashes from destroying the pigments)

[@russbear31]

Yes, it was probably protective glass. The Mona Lisa at the Louvre is encased in glass. That's a good thing. I remember an item in the newspaper about 4 or 5 years ago: Some crazy German woman walked into the Louvre and threw a cup of coffee at the Mona Lisa. No harm done. The protective glass did its job.

[@annlim9036]

England has a very rich history 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@baleevet]

Absolutely! American here who loves England's history of monarchy

[@juliebrill7948]

Wow

[@Patrick3183]

God blessed England with good queen Bess

[@UdahamulleNdarathanaHimi]

❤️

[@lianecajipe5138]

Isn’t that the cloth that they found at a chapel?

[@ishbersue1352]

Yes

[@tahuaroa]

I think the photo looked better in the massive gold frame

[@nancyM1313]

💖

[@mermaidmersea7113]

Where can I see that?

[@MsDaisy173]

There is a 2:10 clip on you tube....Is it the only surviving clothing worn by Elizabeth I? this cloth was found inEngland.

[@angelafoxmusic7265]

I wonder why they took off the original frame?

[@wickandde]

I need Lucy Worsley narrating this for me

[@ghatonn78]

The cult of the immortal queen.

[@Jopadi]

This song is so dreamy. I tried to Shazam it, but it's probably just some Royalty-Free (no pun intended) song. Any information on what the song is called?

[@howtubeable]

Royalty-Free! Hilarious!

[@lucy4880]

Those eyes on her royal shawl though!

[@downtonviewer]

and _ears_ !

[@howtubeable]

Nice video, but it really needs a voice-over.

[@james8343]

So is that suppose to be the Dress she is wearing in the portrait?? b/c I'm not seeing it!!

[@thymeandtenderness]

james yes. In a previous video they explained that often royals would donate dresses and the dresses would be deconstructed for other uses. In the case of this dress. Is was deconstructed and turned into an alter cloth for a small church in the country side where it stayed for a few hundred years untouched and unrealized in a dark room. That’s why it Looks more like a table cloth than a dress.

[@historylvr8000]

That's because you're concentrating solely on the orange mantle she's wearing over the dress. Pay attention to the bodice and you will see it! Hope that clears it up a bit...

[@asia8397]

No music please!

[@Misty_Lake]

Umm..how come the dress is lost if it's right there?

[@howtubeable]

This might be the altar cloth that was recently identified as a remnant of one of Elizabeth's dresses. Apparently, someone re-purposed the dress to make a fancy altar cloth for the local church. After a few generations, the locals had a good story but no proof. Along came an expert on historical cloth and verified that it is indeed from one of the Queen's dresses. So, it wasn't lost to the locals, just to the experts.

[@elliemathews6884]

Click Nate. They don't have one of her dresses.

[@twinflameparalleluniverse]

😢 Omg

[@baleevet]

I'm speechless

[@twinflameparalleluniverse]

@@baleevet that's me. 😨

[@alistandco]

The music is 'over the top' and distracts.

[@patriciabilinkas3911]

Elizabeth I was extremely vain and seldom posed for portraits. Instead, she would approve sketches of herself for artists to work from, and they always flattered her, or they didn’t get the commission. In a way, we will never really know what she really looked like.

[@baleevet]

If we can just find throwaway portraits that she didn't like

[@Cate7451]

A lot of the descendants looked alike. From a compilation we would be pretty close. Age her very youngest portrait that should give us a clue. Everyone is vain. Today one would have plastic surgery. Richard the thirds skull was reworked and it turned out that the portrait was actually realistic.

[@patriciabilinkas3911]

Cate7451 I think it’s incorrect to say that everyone is vain. Some people are actually proud of their age, every wrinkle, every line. However, Elizabeth, as you probably well know, was obsessed with her appearance and insisted her courtiers tell how how beautiful she was. Too bad her casket has never been opened, to our knowledge, to find out from her skull how she really looked. I would find that fascinating.

[@Cate7451]

Patricia Bilinkas I think that her casket should be left alone. I really believe that she wouldn't be found to be so different from her portraits. Since she was badly disfigured from smallpox that could be the reason for her insecurities, beauty is political. Portraiture is an art form that is supposed to flatters. Everyone is vain even when they admire their wrinkles, although by that I mean most people. She was a queen and not expected to look like some old pox faced crone. As a queen perhaps she was judged more harshly for caring about her looks. That's all I meant. It was said that she was not as pretty as her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots but why we're such comparisons made in the first place? She lived in a world where a woman's worth was based on looks. So why should she be judged so harshly for caring.

[@patriciabilinkas3911]

Cate7451 It is the case for not really knowing what she looked like. I adore studying about Elizabeth I, so my interest in her is driven by what she really looked like, but I understand that will probably never be possible. It is a shame that as a female, she was wrapped up in her appearance and the compliments afforded her. Because of the smallpox, she lost her hair (had hundreds of wigs) and was badly scarred. However, much could be ascertained about her true appearance if access to her bones, if they are not already dust, was given. In Richard III’s case, his skull was available, so comparisons can be made with his portraits. His hair and eyes are depicted as brown in paintings, but in actuality, his hair was blonde and eyes blue, as determined through ancestral DNA. It’s almost as if the artists who painted him never saw him. Facially, his reconstruction appears somewhat similar to his portraits.

[@danseabreeze1404]

Such a GORGEOUS blue beaded gold frame in the beginning, why didn't they use that instead of the much more plain black frame?

[@mountopia77]

No dress here.

[@h.huffen-puff4105]

I get nervous watching people walk down staircases with valuable items. Does artificial light bleach colours?🤔

[@sabrinahenson4684]

God is that cool or what?

[@roshanminai]

If they would have kept the same frame with the painting! 💁🏻‍♂️

[@garywait3231]

Narrative???!!!

[@mariannakuznetcova1059]

it's amazing! but... why didn't anyone say that the size of this dress-shirt is incredible, it's huge, it's clearly visible at 3 and 4 minutes, because the size of this clothes is only suitable for a giant, the girls are sitting at the table on which these clothes are laid out and restorers seem small compared to this shirt-dress... Was Elizabeth 1 a giant? an ordinary person will "drown" in these clothes, the arm span of a modern person is much less, I think twice, than the sleeves of this shirt! We are well aware that these clothes were made for a huge queen, which means that a human-woman is not at all of our civilization!

[@mariannakuznetcova1059]

it's stunningly beautiful! but ... pay attention to the transparent tube, in the picture with Queen Elizabeth, this tube comes out of the lower third of the dress. firstly, then there was no plastic and chemistry, it was impossible to make a transparent tube, secondly, what kind of detail is this, why is it, why is it sewn into the dress at the level of the bladder? if it is believed that Elizabeth was a man, then it looks like a device for removing (sorry) urine, since the dress was big, bulky, going to the toilet was problematic and this tube helped the king-queen to go, sorry, to the toilet, what do you say?