DUBAI: As the world looks back on the storied life of Queen Elizabeth II, fashion lovers could be pleasantly surprised to find the longest-serving British monarch championed Arab creativity on one of the most memorable days of her life.
On Nov. 20, 1947, the then-21-year-old princess married naval officer Prince Philip of Greece in a gown created by court designer Norman Hartnell.
The regal dress was made of ivory silk from China — not Japan or Italy given the recent end of World War II — and featured 10,000 seed pearls imported from the US — as well as show-stealing Damask brocade from Damascus, Syria.
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The brocade fabric was brought from the Al-Muznar factory in the Bab Sharqi neighborhood of Damascus’s Old City and featured embroidery of “two love birds” exchanging kisses in a pattern known locally as “the lover and the beloved.” Woven with 12-karat gold thread, 200 meters of the brocade fabric was reportedly sent to the queen by Syrian President Shukri al-Quwatli.
The luxurious fabric is one of many gifts sent from the Arab world throughout the royal’s life.
Princess Elizabeth’s wedding dress, designed by Norman Hartnell, and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Royal Naval uniform are displayed at an exhibition at Buckingham Palace on July 27, 2007 in London. (Getty Images)
The dress was meant to symbolize “rebirth and growth” in Britain after the war, according to the Royal Collection Trust.
It took 350 women seven weeks to make, and featured elaborate floral motifs of jasmine, smilax, lilac and white rose-like blossoms added to the train. The design was inspired by Italian artist Botticelli’s 1482 painting of Primavera.