Stuart Ball at Buckingham Palace, 1851

Embed from Getty Images

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert hosted the Stuart Ball at Buckingham Palace on this day in 1851. The third costume ball at the Palace evoked the reign of Charles II, and the dancers of the specially-choreographed English, Scottish, French and Spanish quadrilles approached and made obeisance to the Royal Couple in the Throne Room which, until the opening of the Ballroom in 1856, was the rather cramped venue for such occasions. In her journal, Queen Victoria wrote:

our dresses … were really beautiful & so correct. Dearest Albert looked so handsome in his, & his admirable wig made him look so young. Our dresses were most exactly carried out from Eugène Lami’s designs.’

Embed from Getty ImagesEmbed from Getty Images

Queen Victoria’s Eugène Lami Gown was among the items displayed at Queen Victoria’s Palace exhibition for the Summer Opening of Buckingham Palace in 2019, to mark the bicentenary of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s Birth.

13

One thought on “Stuart Ball at Buckingham Palace, 1851

  1. They looked so handsome in those costumes! And look at what a small wait Queen Victoria had in her youth! I think one of the last, if not the last, costume ball the royals attended was the Devonshire House Ball in 1897.

Leave a Reply