Queen Elizabeth’s Favorite Fashion Designer Norman Hartnell Was Behind Her Most Iconic Dresses

Sep 29, 2022

Behind every successful style icon, is a great designer weaving everything together for the camera to capture. Queen Elizabeth II is one of many things, including a fashion icon in her own right. Thanks to her deeply-rooted relationship with Sir Norman Hartnell, the queen had always been dressed beautifully, evoking a sense of style only she could bring into the room. 

But Queen Elizabeth was not the only member of royalty that Hartnell dressed throughout the years, as his main client was the primary matriarch, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. Thanks to the wedding of Lady Alice Christabel Montagu Douglas Scott to then Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, he was introduced to the biggest clients of his entire fashion career. 

Born on June 12, 1901, Hartnell was one of the leading British fashion designers in the early 20th century. He was raised by publican parents who owned the Crown & Scepter in Streatham Hill in London. He had his early education at Mill Hill School, followed by an undergraduate degree at Magdalene College in Cambridge, where he read Modern Languages. 

Hartnell had a rather theatrical background as he started dressing and performing at Cambridge University, sparking his passion for fashion. At the age of 22 years old, he had already kickstarted his own business, with the financial support of his father and sister, who became his business colleague. 

At the early start of his business, Hartnell began catering to stage actresses and early British celebrities and personalities. His name flourished and was recognized internationally, and by the mid-1930s, Hartnell’s career was taken to greater heights. 

According to Tatler, Hartnell was responsible for the gowns and dresses that Princess Alice and her bridesmaids wore, some of whom turned out to be the late Queen Elizabeth II, then still a princess, and her sister, Princess Margaret. 

Impressed with the quality of the dresses and gowns, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother took notice of Hartnell’s craftsmanship, and so she ordered him to design her Maid of Honor gowns for the coronation of King George VI that year. The Queen Mother remained loyal to Hartnell’s works, which became a staple in the British Royal Family. 

In 1947, Hartnell began working for the future Queen Elizabeth. He was specifically handpicked by then-Princess Elizabeth to dress her for what seemed to be one of the most important days of her life — her wedding to Prince Phillip. Hartnell designed the future queen’s wedding day dress and her entire trousseau. 

The now iconic gown of Queen Elizabeth was bedazzled with 10,000 seed pearls and thousands of white beads. Hartnell successfully incorporated the symbolism and pageantry of British ceremonial customs and heavily featured embroidery in his dresses — which became his signature style that the queen and public came to love. 

Six years later, Hartnell’s services were again called by then-Princess Elizabeth who became queen following the death of her father, King George VI. Hartnell designed the queen’s coronation gown, which was rather similar to the wedding dress neckline he previously crafted for her, but this time he incorporated embroidery of the United Kingdom and its Commonwealth countries. 

Hartnell reflected on his years of experience as a dressmaker for the royal family in his memoir, "Silver and Gold." In an extract from the memoir, Hartnell described the process of creating one of Queen Elizabeth's most iconic looks. 

"My mind was teeming with heraldic and floral ideas. I thought of lilies, roses, marguerites, and golden corn; I thought of altar cloths and sacred vestments; I thought of the sky, the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, and everything heavenly that might be embroidered upon a dress destined to be historic," Hartnell wrote.

Ultimately, the designer submitted eight sketches to the queen. Elizabeth favored the last sketch with minor alterations.

It was decided that the queen's coronation dress would be made of white satins, like her wedding dress, and embroidered with all the territories she would reign over. According to People Magazine, the intricate design "took nine weeks, six embroiderers, and 3,000 hours to complete."

To date, Sir Hartnell’s name has always been intertwined with Queen Elizabeth, being regarded as the queen’s favorite couturier. He first gained his royal warrant as a dressmaker to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 1940 and gained another one in 1957 from Queen Elizabeth II herself, The Guardian reported. 

Throughout her reign, Queen Elizabeth used fashion as a discreet but poignant form of communication. As a result, the public witnessed how Queen Elizabeth, with the genius that is Hartnell, became one of the most prolific fashion icons, inspiring a generation of designers worldwide, all while keeping her memory and legacy authentic. 

What do you think of Queen Elizabeth's relationship with Sir Norman Hartnell? Would things be different if Hartnell had not accepted the role of being the Royal Dressmaker? Let us know and make sure to forward this to your friends and family who adore the queen’s style!