Presented to Queen Victoria in 1867 wearing THIS dress

“Elizabeth Walker Harvey married into English nobility and lived in a grand house in Newfoundland. But as her husband William was a diplomat, they travelled extensively. On her first visit to Bermuda, Elizabeth was bewitched by the cerulean waters and pink-sand beaches so she and her husband returned whenever they could.

On one of their frequent trips ‘home’ to England in 1867, the Harvey’s were invited by the Prince and Princess of Wales to a garden party at Marlborough House, Westminster, to be presented to Queen Victoria. Elizabeth commissioned a court dressmaker to create a gown made of the most glorious taffeta. Her inspiration for the colours was said to be the coastline of Bermuda: turquoise for the ocean and tan, with a faint pink sheen, for the beaches.

The party was a pleasant, but sedate affair. The Queen, who recently lost her beloved husband, Prince Albert, to typhoid fever, received her guests in a gown of mourning black, the colour she would wear for the rest of her life. The contrast between her gown and the vibrancy of Elizabeth’s would not have gone unnoticed. But no doubt it would have been politely overlooked as behaviour one would expect from a flamboyant American.

From ‘Dreaming of Dior’, HarperCollins Australia, Haper360 UK, by Charlotte Smith

Dreaming of Dior and Dreaming of Chanel will be published in the UK on October 6th by Harper360