Figure 1.--Johann Zoffany in 1765 painted George Prince of Wales with his brother Edward Duke of York in the second drawing-room of Buckingham Palace. Both boys wear dresses styled just like those that might have been worn by little girls. Click ob the image to see the drawing room. The interezting aspect of the drawing room is that images of the Stuart children were hung there along with portraits of, I think, King George II and his wife.

The children when young, both boys and girls, wore dresses that were indistinguishable in design. The boys here are a good example. The boys are George (future George IV) and Edward Duke of York (figure 1). The boys look to be wearing identical dresses only done in different colors. red and yellow and green and white. George (the boy in red) looks to be holding a round black object. I'm not sure what that was. Notice the boys playing with a Prince Charles Spaniel, a breed more associated with the Suarts. Notice they the Stuarts are pictured in one of the portraits on the wall. (You have to click on the image here to see the drawing room.) We see another view of dresses in a portrait by Ransay of the two older boys with Quenn Charlotte painted perhap a year or so earlier. Unfortunately we do not have any details about how breeching was handled. We do not know if there was a family cremony. Also we do not know if there was a precise age involved. We know that George and Edward Duke of York were very close un age. Were they breeched chronolgically or was it done at the same time. One image of the boys still in dresses shows them with rather short hair. Apparently the convention in the royal family was to cut the boys' hair before breeching. We see the boys by age 5 years perhaps even earlier wearing brightly colored knee breech suits. We also notice the boys wearing blouses and shirts with wide open collars. The Duke of Windsor reports that as a boy he used to envy the children of George III. A painting of the children by Gaindsborough showing them in comfortable open collars hangs in Windsor Castle. One portrait by Zoffeny show the two oldest boys in what look like fancy dress costumes.

Skirted Garments

The royal children when young, both boys and girls, wore dresses that were indistinguishable in design. The boys here are a good example. The boys are George (future George IV) and Edward Duke of York (figure 1). The boys look to be wearing identical dresses only done in different colors. red and yellow and green and white. George (the boy in red) looks to be holding a round black object. I'm not sure what that was. Notice the boys playing with a Prince Charles Spaniel, a breed more associated with the Suarts. Notice they the Stuarts are pictured in one of the portraits on the wall. (You have to click on the image here to see the drawing room.) We see another view of dresses in a portrait by Ransay of the two older boys with Quenn Charlotte painted perhap a year or so earlier. Unfortunately we do not have any details about how breeching was handled. We do not know if there was a family cremony. Also we do not know if there was a precise age involved. We know that George and Edward Duke of York were very close un age. Were they breeched chronolgically or was it done at the same time. One image of the boys still in dresses shows them with rather short hair. Apparently the convention in the royal family was to cut the boys' hair before breeching.

Suits

We see the boys by age 5 years perhaps even earlier wearing brightly colored, fahionable knee breech suits. The knee breeches were the fashionsof the day for both men an boys. There were no especiallu styled suits for boys until the appearance of the skeleton suit in the late-19th century.

Blouses

We also notice the boys wearing blouses and shirts with wide open collars. The Duke of Windsor reports that as a boy he used to envy the children of George III. A painting of the children by Gaindsborough showing them in comfortable open collars hangs in Windsor Castle. Of course the Duke as a child had to wear uncomfortable stiff Eton collars so his envy is understandable.

Costumes

One portrait by Zoffeny show the two oldest boys in what look like fancy dress costumes. All young children of coure love to drss up. Here the boys seem to be playing. We notice royal children during the 19th century dressing up in costumes to have a photographic portrait taken. We do not know how common this was in the 18th century. Unlike a photographic portrait which could be shot in an instant, a painted portrait could take months to complete. This of course changes the whole idea of dressing up for fun. The Queen playing with the children would seem to suggest a rather enlightened view toward motherhood for royalty at the time. The children's costumes were carefully chosen, although they would have understood nothing about it.

Created: 10:31 PM 1/31/2005
Last updated: 4:11 AM 2/28/2017