Britain has one of the lonest monarchial lines in Europe. The current British crown comines the Scottish and English monarchies and includes
Whales and Ulster by Conquest, the United Kingdom. The British
crown has ruled in a steady line broken only by the Norman conquest, Cromwell's Commonwealth, and the Glorious Revolution. A complete list of ruling monarch streaches more than a millenium.
British Royal families have always influenced fashion, but primarily
adult fashion. Until the late 18th century there were no special
styles for children, thus there were no fashions to influence. After
differentiated styles for children developed, the fashions for the
royal children were
of considerable interest to the public. Queen Victoria and her
children
and grand children were closely followed by the British public. The
young Queen children were dressed in a variety of styles, but the two
most common were sailor suits and kilts. (I'm not sure who was
responsible here. Was it all the young Queen's doing? Did her
staff make important suggestions? Did Albert play a role? Certainly
the wearing of kilts made an important political starement.) These
styles contuinued through
the reign of Queen Elizabeth II who often dressed Prince Charles in
kilts. Notably Diana does not seem to have chosen kilts for Prince
William and Harry, although they did wear them on a few formal
occasions as younger boys. Prince William also wore a clasic sailor
suit and hat for his uncle's wdding.
The following list describes how the royal princes were dressed
as boys:
Francis Albert Augustus Charles Emmanuel
Saxe-Coburg was born at Rosenau (near Coburg), Bavaria, Germany.
His parents were Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and
Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. He mairred Queen Victoria in
1840 which proved to be the great love story of the age. The two
were only 20 and 21 years old. The way Victoria and Albert's children were
dressed had an enormous impact on children's fashions for
generations. I'm not sure who decided on these fashions.
Perhaps it was Victoria. But the use of the kilt made good political sence for
the monarch, just the astute step that Albert was likely to
have suggested to Victoria. Albert died in 1861 at the age of 42,
devestating Victoria.
Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence,
known to the familly as Eddy was the eldest son of Edward VII and
grandson of Queen Victoria. Eddy was atired in
dresses until about 5 or 6 years at which
time he was dressed in the sailor suits and kilts that the Victorians
are most widely know for. There are pictures of
Prince Albert Victor in dresses and lacy panteletts and long
about 6-7 years of age. He was in line to inherit
the crown until he died of influnza at the age of 28. Eddy seems to have been a
relatively harmless chap, not academically clever, but very
affectiionate which made his grandmother dote on him. He was a
hopeless naval cadet. The British
royal establishment must have breathed a sigh of relief as the
true story of his private life would have made the goings on of the current royals look very tame indeed.
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Prince
Andrew, Duke of York is the second son of the Queen and Duke
of Edinburgh. Andrew was dressed much like his brother as a
small boy. He also attended private schools, ending the private
schooling of royal children. As fashions were changing in the late 1960s,
Andrew began wearing long pants at a earlier age than his older
brother. As with his brothers
and father, Andrew attended Gordonstoun school in Scotland.
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Charles is the current heir to the
British throne. He will become King Charles III on either
the abdication or the
death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. Prince Charles was
the first heir to the throne of modern times to not be born
in the presence of the government's Home Secretary, a custom
since abolished. Charles
mostly wore shorts as a boy. As a younger boy he often
was dressed in mary Jane strap sandals and white socks--usually white
ankle socks for dressy occasions. He did not commonly wear sailor suits
like his father and grandfather. He did, however often wear kilts.
Charles in many respects had a pioneering
royal childhood. While his mother like other royal children was
educated within the confines of the Palace and Windsor
Castle, Charles went to a private pre-preparatory school in
London's Knightsbridge (Hill House). This was a precedent-making
decission made to keep pace with changing times. His male
predecesors had been schooled at home and then thrown into some
rather tough military schools, where they encountered all sorts
of difficulties adjusting. After his
preparatory school (Cheam). He wore short
pants school uniforms pre-prep at Hill House and at prep school
Cheam. Charles continued to often appear in kilts as a boy and
teenager. In fact he still wears them on occassion, unlike his
sons. Charles went to Gordonstoun in the
rugged north of Scotland. Gordonstoun is one of Britain's elite
private secondary (Public) schools and is famed for its
rugged character-building routine of work and physical discipline.
Sent mainly on the wishes of his
father, Charles did not feel entirely at home here, a fact
decribed by many commentators and news reports. The Gordonstoun
uniform inckuded shorts as a everyday school uniform. The boys
also wore kilts for church and other formal events. Charles has two
sons, William, second in line to the throne, and Henry who now face
their own problems in dealing with the press.
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Victoria's
eldest son like his brothers were dressed conventionally in dresses
and wore curls. They wore dresses until about 5 years of age. Even after breeching he continued
wearing curls for several years. The images of the sweet little
boy in curls belies all the develment that the future Prince of Whales
got up to as an adult. He was then in the first generation of
English royals to be done up in kilts, presumably in deference to
her great interest in Scotland. This led to the great
popularity of kilt outfits for boys, at least popular with mothers,
during the later half of the 19th Century. Edward was also outfitted
in a sailor suit at the age of 5 years--which helped to popularize
that style. Edward mairred in
1863. He was 21 when he married Alexandra Oldenburg, age 18. He was
crowned in 1902 at Victoria's death. While his reign was short,
he played an important role in maintaining the peace of Europe.
Notably within a few years of his death the catoclism of World War I
had begun.
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The eldest son of George V and greatgrandson of
Victoria as a small boy still wore dresses as that custom persisted
until the world War. The subsequent Duke of Windsor and
his younger brother (George VI) wore lacy dresses, although not at
such advanced ages as there father. One picture shows George the VI
in a carriage wearing a long lacy dress at 2 years of age. An older
boy (Edward VIII), also in a lacy dress, is standing beside him.
By age 5 he was in very smart short panted sailor suits with ankle
socks. There are a lot of pictures of Edward VIII and his brother in matching sailor suits and broad-brimmed hats, often with their
sister Mary wearing a sailor suit (with skirt) or a smock. He and
his brother were done up in kilts a great deal. Sometimes in
Scottish kilts, but also when they were younger in white kilts worn
with their middy blouses. They were very closely supervised at
first by nannies and then governesses. Edward complained that he
had a miserable childhood. Edward VIII and his brother were
educated at the Royal Naval School at
????, the first school they attended. They were not used to dealing
with other children and had quite a hard time of it. They were
reportedly hazed a good deal by the other cadets. Once they put
Edward VIII in a window seal and pretended to guillotine him by
closing the window. The letters between the boys and their parents
have been saved. They are notable for the complete absence of
affection. Their parents letters sounded more like an account of
state functions that would seem more suitable for the Times. Their
father reportedly berated them both because of their poor academic
performance. Edward complained that their tutors had never taught
him anything. He hated the constant belittlement by his father and
did not grieve when he died. At his investiture as Prince of Whales,
he was horrified at the costume he had to wear, knee britches with
long white stockings. He complained of what the other cadets would
say if they saw him dressed like that. After wearing very
traditional sailor suits and kilts as a boy, as a young man he
became a real clothes horse, perhaps in reaction to
those traditional clothes boyhood clothes. Edward was born and bred
to be the King of England. He served in France with the army
during World War I (1914-18). The courtly Prince of Wales was in
the 1930s the world's most eligible bachelor, attracting adoring females
wherever he ventured. But when the
princed destined to be crowned Edward VIII came to a decision,
it was a great urprise to the British people and rocked the kingdom.
It choice of twice-divorced American named Wallis Simpson shocked
his sunjects. It was too much for the Government.
Edward on December 11, 1936, in a radio broadcast that reached
millions, the newly proclaimed King announced his abdication.
Prince Edward is the youngest of
the Queen's children. His education followed in the now family
tradition of a preparatory school and Public school (Gordonstoun)
in Scotland. Edward threw himself into the outdoor and physical
life of Gordonstoun, he enjoyed skiing and had learned to fly
before he left school. Edward won a Royal Marine cadetship and
went to study at Jesus College, Cambridge. On leaving Cambridge,
Edward joined the Marines to train as an officer, an effort to meet
the very traditional expectations of his rathervstraight-laced
father. This proved to be a mistake. The Royal Marines are one
of the most demanding military units in the world. The Royal Marines
turned out to be more than Edward could handle and he soon left
the Marines to follow an alternative and less traditional career of
his own choosing. Prince Edward is now in a London theatre company
working as a producer/director and with a good degree of success.
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I do not yet have details on
George III's boyhood, but it is likely he wore dresses. At the times the
dresses worn by little girls and boys were virtually identical,
although there might have been differences such as blur colored sahes for
boys. At the time, there wwas no specialized children's clothing.
Boys graduating from dresse would simply be outfitted with small
editions of their father's clothes. George III ruled from 1760-1820, presiding over the loss of
Britain's American colonies. George's aim was to rule as well as reign,
and he was a skillful and astute politician; by 1763 he had managed to regain many of the powers that the Whig ministers had
appropriated during the reigns of the first two Georges.
His problem was that he lacked the self-confidence and the mature
statesmanship to form and achieve any long-term policy. His Prime
Minister, Lord North, executed the royal policies that provoked the
American Revolution. The unsuccessful conclusion of that long conflict
forced North to resign, and during the government crisis that followed,
the king himself was almost induced to abdicate. He then
took a political gamble by placing the government in the hands
of the 24-year-old William Pitt, thereby restoring stability
for the rest of the century. George's mind deteriorated
in his later years.
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George Augustus Frederick was created
Prince of Wales in 1762. As a little boy he wore identical dresses
to his sisters. As was the the custom at mid-19th century,
once he was old enough to graduate from dresses, he wore small
editions of the clothes worn by his father. Prior to his oficial
mairrage, George secretly married 28 year-old
widow Maria FitzHerbert when, as a virtuous Catholic, she refused
to be his mistress. Her religion prevented an open marriage as the
1701 Act of Settlement prohibited the succession of a Catholic to
the throne. He married Princess Caroline of Brunswick (1768-1821)
in 1795. He ascended to the thrones of Great Britain
and Hanover, as King George IV, on January 29, 1820, and was
crowned on July 19, 1821. He had spent the previous 9 years as
Prince Regent for his blind and deranged father,
George III. Although his reign was notable for the granting of
political rights to Catholics, George IV is best remembered for
his years as Prince of Wales. During that time he was a great
patron of arts, but led an immoral life. His marriage to Caroline
of Brunswick proved troubled, and the couple parted amid
accusations of infidelity. When George refused to allow Caroline
to attend his coronation, he lost much of his popularity. The
couple had one child: Charlotte, born January 7,
1796. Princess Charlotte married Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg on
May 2, 1816. She died in childbirth of a stillborn son on November 6,
1817. George IV ruled from 1820-30. He was know as "Prinny".
Victoria's grandsons were dressed in
dresses and kilt skirts that would be thought of as sissy by
modern children. Pictures show his older brother, Prince
Albert Victoria known to the family as Eddy, in little girl dresses
and lacy panteletts and long girlish hair at about 6 years of age.
Presumably George the V was dressed the same. By about 7 or 8 he
was wearing sailor suits, with below the knee pants, and a straw
boater rather then a proper sailor hat. George mairred Mary of
Teck in 1893. He was crowned in 1911, only 3 years before the
First World War began. Their children included George Windsor
(1st Duke of Kent); Henry Windsor (1st Duke of Gloucester); John
Windsor; King Edward VIII; King George VI; and Mary Windsor
(Princess Royal).
Bertie was never intended to be king. It was his
older brother who was to be king. George was bornn at York
Cottage, Sandringham, Norfolk, the son of George V and Mary of
Teck (Queen Mary). George VI and his older brother
(Edward VIII) wore lacy dresses, although not at such advanced ages
as there father. One picture shows George the VI in a carriage
wearing a long lacy dress at 2 years of age. An older boy
(probably his brother Edward VIII, also in a lacy dress, is standing
beside him. A bit older, I'd say 4 or 5, he was in a very smart
white sailor suit, but at first wore a kilt instead of the shorts
his older brother wore. By about age 5 or 6 he was also wearing
shorts with his sailor suit with ankle socks and often Mary Jane
strap shoes. There are a lot of pictures of George VI and his
brother in matching sailor suits and broad-brimmed hats, often with
their sister Mary wearing a sailor suit (with skirt) or a smock.
The boys were also done up in kilts a great deal. George VI like his brother was educated at the Royal Naval School and like his
brother had a rough time of it. George married Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
(Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother) in 1923 at Westminster.
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Henry, commonly known as Harry, is the younger
son of Charles as Diana and grandson of Elizabeth II. Harry wore
shorts as a younger boy, often being dressed just
like his older brother. On occasions the boys would appear
in nice outfits including white knee socks and blue Mary Jane
sandals. More commonly they
appeared in play shorts. He wore a short pants school
uniform with ankle socks at his pre-prep school, but longs at his
prepschool. Henry is third in line to the throne. This effectively
ensures that the House of Windsor (possibly to be re-named Mountbatten-Windsor), will continue a long way into the 21st century.
The third son of George V. He was
the Duke of Gloucester. He was dressed much like his brothers. He wore
dresses ar first, but then graduated to sailor suits and kilts. Some of
skirted outdits were made to match his older brothers who had graduated to knee pants.
Leopold was the
youngest son of Victoria and Albert. The young Prince was the first of Victoria's sons
to suffer of haempphilia and also suffered from epilepsey. The
Queen at first found him annoying and clumsey and as they got older
the two had a strmy relationship.
William was the eldest surviving
brother of George IV. I have no information yet on his boyhhod.
He married Adelaide, daughter of the Grand
Duke of Saxe-Meininghen. They had two children, whom both died as
infants. William spent many years at sea, commanding ships and
later became the Admiral of the Fleet. Before succeeding to the
throne, he had a mistress in Dorothea Jordan, or otherwise known as
Dorothy Bland, who was a popular actress of the day. They settled
down together and had 10 children. When William's allowance was
low, which was frequent as it was a meagre one, Dorothy would put
on her grease-paint and take to the stage, once again, to raise
cash. After 20 years, William realised that he was no longer in
love with her and paid Mrs. Jordan a pension in order to release
himself for a marriage of wealth. The seeking of this marriage
took 7 years and Mrs. Jordan died of a broken heart in those years.
William eventually found Princess Adelaide, she brought no dowry,
only a promise that she would look after his illegitimate children.
Princess Adelaide was a good hearted and kind woman. At this stage
William was only third in line to the throne, but with the death of
Frederick Duke of York, he became heir. He was 65 years old when
he was crowned King. William IV ruled from 1830-37. Nobody
expected much of him and he was referred to him as "silly Billy".
Britons hoped that he would be easier to respect than his hated
brother. He did some good for British politics by creating enough
Whig Peers to force the Great Reform Bill through the Tory House of
Lords. He died at the age of 71.
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Prince
William, as first son of the hier, is
the current second in line to the throne. One day he will
become King William V, a great and heavy
responsibility. Since 1985 it has been royal policy that William should not fly in the same aeroplane
as his father, Charles, since one fatal crash
would mean the loss of England's next two kings.
William's mother, Diana, set royal precedents in the amount of
personal attention she gave to her children and the public
affection she has showed to both William and Henry (or "Harry") is
well recorded. William, the oldest son of Charles and Grandson
of Elizabeth II, wore shorts as a younger boy, often being dressed
just like his younger brother. On occasions the boys would
appear in nice outfits including white knee socks and blue Mary
Jane sandals. More commonly they appeared in play shorts. He
wore a short pants school uniform with ankle
socks at his pre-prep school, but longs at his prepschool. Unkike his
father, I have never seen him in a kilt but he did wear an emaculate white
sailor suit for his uncle's wedding. William attended preparatory school
in London and then on to board at a prepartaory school (???). By this
time his preparatory school had a long pants school uniform.His parents managed to keep William
away from the interests of the press apart from one
notable occasion when he was hit on the head with a golf club
during a school games lesson. The
newspapers and especially the television news service were
falling over themselves to give minute
by minute coverage of what was a worrying but really
quite minor incident. He is currently at Eton, England's
most famous private secondary (Public) school where he wears the
traditional Eton suit. Eton is a far cry from the remote Scottish
school attended by his father. Both William and his younger
brother have been given a pioneering childhood
considering their status. They have been kept close to their parents
on most occasions. They were not raised entirely by nannies,
although considering the official demands on the royals, nannies did
still play an important role. Neither parent was shy of showing
their affection for their children in public, previously not a
common trait of high-profile royals. Edward VIII, for example,
compained bitterly of his father's stand-offish approach to his son.
This all marked a significant change in the approach of a monarchy
adapting to new social conditions and expectations.
Queen Victoria
is generally
referred to as the Grandmother of Europe. She had nine children,
four boys and five girls. All but one of these children mairred
and had children, by the four generation, hundreds of decendents
had mairred into virtually every royal house in Europe. Click
here for information on Victoria, her children's clothes, and
family life. The Queen followed many of the fashions of the day,
dresses for younger boys and tunics after a boy was breeched. She
also popularized two induring fashions for boys, kilts and sailor suits.
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