July has seen the arrival of a new member of the Royal Family. The Museum of London has on display royal baby clothing. Fashion curator Timothy Long has selected some of the pieces and he shows them on this video.
Self-study activity:
Watch the three-minute video and answer the questions about it.
The activity is suitable for intermediate students.
1 When did the London Museum open?
2 Where were the items from the Royal Family originally shown?
3 What material is the robe made of?
4 Who was Prince Albert Edward?
5 What is special about Princess Alice's shoes?
6 What name did Prince Albert Eward use as a monarch?
7 What does PW stand for?
8 What items belong to Princess Alice and Princess Beatrice?
9 What items belong to Princess Louis and Princess Victoria?
To check your answers, you can read the transcript below.
Hello, my name is Timothy Long. I am curator of fashion and decorative arts at the Museum of London. The arrival of the newest member of the Royal Family is a momentous occasion that has captured the world's attention.
The Museum of London has quite a rare connection to the Royal Family because prior to the formation of the Museum of London in 1976 the museum was two different institutions. One was the Guildhall Museum and the other was the London Museum, which opened in Kensington Palace in 1912.
Kensington Palace accumulated an impressive collection of material that documents both the city of London, but also very unique items from the members of the Royal Family. Today we're going to focus on the material related to Queen Victoria's children.
This is a robe that was made for one of Queen Victoria's children and what becomes quite apparent when you look closely at the pieces, the tremendous skill and craftsmanship that went into its production. It's a cotton child's robe that has a great deal of cotton thread embroidery and that lays all the way across the front of the piece.
This infant cap was worn by Prince Albert Edward, who was born in 1841. It was the second child of Queen Victoria and it is made of a very, very fine cotton fabric that has been embroidered with cotton thread across the front as well as a floral scene at the center back.
These shoes were worn by Princess Alice. The significance here is that these were actually made by her mother, Queen Victoria. Alice was born in 1843 but these were made for her a few years later and are made of a very fine white wall that have been embroidered and verifying silk thread in a floral pattern across the front throughout the sides and also at the center back.
These shoes here document two different generations of the Royal Family in the 19th century. If you look closely at a few of the pairs you can get some clues about the individual member who wore those items.
This pair in particular, if you turn over, you can see that someone has written Prince of Wales across the front, so you know for certain that this was worn by Prince Albert Edward when he was a child before eventually becoming King Edward VII.
We have a bed sheet that was used by Prince Albert Edward when he was a child. This piece was made in 1842. We can see that by the date above which you have PW for Prince of Wales, and above that we have the embroidery of a small crown in red thread.
Additional accessories in the collection related to the Royal Family are pieces that we have here from a few pairs of stockings worn by Queen Victoria's daughters, Princess Alice and Princess Beatrice, very finely embroidered both with the initials of the wearer as well as the royal crown, as well as two kid leather gloves worn by Queen Victoria's granddaughters, Princess Louis and Princess Victoria.
As the capital prepares itself for the newest royal arrival, we here at the Museum of London are looking forward to seeing what the next generation of royal baby clothing will be.
