Buckingham Palace exhibition of Edwardian royals shows the period’s glitz and glamour

The exhibition explores the glamorous lives and fashions of two royal couples who reigned over Britain during the Edwardian period

Reading Time:2 minutes

A glass case contains Queen Alexandra’s coronation dress and King Edward VII’s coronation mantle at “The Edwardians: Age of Elegance” exhibition in Buckingham Palace, London. Photo: AFP

Published: 3:25pm, 14 Apr 2025

A rare exhibition is exploring the glamorous lives and fashions of two royal couples who reigned over Britain during the Edwardian period as the country tipped ever closer to World War I.

“The Edwardians: Age of Elegance”, which opened on April 11 at the King’s Gallery in Buckingham Palace, brings together more than 300 works from the Royal Collection that will be on display until November 23.

The centrepiece is the coronation gown that Queen Alexandra wore on August 9, 1902, made of silk embroidered with thousands of gold sequins and designed by the French house Morin Blossier.

Alexandra, daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark and sister of King George I of Greece, married Edward, then Prince of Wales, on March 10, 1863, in the chapel of Windsor Castle.

She was 18 years old. He was 22.

An artwork titled Queen Alexandra (centre) by British painter Samuel Luke Fildes at the exhibition. Photo: AFP

Alexandra was to remain the Princess of Wales for almost 40 years until Edward succeeded to the throne on the death of his mother, Queen Victoria, in 1901.