The Washington herald., 1911-04-01
PURPLE ROBES FOR,
QUEEN ALEXANDRA

Tradition gives the British, Queen
Consort AT a coronation purple robes Of
velvet with ermine Innings and a gown
Of white satin dtckcd with pearls and
tasseIs of bullion. Queen Alexandra,
however. broke the tradition and decided
to wear a robe of rose-red velvet, in
color a perfect companion to the robe
of state in which her King went TO
Westminster. and a gown of gold. At
one time it was belieyed to be Queen
Mary's intention to wear the mantle or
train worn by Queen Alexandra at her
coronation But it is now known that
her majesty is having one specially made
for her. This will be fashioned of purple
velvet, lined with ermine, thus return
ing to the earlier tradition, and ii will
he embroidered by the members of the
Ladies' Work Society. Of which Princess
Louise Duchess OF ArgylD is president
In its ornaments it may be expected to
rival that Of Queen Alexandra. whose
gown and train were embellished with
such rare and exquisite embroidery. en-
HANGED with jewelry. that they daZzled
the eyes OF all beholders Queen Alex
andra sent the materials for her dress,
the cloth of gold and the white and gold
en- tulle that veiled it all the way to
India, where are to be found the clev-
crest embroiderers in the empire. There
at Delhi the fabric was encrusted with
diamonds. pearls. and golden paillettes,
with golden and silver and silken threads,
representing the emblems of the British
empire The rose, the thistle. and the
shamrock were interspersed with feur-
de-lis-the last a tradition in royal en-
hlems which has survived the separation
Of France and England. When these
materials returned from their long jour
ney they were sent to the dreSsmaker
to be fashioned into a robe of the utmost
elegance What SO particularly became
Queen Alexandra, were the lovely long
wing sleeves OF embroidered gauzc
and the Elizabethan collar OF stiffened
sauze, one mass of dazzling jewels.
The splendor of the Queens golden
gown was enhanced by the majestic mag
niffcence OF her rose-red robe of state
1t WIS made of velvet, woven in the
ancient borough of Sudbury, in Suffolk.
where the hand loom stiIl is TO be found.
The train was six yards in length and
as wide at the top as al the end. It had
rounded corners. and, like the Kings
robe, was lined and turned up with
ermine But unlike the Kings, il did not
cover the shoulders. hanging instead from
the back beneath the Elizabethan collar,
there dcxterously and firmly fixed So
that its enormous weight should not drag
and tear the delicate dress beneath it
Queen Mary has decided that her cor
onation dresses shall be throughout of
British material and make, an example
no doubt which will be followed by her
subjects. But in the matter OF corona
ton robes, the general design, which
was SO effective in Queen Alex
andra's case, will he adhered to. Her
majesty, whose taste in dress is well
known. however. may be expected TO
strike note of originality in any di-
rection which tradition permits.
She will at least, have this opportunity
in the matter of the crown which she will
wear at the great ceremony. Among the
many diademS at the tower which at one
time or another have served the pur-
pose in the crowning OF queens consort-
not one was found suitable for the
Crowning of Queen Alexandra So it
came about that one was specially made
for her by the royal jewelers.. While
splendid in every way, it was designed
so as to be as light as possible. 1t was
composed entirely of diamonds, all of
which were mounted in silver settings,
this being the only metal which complete
ly displays the beauty and briliancy OF
fine stones. Gold however, was used on the
inner and hidden portions of the mount
ing for the sake of lightness and strength.
The circlet, unsurpassed in effect by any
existing crown, was one and a half
inches in width and entirely incrusted
with brilliantS of the finest water.
Some of the diamonds had to be found
outside the crown jewels. for not even
from the imperial regalia was 1t easy to
select enough stones for such a design
as that specially selected by Queen Alex
andra. \ few of the crown jewels, in
cludng the Kohinoor. were brought