Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland is being transformed to host garments created for many high-profile members of the Royal Family – including the late Queen Elizabeth II and her sister Princess Margaret. Other outfits are also on show including those worn by the Queen Mother and sketches for dresses to be worn by the late Diana, Princess of Wales.
The exhibition titled ‘Royal Style in the Making’ aims to tell the story of the working relationship between a designer and a royal. The curator, Claudia Acott Williams, told the BBC: “Visitors will gain an intimate perspective on the design process, from initial sketches to finished garment, that helped define the visual identity of the Royal Family over the past century.”
Hillsborough Castle is a grand Georgian estate and royal residence in Northern Ireland, just 20 minutes outside Belfast, it is set in 100 acres and is open to the public.
Another highlight of the exhibition and on display is a full-sized working pattern for a completed gown which would be worn by Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother) at the coronation of King George VI in 1937 at Westminster Abbey.
The curator added: “I hope this exhibition shows the thought, research, craftsmanship that goes into these gowns. They are created by the greatest crafts people that Britain has to offer.
“We are all familiar with these women and with what they wear but what we wanted to understand more about the people who were dressing them and about how those relationships worked.”
You can view the exhibition from March 15, 2025 – January 4, 2026.
