Bridesmaid Dress from Queen Elizabeth’s 1947 Wedding to Prince Philip Acquired by Historic Royal Palaces: ‘Exquisite Embroidery’

Historic Royal Palaces has acquired one of the eight bridesmaids dresses worn at Queen Elizabeth’s wedding to Prince Philip 77 years ago.

The future monarch was still Princess Elizabeth when she married Philip on Nov. 20, 1947. The bride wore a dress by Norman Hartnell, who also designed her bridesmaids dresses (and would also design younger sister Princess Margaret’s wedding gown 13 years later in 1960). One of those bridesmaids dresses — this one worn by Lady Elizabeth Longman (née Lambart) — will become part of independent charity Historic Royal Palaces’ Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection after being acquired at auction.

“The ensemble comprises the dress and coordinating headdress — both of which were designed by Hartnell, who was among the leading British couturiers of the mid-20th century and designed outfits for all of the bridal party,” Historic Royal Palaces said in a release. “The designs are significant examples of British couture and craftsmanship in their own right, showcasing the exquisite embroidery for which Hartnell’s atelier is renowned, but they also reveal interesting insights into the royal family’s careful shaping of their public image after the Second World War.”

Elizabeth married just two years after the end of World War II, and the dresses were created using only the fabric allowance permitted by ongoing rationing, according to Historic Royal Palaces.

The dresses are “inspired by Botticelli’s Primavera and its evocation of rebirth and renewal,” and Hartnell’s designs “are an important example of royal spectacle meeting political expediency,” the statement continued.

The bridesmaids dress was acquired at a Christie’s auction this past July and will become part of the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection, a collection of British royal, ceremonial and court dress that is already comprised of over 10,000 items from the 16th century to the present day. The new bridesmaids dress will join other items linked to Elizabeth and Philip’s 1947 wedding, including Hartnell’s original sketches, “meaning the original design sketch of the bridesmaids dress will now be reunited with the exceptional finished garment for the first time since the wedding,” according to Historic Royal Palaces.

The dress is currently undergoing a period of assessment and conversation work done in-house by a team of expert textile conservators ahead of “its long term preservation and potential future display,” according to the release.

Lady Elizabeth Longman, who the bridesmaids dress originally belonged to, died in 2016, and Queen Elizabeth sent a private note of condolence to her family at the time, PEOPLE previously reported.

In addition to Queen Elizabeth’s wedding dress, Hartnell also designed her coronation dress, worn in 1953 and made of duchesse satin richly embroidered in a lattice-work effect. It was further decorated with floral emblems signifying the nations of the U.K. and the Commonwealth created in gold and silver thread and pastel silks and encrusted with seed pearls, sequins and crystals.

Queen Elizabeth’s granddaughter Princess Beatrice wore Norman Hartnell to her own 2020 wedding to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, and, though it wasn’t her grandmother’s wedding dress, it was a hand-me-down from the Queen. The dress Beatrice wore was worn by Queen Elizabeth to a state dinner during a 1961 visit to Rome and again the next year at the world premiere of Lawrence of Arabia in London; clearly a favorite, the Queen wore it again in 1967 for the re-opening of Parliament. In addition to the hand-me-down dress, Beatrice also wore the tiara Queen Elizabeth wore at her wedding.

“Beatrice talks about her grandmother often, and it’s clear there’s a strong bond there — the dress and the tiara could not have been more perfect,” a friend told PEOPLE at the time.

The future queen’s own wedding dress by Hartnell was made with satin with tulle and embroidered diamante flowers and pearls. The eight bridesmaids dresses were the reverse, made mainly with “tulle with little satin flowers,” said Lady Pamela Hicks, one of the royal’s attendants.

“Tulle could easily be acquired, whereas duchesse satin was so difficult to get in those days,” she added. “The princess had that marvelous complexion — that skin was so wonderful. She really was radiant, with her diamond tiara on top. And she was very much in love.”