First time display of costumes made for Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret as teenagers for Old Mother Red Riding Boots pantomime.
Elizabeth, now the Queen, wore pink satin and lacy long sleeves to play Lady Christina Sherwood in the production, which took place during the Second World War. She was 18 years old.
For a seaside scene, she wore a chintz shirt and trousers, as well as a sunhat. Margaret wore a blue dress made of taffeta with cream lace bloomers to portray The Honourable Lucinda.
The well-kept outfits will be displayed at Windsor Castle, Berkshire’s royal residence, for the first time. It will run from November 25 to January 31.
Costumes made for Princess Elizabeth, her sister Princess Margaret, as a teenager, are to be displayed for the first-time (pictured: the sisters performing Aladdin).
Elizabeth, now Queen of England, wore a long-sleeved pink satin lace dress to portray Lady Christina Sherwood in the production. It was during the Second World War, when she was just 18 years old.
These garments will be exhibited alongside the outfits that the princesses wore to their war-time Aladdin pantomime (left, Margaret’s dress, and right, Queen’s jacket).
As part of a Christmas at Windsor Castle special display, the carefully preserved outfits will be made available to the public for the first-ever time.
They will be exhibited alongside the previous exhibits of the outfits worn by the princesses for the war-time Aladdin pantomime.
The royal siblings were involved in every aspect of Old Mother Red Riding Boots arrangements and worked alongside children from Windsor Castle and the Royal Windsor School.
Hubert Tanner was the school’s headmaster and created the show.
It was performed three times in December 1944. Tickets were available for audiences of 300 to 600.
During a scene at the seaside, the Queen wore this chintz-coordinated jacket and bloomers.
Princess Margaret wore the blue taffeta dress with cream lace and matching cream-lace bloomers to play The Hon. Lucinda Fairfax
A hat worn by Queen Elizabeth II in Aladdin’s performance will be on display at Windsor during Christmas.
Members of the Armed Forces received special discounts on tickets. Staff from the Ministry of Works and Planning assisted with technical arrangements for each production.
Each pantomime was attended to by Princesses’ Parents King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, and other members the royal Family.
All proceeds from the productions were donated the Royal Household Wool Fund, which provides wool for comforters for soldiers fighting at The Front.
The costumes will be on display in the Waterloo Chamber at Windsor Castle, where the original pantomimes were performed 80 years back
These costumes were worn by both Princesses (left, right) during Aladdin 1943.
The striking red and gold embroidered tunic worn by their fellow cast member to play ‘The King’ will also be on display (pictured)
The couturier of the surviving costumes is unknown, but many of those worn in the royal pantomimes between 1941 and 1944 were supplied by two theatrical costumier firms, H&M Rayne and L&H Nathan.
For certain scenes, the princesses wore their own clothes, including evening and day ensembles designed by Sir Norman Hartnell, a British couturier.
The costumes will be on display in the Waterloo Chamber at Windsor Castle, where the pantomimes originated 80 years ago.
The 16 large-scale, colourful photographs of fairy-tale characters that were pasted around the walls at the time to decorate the space will also be on display
The 16 large-scale, colourful photographs of fairy-tale characters that were hung around the walls at the time to decorate the space will also be on display.
Christmas decorations will also transform Windsor Castle’s State Apartments with their 20-foot-high tree.
Christmas at Windsor Castle will be celebrated from November 25th to January 3rd 2022. The Princesses’ Pantomimes are on display from November 25 to 31 2022.
Christmas at Windsor Castle is November 25-January 3 January 2022 The Princesses’ Pantomimes Display is from November 25 to 31 2022