Figure 1.--This photograpgh shows the extent to which the soon to be George V dressed his children in sailor suits. He probably would have liked tp put the baby in a sailor suit if it was possible. The two older boys, who were to become Edwar VIII and George VI, and their sister Mary all wear sailor suits. They were photographed with their Great-Grandmother, Queen Victoria, in 1900. |
Interestingly Edward VII helped establish an even more important boys' fashion--the sailor suit. The idea behind the sailor suit was to wrap the royal family in the single most respected institution in Britain--the Royal Navy. The choice of an enlisted uniform was to give the monarchy a democratic image in the 19th century as British constitutional monary was taking its modern shape. Again, HBC does not have historical details behind this decission. Only when George V's boys reached their teens did they stop wearing sailor suits. Then stiff white collars, Eton suits and tweeds became de rigeur. See the Duke of Windsor's memoir of childhood and the photograph of himself and Albert (later George VI) as young boys digging in a sandpit on a warm day wearing buttoned-up tweed norfolks and stiff Eton collars.
The original decession to dress the future Edward VII in a sailor suit, surely must have been a politicial decission. The idea behind the sailor suit was to wrap the royal family in the single most respected institution in Britain--the Royal Navy. (Remember Elizabeth I's words, "It falls primarily on the Navy the health and ...") The choice of an enlisted uniform was to give the monarchy a democratic image in the 19th century as British constitutional monary was taking its modern shape. Again, HBC does not have historical details behind this decission. HBC believes that this was probaby a subject of discussion among Prince Albert, Queen Victoria, and their advisors. Details of those discussions would be of considerable interest. If readers know of any historical studies addressing this topiv, it would be of considerable interest to HBC.
One interesting aspect of the sailor suit that was chosen for Bertie (Edward VII) was that it was the uniform of an enlisted seaman. This styled is today so accepted an wide spread that we on't much think about it. The fact is, however, it was a stunning departure from previous practice. Young princes wearing uniforms were common in Europe. Only until Victoria's reign, they always wore the uniform of officers. It was Bertie who first wore the uniform of an enlisted man. The result was a public relations coup of the first order an one of the reasons that Britain still has a monarchy.
An admiral's uniform could have been chosen for Bertie, that was the accepted practice of the time. Victoria's England was changing. The industrial revolution was underway. The middleclass was coming to dominate British society. As popular as the Navy was in Britain, dressing Bertie in an admiral's uniform would not have had the same effect. When middle an working class Britains saw Bertie and subsequently his brothers in an enlisted uniform, the impact was magnetic. Perhaps as never before the monarchy became an institution respected by the entire British people.
Edward VII was the first British prince to wear a sailor suit. His sons also wore sailor suits--although HBC at this time is not quite sure to what extent. By the time his son, the future George V had children, they were almost always dressed in sailor suits. By the time of George V, it is unclear to what extent the sailor suits were a political decission and to what extent the future George V was simply following the accepted fashion of the day. It is unliekly that Edward VII had strong opioions on the subject, but Vicyoria who lived into the new century probably did express her opinions on the subject. Again, HBC hopes to find historical texts which address this subject.
HBRC has compiled some information in the sailor suits worn by the different princes. We know more about the British princes, but Alexei the Tsareivitgch in Russia, many German princes, Scandanavian princes, and many other wore sailor suits. Our information is still limited, but we have some details.
Berie was the first prince to wear an enlisted man's sailor suit. His white sailor suit with wide-brimmed hat and bell-bottomed trousers was imortalized in a classic painting by Winterborne. Bertie unlike his grandchildren did not always wear sailor suits. In fact HBC at this time does not know how commonly he wore them. Photography was not common in the 1840s and there are few photographs of the British royals until the 1850s. While we do no know how commonly Bertie wore his sailor suit, or whether he liked it, we do know that he set the precedent and boys throughout Britain and Europe were soon wearing sailor suits. Many princes after him wore sailor suits.
Edward VII's younger brother eventually became king as Geoge VI after Edward abdicate. As boys they wore identical outfits. Notably in their younger years, the boys wore short rather than long trousers with their sailor suits. This is a good example of how wearing short pants had nothing to do with the season, but rather the age of the boy.
Perhaps no other prince was so well know for wearing sailor suits as the Tsareivitch Alexei. Once he was breeched he almost always wore sailor suits, except when he had to dress for formal occasions. HBC has noted Alexei wearing most standard sailor suit sailor suit garments, including caps, middy blouses, and reefer jackets. While he commonly wore sailor caps, I have no noted photographs of him in sailor hats. He wore several
different styles of middy blouses. His pants also varied, but primarily based upon his age. After he joined his father at the front, he seems to have stopped wearing sailor suits.
HBRC has not noted many images of Charles in a sailor suit and he was commonly photographed.
George V by the 1890s had very definite ideas on how his children should be dressed. We do not know precisely how these ideas were arrive at and to what extent his wives and advisers were consulted. Presumably Victoria had her say whether or not it was welcomed. However, the boys kept on wearing sailor suits after Victoria's death, so the appreciation of sailor suit's had to be Georege V's own opinion as well. In fact, he is reported to have said that sailor suits and kilts were the only outfits suitable for boys. (He was referring to younger boys because when the boys reaced their teens they began wearing Norfolk suits with Eton collars.) Edward mentions the sailor suits that he wore as a boy, but provides no insights on why his father like them so much. He does remember being scoled for putting his hands in his pockets and eventually having them sewe up.
Heorge V and his older brother did wear sailor suits as boys. Again HBC does not jnow how commonly they wore them. We also do not know whose idea it was, their father, mother, or more likely Queen Victoria. Ciourt advisers were probably also consulted. HBC hopes to eventually acquire details on these discussions.
Edward VII's younger brother eventually became king as Geoge VI after Edward abdicate. As boys they wore identical outfits. Notably in their younger years, the boys wore short rather than long trousers with their sailor suits. This is a good example of how wearing short pants had nothing to do with the season, but rather the age of the boy.
Figure 1--The German royals like the British royals commonly wore sailor suits. I'm not sure about this image, but I believe that it is Wilhelm Frederick and Cecile with two of their sons, Wilhelm and Louis Ferdinand. This photograph was taken in 1919 after the Kaiser had abdicated and the family fled to the Netherlands. |
Crown Prince Wilhelm and his brothers, the grandsons of Wilhelm II, commonly wore sailor suits as boys. Like their English contemporaries, they wore short pants sailor suits as younger bopys, but soon began long opants suits.
William was not commonly dressed in sailor suits. He did wear a classic white sailor suit for his Uncle Andrew's weding.
It was not just the princes who wore sailor suits. Some princesses did as well, although it was not nearly as common. Perhaps the first princess to wear a sailor suit was George V's daughter Princess Mary.
Elizabeth and her sister Ann o not seem to have commonly worn ailor suits, even though their Aunt Mary was commonly togged out in sailor suits just like her brothers.
Only when George V's boys reached their teens did they stop wearing sailor suits. Then stiff white collars, Eton suits and tweeds became de rigeur. See the Duke of Windsor's memoir of childhood and the photograph of himself and Albert (later George VI) as young boys digging in a sandpit on a warm day wearing buttoned-up tweed Norfolks and stiff Eton collars. This in itself was another major efort to position the royal family. The boys were to be seen outoors and gettin their hands dirty like other boys their age. Other photographs show them working around Balmoral in kilts.
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