Elizabeth’s Wedding Dress from Season 1 of The Crown goes on display at the V&A in London

Elizabeth’s wedding dress featured in Season 1 of The Crown has gone on display in a new exhibition at the V&A in South Kensington. The costume was worn by Claire Foy in the very first episode of the show: “Wolferton Splash”. It was designed by the show’s award-winning Costume Designer Michele Clapton and is closely inspired by the Norman Hartnell original worn by Queen Elizabeth II at her wedding to Philip in Westminster Abbey in 1947.  

The costume is part of an exhibition celebrating a century of the museum’s national theatre archive: “Enthoven Unboxed”, which runs until January 2025. The exhibition is named after the ‘theatrical encyclopaedia’ Gabrielle Enthoven, an avid collector who kickstarted the largest theatrical archive of the nation during the turn of the 20th Century. Like the original wedding dress, The Crown’s costume was embroidered entirely by hand, with a team of six professional embroiderers working ten-hour days for seven weeks to recreate every beaded star and pearl-encrusted flourish.

The wedding dress is one of five costumes from across the series that the V&A have acquired from The Crown for their permanent collection in a unique partnership between the museum and the show. Left Bank Pictures also donated a selection of props, set designs, costume bibles, and production materials from the show’s decade in production. Other costumes include a pink satin dress worn by Vanessa Kirby as ‘Margaret’ in Season 2, a coral dress worn by Helena Bonham Carter as ‘Margaret’ in Season 3, a one-shouldered dress worn by Emma Corrin as ‘Diana’ in Season 4, and the final outfit worn by Imelda Staunton as ‘Elizabeth’ in Season 6. 

The newly renovated Theatre & Performance galleries are also screening a short film of Imelda Staunton transforming into ‘Elizabeth’ in the hair and makeup chair. This clip is taken from a longer film exploring the craftmanship behind The Crown, which was produced by Left Bank Pictures and Emily Harris, Curator of Film at the V&A. 

The collaboration between Left Bank and the V&A cements The Crown’s place in British cultural history and ensures that future generations have access and an insight to the show’s creative processes and craftmanship. 

Enthoven Unboxed: 100 Years of Collecting Performance is at the V&A, South Kensington from 14 September – 4 January 2026.