Fancy costumes give false idea of reality of royalty
Print Edition
OUR version of the present-day royals is carefully constructed and curated. Kept at bay behind a red velvet rope, we will never get a glimpse into the bedrooms and offices of regal power. That is, other than in period dramas.
Film and TV dramatizations of familiar royal tales present a romanticized and glamorized vision of royal history. Sumptuous silks and gilded homes make up the lush material world on screen. In reality, they are far removed from the bed bugs, tedious political documents and the stench of recently used chamber pots.
The visuals are so rich that audiences will often remember the wonderful costumes, forgetting the bloody details of the Wars of the Roses or the shady political machinations of royal court.
From the high ruffs and jewelled headpieces of the Tudors to the ballgowns and tiaras of modern royals on screen, these costume provide a glossy veneer to people and history that is, at times, quite dark. These individuals become characters in costumes. They become nothing more than well-dressed princes and princesses, kings and queens in stories that often overtake reality.
Costuming choices can reinforce well-worn and familiar royal stereotypes. If you imagine Queen Victoria in mourning, you might envision Judy Dench in black silk and a widow’s cap. Thinking about Elizabeth I might make you picture a regal Helen Mirren in a ruff protruding from her neck. And party-loving Charles II brings to mind the lustrous curly locks of Rufus Sewell in a long wig.
Costumes can also radically challenge and rewrite how we view past royals. Portraits by Hans Holbein of Henry VIII in his later years and early screen depictions are of a corpulent king and bejewelled monarch. Joan Bergin’s costuming of Jonathan Rhys Meyers’ Henry VIII in “The Tudors” (2007-10) instead included lots of leather, tight doublets and open shirts. Bergin’s costumes transformed the serial groom into a sexy sportsman.
“The Crown” is the latest screen delight to offer us a glimpse behind the royal curtain and fans can’t seem to get enough of Princess Diana, portrayed by Emma Corrin.
Unlike Henry VIII, Diana was in no need of an image update. The princess was a fashion symbol in her lifetime, and the drama’s season four costume designer Amy Roberts took the opportunity to recreate some of Diana’s genuine iconic outfits. Roberts’ recreation of Diana’s early wardrobe was remarkably faithful, treading a fine line between historical fact and fantasy.
Such was the furore over the fashion that brands have seized upon the outfits, creating wearable versions for a new generation of Diana fans who are eager to emulate the late princess. In October 2020, Corrin hit the cover of Vogue in a Diana-esque 1980s concoction and copies of Diana’s iconic sheep jumper can be purchased for an eye-watering 250 pounds (US$355). While Diana’s 1980s chic (now considered period costume) has enjoyed a revival in mainstream fashion, it resonates with a desire to cosplay as a royal.
Even in historical documentaries about the monarchs, which are framed as authentic and factual, historians like Lucy Worsley are renowned for using dressing up as to breathe life into long-dead monarchs.
Costume may help us time travel, but by lacing up a corset, tying on a ruff, or even donning a Sloane ranger Barbour jacket, a modern-day human being cosplays as royal, rendering that person a caricature. The costume creates a distance between the real person with all their problematic behavior and turns them into beautifully dressed symbol of a bygone Britishness. There is certainly magic in the costumes but that magic can obscure the darker parts of royal history.
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