Prince George and baby Archie’s christening gown was dyed using a 4p tea bag
THE royal christening gown is one of the most famous first outfits the young princes and princesses wear when they enter the world.
And it has now been revealed that the lace garment was actually dyed with 4p Yorkshire Tea to make sure it was a colour the Queen was happy with.
Young royals from Prince George to baby Archie have all worn the satin gown, which is a replica of an original lace christening gown commission by Queen Victoria in 1841.
The Queen’s dressmaker Angela Kelly said in her new book, The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe, that she used tea to make sure the colour matched.
She wrote: “To make sure it looked authentic we dyed it in Yorkshire Tea (the strongest, as we all know).
“We placed each piece of lace in a small bowl from the dressers’ kitchen, filled with cool water and a tea bag and left it for about five minutes, checking regularly until the colour was perfect.”
Angela revealed how she had travelled to Italy to find the lace, before returning to England to make the gown.
At each stage of the process, Angela showed the Queen how it was coming on as Her Majesty was “very interested” to see how it took shape.
It took nine months to complete, with Prince Edward’s youngest child, James, Viscount Severn, being the first royal to wear it for his christening in April 2008.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's baby Archie was the seventh and most recent royal child to be baptised in this particular satin gown.
The original gown was inspired by The Queen's wedding dress and was first worn by Princess Victoria on her parent's one year wedding anniversary.
In its 163 years of service, 62 royal babies - including Prince William, Prince Harry and The Queen herself- were christened wearing the lavish robe.
However, in 2004 it was decided that the gown was too fragile for continued use and The Queen asked her dresser Angela Kelly and her Buckingham Palace team to make a replica for future christenings.
The stunning recreation of the christening gown features the same lengthy skirt, frilled collar and multiple layers of Honiton lace.
Each of Kate Middleton's three children wore the new gown for their Christenings.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's eldest child Prince George was christened at the Chapel Royal in St James's Palace when he was three months old in October 2013.
What's more, Princess Charlotte was the only one of Kate Middleton and Prince William's children to be baptised outside of London.
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