University of Glasgow

A History of Royal Fashion

From Henry VIII to Queen Elizabeth II, explore how British kings and queens have influenced fashion over 500 years.
View Course →
Length 1 to 3 months
Effort 4 hours per week
Price Free
Subject Art, Design
Level Beginner
Languages English
Video Transcripts English

Learn how royalty used fashion to entertain, control and impress

A History of Royal Fashion takes you into the wardrobes of British kings and queens across five royal dynasties from the Tudors, Stuarts and Georgians to the Victorians and Windsors.

With exclusive access to the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection, experts at the University of Glasgow and Historic Royal Palaces will introduce you to the different sources we can use to study fashion history.

Go behind the scenes at the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Kensington Palace and the Banqueting House to explore the styles of monarchs and their families and the impact of their clothing on society.

What you'll learn

By the end of the course, you'll be able to...

  • Assess the significance of fashion and clothing to individual and collective British royals

  • Identify key fashion developments from the sixteenth century to the present day

  • Reflect on how and why fashions have changed

  • Explore the significance of different primary sources for understanding fashion history

  • Develop an understanding of the history of British monarchs, their family and their reigns

Course syllabus

  • Week 1 – Step into the square shoes of the Tudors and see how their lavish clothes were designed to project power, wealth and control
  • Week 2 – The Stuarts are centre stage to showcase how they dressed for leisure and influenced new trends through performance in an increasing time of conflict
  • Week 3 – Explore the glamorous Georgians, their century of economic and social change, extreme fashions and an era marked by very public and very private monarchs
  • Week 4 – Move into the reign of Queen Victoria, her own changing wardrobe and how technological advancements took fashion forwards
  • Week 5 – Welcome to the 20th century where the Windsors balance royal fashion with diplomacy and expectations in an era of mass media and celebrity

Meet the instructors

Sally Tuckett

I am lecturer in dress and textile histories at the University of Glasgow. I’m a social historian who uses the study of dress and textiles as a way to access the past.


Eleri Lynn

I am Curator of the Dress Collection at Historic Royal Palaces, where I look after 10,000 items of royal, court and ceremonial dress in the magical surroundings of Hampton Court Palace


Matthew Storey

I'm a collections curator at Historic Royal Palaces. I work with everything from paintings to royal dress. I'm interested in what the collections can tell us about who made and used them.


Victoria Price

I am a senior lecturer in early modern theatre and drama at the University of Glasgow. I'm a theatre historian who examines plays and masques to learn about early modern performance practices.


Claudia Acott Williams

I am a Curator at Historic Royal Palaces. I take care of Kensington Palace and its collections, tell stories about the people who lived here and help look after the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection.