The Maid of Honor at Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation Still Marvels at the Dress She Wore

Lady Anne Glenconner keeps the extravagant gown in a special box.

Queen Elizabeth II’s maid of honor still has the dress she wore at the monarch's 1953 coronation at London's Westminster Abbey.

The dress, which she keeps neatly inside a huge box, is beautifully embroidered with pearls, gold and zircon leaves. The same designer also created the queen's dress for the event.

“It's very, very fragile,” Lady Anne Glenconner told The Smithsonian Channel. “And it was all hand-embroidered.”

Glenconner said it was a dress fit for a queen, and the girls felt like royalty in the time leading up to the ceremony.

She'd never owned anything like it in her life.

“We were rather like the Spice Girls," Glenconner said. "We were in all of the papers — the press followed us. We just felt like princesses.”

The Queen ascended to the throne on Feb. 6, 1952 following the death of her father, King George VI. She was in Kenya at the time and became the first sovereign in more than 200 years to accede while abroad.

Many have pondered what role Queen Elizabeth II will play in her grandson’s wedding to Meghan Markle in May.
    
Inside Edition’s Lest Trent interviewed Alastair Bruce, who spoke with the queen for "The Coronation" special on The Smithsonian Channel. The 65th anniversary of the Queen’s coronation is in June.

Bruce said she is likely to be a spectator like the rest of the world.

“Marriage is between two people, and the queen will witness it like anybody else, and it's always a marriage between two people, Bruce said.

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