I was delighted and charmed by this beautiful child’s outfit, it comes in the original box with the family name and dated. Inside the trouser pocket I found the little printed verse, Master Thomas must of tucked it in there for safe keeping. There are 2 original photos of Thomas wearing the outfit dated on the back 1926 and the wedding. The stockings show wear in places as to be expected, but this is all in keeping, I expect he was pulling them up all day! There is a makers label inside the top that reads Beauchamp Place, Knightsbridge, London. There was certainly no expense spared for this amazing outfit to be made back in 1926. All the buttons are still present on both the trousers and top. There are some age stains as to be expected on the jacket, yet again, all in keeping and adding to the charm. A very kind client sent me some research that she did on the piece.
Tuesday July 27th 1926 at St Mary’s Church Wimbledon, the wedding of Anna Dorothea Florence (Dolly) Gore-Langton’s wedding to George Ernest Hope-Johnstone. The wedding was hosted by Dolly’s aunt who was the Duchess of Buckingham. The Times’ digital archive has the Marriage announcement on 28 July 1926 and describes the two pages; Master Henry Close-Smith and. Master Thomas Trollope-Bellew as:
“Wearing Florentine tunics of gold cloth fastened on the front with gold buttons”.
Henry would have been 8 and Thomas 6.
It must have been a very grand affair in Wimbledon. It was attended by the French, Italian, Belgian, Dutch and Polish Ambassadors – probably friends of the Duchess – rather than masses of. English dukes etc. The bride was 32 and the groom 26 .. Very unusual for those days. Tthe groom had been engaged to another girl in the previous year and had only broken it off in January of the same year!!
There was a divorce in the groom’s family (Uncle or cousin) which was always controversial. Sadly the marriage didn’t last and the groom divorced Dolly and he remarried 1940.
WAS £395 NOW £200
