The Royal School of Needlework’s Embroidery Studio conserved the Robe of State of The King, which was be worn by His Majesty on arrival at Westminster Abbey.
The King’s Robe of State is made of crimson velvet and was originally worn by King George VI at the Coronation in 1937. In preparation for the Coronation Service, the velvet has been conserved by the Royal School of Needlework, with the lining and gold lace conserved by Ede and Ravenscroft.
We are honoured to have designed and hand embroidered the Robe of Estate for Queen Camilla, worn on departure from Westminster Abbey. The embroidered design of the train draws on the themes of nature and the environment, featuring the national emblems of the United Kingdom, as well as paying tribute to His Majesty The King.
The Robe uses a rich purple velvet, chosen to match His Majesty’s Robe of Estate, and has been embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework using the Goldwork technique, with the design also incorporating Her Majesty’s cypher.
Featured on the robe is Scabiosa, known as pincushion flowers, which is a reference to the Royal School of Needlework’s connection with Her Majesty, and her dedicated support when she became Patron in 2017 as The Duchess of Cornwall.
For the first time, insects including bees, butterflies, a beetle and caterpillar feature on the Coronation Robe, drawing on the themes of nature and the environment and reflecting Their Majesties’ affection for the natural world.
In addition, there are a total of 24 plants featured on the robe, all chosen for their personal associations. These include Lily of the Valley, which featured in Her Majesty’s wedding bouquet and was a favourite flower of Queen Elizabeth II; Myrtle, which represents hope; and Delphinium, one of The King’s favourite flowers and the birth flower of July, the birth month of The Queen. And The Hawthorn also represents the month of May when the Coronation takes place and Oak leaves symbolise strength and longevity.
Also featured is the ‘Alchemilla Mollis’, known as Lady’s Mantle, which symbolises love and comfort, Maidenhair Fern, which symbolises purity, and cornflowers, which represent love and tenderness. The Cornflower also helps to attract and encourage wildlife such as bees and butterflies. The wild flowers are at the bottom of the robe, leading to the four emblematic flowers of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales at the top.
The Robe itself has been made by Ede and Ravenscroft.
The Royal School of Needlework also worked on the Robes of Estate for the Consort of King George VI, Queen Elizabeth (later known as the Queen Mother) in 1937 and Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.
The Royal School of Needlework has had the honour of working on the Chairs of Estate and Throne Chairs (Chairs of State) that will be used by The King and The Queen Consort at different points during the Coronation Service on 6 May.
In the interests of sustainability, Their Majesties have chosen to use Chairs of Estate and Throne Chairs from the Royal Collection made for previous Coronations.
The Chairs of Estate will be used during the early parts of Their Majesties’ Coronation, with The Queen Consort to be crowned in Her Majesty’s Chair of Estate. For the final part of the Coronation Service, The King and The Queen Consort will be seated in Throne Chairs once crowned.
The Chairs of Estate, which will be used for the Coronation, were made in 1953 by the London firm White, Allom and Company for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
In preparation for the Coronation, Gilding and Furniture Conservators from the Royal Collection Trust have cleaned, restored and consolidated the giltwood frames. New silk damask was woven by the Humphries Weaving Company, Suffolk to the same pattern with which they were originally upholstered. This was to allow for the cyphers of The King and The Queen Consort to replace those of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, which were removed and will be kept in the Royal Collection.
The Royal School of Needlework has hand embroidered new cyphers for the Chairs of Estate. They have been created with cloth of gold, woven with a metal thread. The cloth of gold was then embellished with gold metallic threads, such as Pearl Purl, Gimp and Check. Upon completion, the RSN applied the cyphers onto the silk damask using the Appliqué technique.
The upholstery was completed by the Royal Household’s Upholsterers, including the re-use of the original braid and trimmings.
The Throne Chairs were made for the Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 1937 by White Allom and Company, replicating seventeenth century style which in turn was based on X-framed Tudor stools. The Chairs were upholstered in crimson velvet and applied with the Royal Arms of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.
In preparation for the Coronation, the Chairs have been conserved by the Royal Collection Trust’s Furniture Conservators. The crimson silk velvet with which the chairs were originally upholstered has been replaced with the velvet and trimmings by the firm of AT Cronin Workshop Ltd.
The Royal School of Needlework has conserved the original embroidered Coat of Arms on His Majesty’s chair and lightly cleaned it before transferring it onto new velvet.
In addition, the Royal School of Needlework has hand embroidered a new Coat of Arms of The Queen Consort for Her Majesty’s Throne Chair using the Silk Shading technique, which has been applied to the new velvet.
New silk braid and trellis fringe, replicating the original trimmings of the Throne Chairs has been woven by Heritage Trimmings Ltd of Derby. The silk was produced by The Humphries Weaving Company, Suffolk, and the silk for the fringe has been specially dyed by Gainsborough Silks, Suffolk.
By tradition, ceremonial chairs and thrones are used for the different stages of the Coronation Service. These are in addition to the St Edward’s Chair (Coronation Chair), which is used for the moment of crowning.
Images show: work in progress of The Queen Consort’s Coat of Arms at the RSN’s Embroidery Studio copyright RSN; and work in progress of re-upholstery of chairs copyright PA News
The Royal School of Needlework is proud to announce that it has been working on the Anointing Screen which has been designed and produced for use during the Coronation Service on 6 May at Westminster Abbey.
The Anointing Screen will be used at the most sacred moment of the Coronation, the Anointing of His Majesty The King. The screen combines traditional and contemporary sustainable embroidery practices to produce a design which speaks to His Majesty The King’s deep affection for the Commonwealth.
The Anointing Screen was designed by iconographer Aidan Hart and has been brought to life through embroidery, managed by the Royal School of Needlework. The design has been selected personally by The King and is inspired by the stained-glass Sanctuary Window in the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace.
The central design takes the form of a tree with 56 leaves, representing the 56 member countries of the Commonwealth. The leaves have been embroidered by staff and students from the Royal School of Needlework, as well as members of different Livery Companies – The Worshipful Company of Broderers, Drapers and Weavers.
Also forming part of the Commonwealth tree are The King’s Cypher, decorative roses, angels and a scroll. At the top of the screen is the sun, representing God, and birds including the dove of peace, which have all been hand embroidered by our expert Embroidery Studio.
The screen is three-sided. The two sides of the screen feature a simpler design with maroon fabric and a gold, blue and red cross, inspired by the colours and patterning of the Cosmati Pavement at Westminster Abbey where the Anointing will take place. The crosses were also embroidered by our Embroidery Studio.
The Anointing Screen is supported by a wooden pole framework, designed and created by Nick Gutfreund of the Worshipful Company of Carpenters. The oak wooden poles are made from a windblown tree from the Windsor Estate, which was originally planted by The Duke of Northumberland in 1765.
As well as heritage craft, contemporary skills and techniques have formed part of this unique collaboration. The outline design of the tree has been created using digital machine embroidery by Pete Tarrant from Digitek Embroidery.
The Anointing screen has been gifted for the Coronation by the City of London Corporation and participating Livery Companies, the City’s ancient and modern trade guilds.
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Some time ago we are were contacted about a sampler that a lady started in 1953 with a coronation theme. The lady suffered a personal trauma and the piece was left unfinished. One of our tutors was going to finish it as a voluntary act but, alas, her circumstances have changed and she can no longer do this.
The owner of the piece who is related to the original lady but is not a stitcher, has agreed to pay for the threads if someone can finish it. She does not have the funds to pay for the Studio to do it. I know this is not what we normally do but I am asking if there are any volunteers out there who would agree to help finish it (perhaps a few people to do part each)? If you are interested in helping please contact Gillian Williams on [email protected]. This is a one-off but your help would be appreciated.
A donation given in a Will can be many times larger than that which people can give in their lifetime and the effect of it can be terrific. The RSN has just been notified of a new legacy gift from a longstanding Life Friend. She has left us 5% of the residue of her estate. We do not yet know how much that will be but if the estate included a house then that would certainly be more than a person could give in their lifetime.
The RSN has received many different percentages from 5 per cent to 100 per cent and the amounts differed greatly, but each one has been truly appreciated and we put it to the best use at the time. The benefit of a percentage is that you do not have to think about the actual amount. It is just in proportion.
Some legacy gifts are specified for education, but most are left open because the time between writing the will and it coming to fruition may be many years and the titles of programmes may have changed, so to avoid difficulties for your executors, it is easiest to leave it to the RSN to decide on how it will be used.
Through a legacy your name will live on and will forever be remembered by the RSN. We talk about those who have given legacy gifts to the RSN with great affection because it really makes a difference to us, knowing that people have supported our work in this way.
Legacies so far have helped us to start programmes, finalise programmes, underpin premises hire, and continue to support students through bursaries and course costs every year. If you would like to be part of the future of hand embroidery and invest in future RSN programmes and students then leaving a legacy in your will is a great way to do this.
We would always advise taking professional advice to make a will that will effectively represent your wishes, with no loop holes, but this need not be very expensive and some firms will waive the costs if they will be the executors of the will when it comes to be acted upon.
If you do include the RSN in your bequests, do let us know as we will be inviting benefactors to events in the future.
Thank you.
If you would like to find out more about leaving a legacy, please click here.
The RSN was thrilled to be able to offer a brand new day class celebrating the magnificent grounds of Hampton Court Palace in the form of a sampler. RSN Studio Embroiderer Masako Newton designed and taught the class, with RSN Tutor Nao Nagamura, in Japanese.
We welcomed attendees from as far away as Tokyo as well as UK Japanese residents who were all happy to be able to stitch their own memento of the Palace and their time at the RSN.
If you didn’t manage to secure a place on the class this time we are running it again as part of the 2023 International Summer School and this time we will also be offering the class in English as well as Japanese.
Lucy May joined the RSN Future Tutors Programme in September 2022. The Future Tutors Programme is a three-year full time course specifically designed for those wanting a career in teaching hand embroidery to the highest technical level; students are based at Hampton Court Palace, south west London.
Lucy is from Wellingborough in Northamptonshire, where she lives with her husband and two children. Lucy says:
“I have a degree in Fashion Design and have worked in the fashion industry in various guises for the last twenty years – starting out in buying and merchandising then moving into footwear design, going on to run my own boutique and most recently teaching.
When I discovered the RSN’s Future Tutors Programme, I knew this was the next step I wanted to take in my career, one that would increase my needlework skills to the highest possible level and enable me to pass this invaluable knowledge on to others.
Studying in the stunning setting of Hampton Court Palace is a joy and so far we have studied Jacobean Crewelwork, Canvas Stitches and Botanical Silk Shading. All have been challenging and involved very intense learning curves but I think my favourite so far has been Jacobean with its rich history and opportunity for freedom of creativity within the design brief.
When I have classes at the RSN, I drive down, which can take anything up to three hours plus (thanks M25!) and, when I need to, I stay overnight in an Air BnB. I must admit I do find this tiring but I am getting used to it!
Dedicating myself exclusively to embroidery, as I am at the moment at the RSN, means that I am only just beginning to discover my own signature style but the work I have created so far has a definite illustrative quality with an emphasis on bold contrasts and vibrant colours, which I think is testament to my fashion design background.
I have been sewing since around the age of eight when my mum taught me to sew, she has a rebellious side and my inspirations since have invariably had a subversive streak – from iconic fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, who’s recent death is such a huge loss to the creative world, to Holly Searle aka The Subversive Stitcher. These women are an important reminder that the needle is a very powerful tool indeed and I consider myself truly blessed to have the opportunity to study at the Royal School of Needlework.”
We look forward to seeing how Lucy’s signature style develops and to sharing more of her work with you soon.
You can follow Lucy on Instagram.
The Certificate & Diploma in Technical Hand Embroidery (C&D) is the most flexible course, which is taught Online as well as Onsite, at Hampton Court Palace, south west London, Bristol, Rugby, Durham and Glasgow, and internationally in Fredericksburg USA, in the spring and fall, and Japan.
For the Online Classes, we have introduced an Online Jacobean Crewelwork module so that all new students start together which has resulted in several of them continuing and completing the other techniques, making new friends from all across the world.
For the Onsite Classes, students can start at any time during the academic year, and we have announced the dates of the C&D Summer Intensive Programme which allows students, who are busy during term time, to complete one technique over two weeks, in July and August.
Angela Anderson, who graduated from the RSN Certificate last year, explains her student journey.
“I was thrilled to attain merit for the RSN Certificate in 2022 after starting the course at the beginning of 2019, having seen adverts in stitch magazines.
Stitching has been with me since the age of seven and I wanted to learn to a good standard. I completed the Crewelwork and Silk Shading modules during the Summer Intensives at Hampton Court Palace. I absolutely loved stitching at the Palace, having the advantage of face-to-face engagement and learning on consecutive days with lots of homework each night. I met like-minded people from different parts of the world with whom I am still very good friends.
My other two Certificate pieces, Canvaswork and Goldwork, were taught extremely well Online, with the advantage of taking the class at home. Goldwork became my favourite technique because I could see the design coming together quickly using different metal threads to give shine and form.
My RSN journey continues onto the RSN Diploma with Blackwork, a slow but rewarding piece that requires a lot of thought. This was another Summer Intensive in 2022 with two friends from the Jacobean module.
I thoroughly enjoy stitching and learning each technique because there are varying differences of manipulating threads within my own design. Currently, I am stitching examples of Pulled and Drawn Whitework and am really looking forward to stitching this technique.”
The dates for all the C&D Summer Intensive sessions are below and show where spaces are available. We have a limited number of spaces remaining, so please book early to avoid disappointment.
If you would like to join us for one of our Summer Intensives, we have listed the dates below. If you are new to the Certificate course, start with the Jacobean Crewelwork Summer Intensive, however if you are already studying C&D and would like to do an intensive course for your next module, we also run them in Canvas Stitches/Blackwork; Silk Shading; Goldwork and the Diploma techniques.
RSN Hampton Court Palace
• Jacobean Crewelwork Summer Intensive: Mon 26 June to Fri 7 July
• Diploma techniques: Mon 26 June to Fri 7 July
• Canvas Stitches/Blackwork Summer Intensive: Mon 10 July to Fri 21 July
• Silk Shading Summer Intensive: Mon 24 July to Fri 4 August
• Goldwork Summer Intensive: Mon 7 August to Fri 18 August
RSN Durham
• Spring Intensive: Mon 24 to Thurs 28 April Only 1 space left
• Summer Intensive: Tues 4 to Fri 7 July; Tues 11 to Fri 14 July
RSN Scotland
• Summer Intensive: Mon 19 to Thurs 22 June; Mon 26 to Thurs 29 June Only 2 spaces left
If you are interested in a remaining place or would like to put your name on a waiting list please contact: [email protected]
Find out more about the Certificate & Diploma Course to attend our next Online Open Day at 1pm on Tuesday 6 June. Register here.
The RSN is thrilled to return to the Artisan Fayre which will take place at Hampton Court Palace East Front Gardens from 12 to 14 May – a great family day out to look forward to during the warmer months!
The RSN will teach a 90 minute workshop every day of the Artisan Fayre. The workshops will take place in our learning studios which are part of the original grace in favour Palace apartments, not usually accessible to visitors.
We will teach this striking black and gold design to celebrate our 150th Anniversary Year, inspired by an original hand drawn illustration by Selwyn Image (1849-1930) from our extensive archive.
You will learn a variety of surface stitches and beginners’ Goldwork techniques. This is an opportunity to learn stem, trellis and chain stitch along with couched gold metal thread and spangles. Goldwork is synonymous with both Royalty and Ecclesiastical vestments and is just one of the many techniques the RSN is famous for.
The 90 minute workshop will take place from 11.30am-1pm every day and is £30, including the kit…with only eight places per day you must book early! Booking for the workshops is through the RSN website:
Please note that, to attend the RSN workshop, you must buy an entry ticket to the Artisan Fayre or show your Historic Royal Palaces membership card.
See you there!
If you would like to further explore a technique this summer, join our International Summer School this July and August either onsite at Hampton Court Palace, south west London, or at The Glasgow Art Club, Scotland.
RSN Staff and Tutors donned hard hats, hi-vis vests and got stuck into our Skill Swap Day with Fullers Builders back in September. Last month we returned the favour and staff from Fullers Builders came to Hampton Court Palace to learn the art of hand embroidery.
The initiative was part of our 150th celebrations and partnership with Fuller Builders, who like the RSN, use traditional skills in their trade and are celebrating their 150th anniversary this year. For one day only, the RSN team learned to use their hands a little bit differently, gaining skills in brick laying, plastering, plaster moulding and even plumbing.
In return, a special design of a builder’s crane was created by RSN Tutor Marg Dier, and she got to work teaching all kinds of stitches including Brick Stitch and Laid Work – of course! The team at Fullers Builders were also taken on a guided tour of the RSN including our Embroidery Studio and current exhibition A Girl’s Education in Stitch.
Emma Doggart, Director of Strategy & External Relations at the Royal School of Needlework said: “Our Skill Swap Days celebrated the wisdom and knowledge of traditional crafts and the skilled hands that continue to shape our environment. However, they also proved to have an added more mindful benefit. Participants said that both the break from the norm and the sense of achievement when learning new skills really helped boost their mental health. In fact, it was so successful that we hope to run more next year.”
William Fuller at Fullers Builders said: “Have we got the materials ready? Are our tools to hand? How long have we got? We cannot possibly do this in that amount of time! – This may sound like a typical day in the building industry, but no, this is stitching! A warm welcome, plenty of encouragement and broad smiles throughout the day, not to mention the benefit of our new found skills. What fun, we didn’t even want to stop for lunch! The very most memorable of days spent at the Royal School of Needlework, when can we come back?!”
Fullers Builders specialise in the conservation, repair and restoration of buildings of historic interest. The company was established by Edward Fuller in 1872, the same year as the Royal School of Needlework, and continues to be managed by the Fuller family to this day.
Read more about Fullers Builders here.
We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Canterbury Cathedral in 2023. By popular demand, we are re-running our exquisite Falcon Goldwork class based on a 12th century Dalmatic.
As part of the Onsite class at Canterbury Cathedral, you will have the chance to visit the Cathedral Archive with a Curator where you will see the original 12th Century Dalmatic (vestment) fragment worn by Hubert Walter (Archbishop 1193-1205).
This class also includes entrance to the Cathedral. You will be able to visit the Cathedral after the class until 5pm. In addition, you are cordially invited to attend Evensong which takes place at 5.30pm for approximately 45 minutes in the Quire. This will be an opportunity to hear Canterbury Cathedral’s world-famous musicians if you choose to attend.
Friday 10 February, Canterbury Falcon a 12th Century Dalmatic, Canterbury Cathedral
View all Day & Evening Classes here
