Episode 45: A Truly Splendid Spectacle

The past months have been strange, difficult and trying. Fancy dress has been worn by people around the world to provide joy during the pandemic. In this week’s episode, Lucy and Ben consider how fancy dress costume performed a similar function in the past as they invite themselves to the first bal costumé hosted by Queen Victoria, a medieval extravaganza celebrating the court of Edward III and Philippa of Hainault. Gold, glitter, silks and furs: what could be more joyous than this…

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• Victoria: A Life, by A.N. Wilson
• Queen Victoria’s Buckingham Palace, by Amanda Foreman and Lucy Peter
• Radio Times feature on ITV’s Victoria and its reconstruction of the 1842 ball
• Sir Edwin Landseer’s painting of the 1842 ball
• UK users can access Queen Victoria’s diaries online