Royal fashion display to mark Queen's 90th birthday

The largest display of the Queen's dress and accessories to be shown in Scotland will open to the public later this month as part of events to mark the monarch's 90th birthday.

The exhibition - Fashioning a Reign: 90 Years of Style from The Queen's Wardrobe - will open at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh on Thursday April 21.

The show will focus on significant events in the Queen's life, her support of British craft and design and tartan in royal dress.

Among the dozens of outfits on display will be the one worn by the Queen for the wedding of her sister Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones in May 1960.

The turquoise-blue dress with a matching bolero jacket were designed by Norman Hartnell, the British couturier who created Princess Margaret's wedding dress.

Hartnell, who first worked for the then Princess Elizabeth in the 1940s, also created the evening dress worn by the Queen with a sash of Royal Stewart tartan for the Gillies Ball at Balmoral Castle in 1971. It will also form part of the exhibition.

Originally introduced by Queen Victoria, the ball is given for neighbours, estate and castle staff when the monarch is in residence.

Another centrepiece of the show will be the outfit worn by the Queen for the official opening of the Scottish Parliament on July 1 1999.

She wore a purple coat made of a silk-wool blend with a green silk-crepe and lace dress, and a shawl of purple and green Isle of Skye tartan, woven on the Isle of Lewis.

The Sandra Murray-designed outfit was teamed up with a matching hat by milliner Philip Somerville, trimmed with a bow and dark-green feathers.

The exhibition is one of three on a similar theme taking place around the UK this year.

The Holyroodhouse display will be followed by shows at Buckingham Palace from July 23 and Windsor Castle from September 17.

In total, about 150 outfits worn by the Queen will go on display across the three venues.