Why Princess Marina was the Royal family's original style icon
In an age in which princess mania has never been more fervent – be it Disney’s or the House of Windsor’s – one would imagine there might be more interest in a British princess not so long ago renowned for her style and popularity. However, this week’s 50th anniversary of the death of Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent is likely to go largely unmarked, with the exception of Historic Royal Palaces, which – with the support of the Art Fund – has just acquired two of her ravishing, Twenties lace negligees for the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection, that great treasure trove of court costume, running to 10,000 garments.
Princess Marina was the Queen’s aunt and the last foreign princess to marry into the Royal family when she became the wife of Prince George, fourth son of George V, in 1934. Her cousin, Prince Philip, married her niece, the then Princess Elizabeth, the following decade. Her firstborn, the Duke of Kent, is one of the Queen’s most stalwart supports, said to be nicknamed “Steady Eddie” within the firm. It is a quality unlikely to have been inherited from his father, the fabulously unsteady Prince George, famed for his hedonism, tango prowess, and being not safe in taxis with either gender.
Together, he and Princess Marina were the golden couple of their generation, and key players in society’s most fashionable set, hobnobbing with artists, actors and authors, including Noël Coward, Cecil Beaton, Douglas Fairbanks and Henry “Chips” Channon. Fashion-wise, Marina was “the Margaret before Margaret”, who in turn might be seen as “the Diana before Diana” – attracting global admiration not merely for her commitment to clothes, but her appreciation of fashion as a national industry.
Such a style icon was she that her headgear appeared in a Kinks song (She’s Bought a Hat Like Princess Marina), and she had a colour named after her (Marina blue, after a turquoise frock she sported to Ascot in 1961). However, memories are short and the woman whose draped dresses, tilted hats and monogrammed handbags were emulated all over the world has been reduced to a quick cameo in The Crown.
Princess Marina was born in 1906, the daughter of a grand duchess of Russia and a prince of Greece and Denmark. From the moment she arrived in Britain, she cut a distinct dash. Her fiancé, Prince George, a notoriously natty dresser himself, described her arrival: “Everyone is so delighted with her, the crowd especially, ‘cos when she arrived at Victoria station they expected a dowdy Princess such as unfortunately my family are – but when they saw this lovely chic creature – they could hardly believe it and even the men were interested and shouted: ‘Don’t change – don’t let them change you!’ Of course, she won’t be changed – not if I have anything to do with it.”
And she wasn’t. When her mother-in-law scolded Marina for boasting scarlet talons, our heroine replied: “Your Georgie may not care for painted nails, but my Georgie is crazy for them.”
Her wedding dress was the epitome of Thirties glamour: a sheath silhouette with draped cowl neckline, trumpet sleeves and a wide train. The white and silver brocade in an English rose design was incredibly delicate, woven in less than two weeks in Lyon, then shipped to London to be sewn. Marina, herself an émigré, requested the seamstresses include Russian refugees.
British couturier Edward Molyneaux, who created her wedding dress, was one of many who raved about her style: “She will not let herself be stormed by any whimsical change of fashion, but wears only what suits her. And her guiding principle is understatement, the unobvious and unshowy.” Isabella Coraça, curator at Historic Royal Palaces, confirms this: “She knew exactly what suited her, preferring to stick with simple, but elegant silhouettes over changing trends. Molyneaux described Marina as the greatest fashion influence since Empress Eugenie set the empire style throughout Europe.”
In 1942, Prince George was killed in a flying accident, leaving Marina a young widow. During the Fifties and Sixties, she lived at Kensington Palace, home to a long line of royal fashion plates. Here, she became famous for her aforementioned pillbox hats, popularised cotton dresses as a means of helping the Lancashire cotton industry and continued to make the wearing of trousers acceptable. She was also an inspiration to the young Princess Margaret, who is said to have remarked: “When I grow up, I will dress as Aunt Marina does.”
Princess Marina spent more than three decades being photographed by the leading image makers of the day, constantly appearing in Vogue, Tatler and Bazaar, and holding her own in the world’s best-dressed lists. When she died of an inoperable brain tumour in August 1968, the nation lost not only one of its most popular royals, but one of its most cherished fashion icons.
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