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Royal Dolls FIT FOR THE LITTLE PRINCESSES

Blonde haired France, brunette Marianneand

their magnificent 360-piece trousseau were given

to the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose in

1938 to mark the State Visit to France by King

George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

This gift from ‘the children of France’ was

an expression of the entente cordiale between

Great Britain and France on the eve of the

Second World War and a valuable showcase for

Parisian haute couture.

The doll’s bisque heads were modelled by

Jumeau, the most famous French doll-makers.

Their dresses were designed by Worth, Lanvin

and Rochas among others. No detail was over

looked. An image of the dolls ‘driving’ along the

Champs Elyséées in their miniature Citroen sports

cars was reproduced around the world.

Le Journal, a Paris newspaper, published fre

quent editions of the Courrier des Poupéées, (doll

news) which fed an enthralled audience details

about this ambitious project. •••

France and Marianne are on permanent display

at Windsor Castle, www.royal.gov.ukDolls for

the Princesses: The Story of France and

Marianne, Faith Eaton, with a foreword by Suzy

Menkes is published by the Royal Collection

Royal C olle ction © 2008, H er Majesty Queen Eliz abethII

They stand 27 inches

high. Bird cage body;

white, mask-like face,

hair coiled and coiffed out

of silver thread into the

chic-est of arrangements or

else curled in blonde or

chestnut and tucked under

headpieces and hats. And

the clothes! A black wool

suit by Balenciaga, with a

wide black knotted sash

around the hips. Or Maggy

Rouff’s white, horizontally

pleated organdy dress with

puffed sleeves and Peter Pan

collar, worn with white leather

peep toe shoes.

This is the world of La

Theatre de la Mode. 228

mannequins constructed

at the end of the Second

World War and dressed by

Parisian couturiers. Perhaps the idea, in a

country that could scarcely feed itself, let

alone get hold of luxury fabrics, should

have been laughed off as absurd. But as

the Germans retreated from Paris in 1944,

and a bitter winter set in, Robert Ricci,

head of La Chambre Syndicale de la Haut

Couture Parisienne, was asked by the new

government to think of something that

would both show off the vigour and artistry

Mary Hill M useum