Shoe

These silk slippers were made by Gundry & Sons of Soho Square in London, and are traditionally believed to have been worn by Queen Victoria for her coronation on 28 June 1838. They have flat soles with no heel, a square toe and throat, and are covered in silk with stripes of applied silk ribbon.

As the name suggests, Gundry & Sons was a family business, passing through multiple generations of the Gundry family. They showed work at the International Exhibition of 1862, presenting a "variety of boots and shoes, showing improvements and inventions." The accounts of the Duchess of Kent show that Gundry made shoes for the Princess Victoria from 1824, and they continued to supply the Queen with shoes up until 1898. The Gundry & Son silk slippers she wore on her wedding day to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, now in the collection of Northampton Museum, are remarkably similar to this pair - with square toes, applied stripes of ribbon and ribbon ties.

Queen Victoria recorded her coronation day at Westminster Abbey in her own diary. This included some references to her attire: "I first went into a robing-room [...] After putting on my Mantle, and the young ladies having properly got hold of it, and Lord Conynham holding the end of it, I left the robing-room and the Procession began. [...] At the beginning of the Anthem... I retired to St Edward's Chapel, a small dark place immediately behind the Alter, with my Ladies and Train-bearers; took off my crimson robe and kirtle and put on the Supertunica Cloth of Gold, also in the shape of a kirtle, which was put over a singular sort of little gown of linen trimmed with lace; I also took off my circlet of diamonds, and then proceeded bare-headed into the Abbey; I was then seated upon St Edward's chair where the Dalmatic robe was clasped round me."

Though other changes in ceremonial dress are described in detail, the shoes worn throughout the ceremony do not appear in Victoria's recollections of the day. However, in Sir George Hayter's State Portrait, the Queen's slipper is seen just peeking out from under her gown and robes. The shoes depicted in the painting visually match this pair, with square toes and distinctive bands, as created by the stripes of ribbon. It is highly likely that the Queen's coronation shoes would have been made by Richard Gundry, who supplied most of her footwear and made a very similar pair for her wedding day. However, it is not possible today to confirm the association with this particular pair of slippers, as they did not come to the museum from a royal source.