A baby's robe said to have been worn by King James II (1633–1701)
Category
Costume
Date
1633
Materials
Silk satin and linen
Measurements
450 mm (Width); 900 mm (Length)
Order this imageCollection
Belton House, Lincolnshire
NT 436959
Caption
A note attached to the back of this 17th-century silk christening robe states that it was worn by Prince James, Duke of York, later James II of England and VII of Scotland (1633–1701). Born on 14 October 1633 at St James’s Palace in London, Prince James was baptised into the Anglican Church six weeks later by William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury (1573–1645). James converted to Catholicism in 1669. He became king in 1685 but was deposed three years later during the Glorious Revolution of 1688, which sought to return a protestant monarch to the British throne. The delicately stitched quilted bands interspersed with flowers decorating the robe may reference the swaddling bands that would have wrapped a baby in the early decades of the 17th century, when they were carried for baptism within the folds of a bearing cloth. The style, however, with free arms, might suggest a later date. Staining around the collar is evidence that this robe has been worn. Emma Slocombe
Summary
A baby robe of ivory satin with short turned up sleeves and a bodice slit down the front to the waist. The design in a Kaftan shape. Said to have been worn by King James II. Exhibited by Lady Marian Alford of Alford House to the Northamptonshire sewing prize scheme, 19th June 1879.
References
Antrobus and Slocombe 2025: Helen Antrobus and Emma Slocombe, 100 Things to Wear: Fashion from the collections of the National Trust, National Trust 2025, pp. 40-41.