This autumn, Longleat House is marking 450 years since the historic visit of Queen Elizabeth I with a special exhibition showcasing iconic costumes from film and television, including a stunning gown worn by Dame Helen Mirren in the Emmy award-winning TV mini-series Elizabeth I.
Visitors to the Wiltshire estate can also view the coronation robes worn by Cate Blanchett in the 1998 film Elizabeth, alongside a gown worn by Anita Dobson in the 2015 docudrama series Armada: 12 Days to Save England. These spectacular costumes bring a cinematic flair to Longleat’s Great Hall, the last surviving Elizabethan interior in the estate.
Queen Elizabeth I famously visited Longleat in September 1574, when the house was still under construction, during one of her ‘progresses’ across the country. Her visit was a major event for the Thynne family, who own Longleat to this day, with the current 8th Marquess of Bath residing there.
James Ford, Longleat’s curator, explained the significance of the exhibition: “To mark 450 years since Elizabeth I visited Longleat, we thought it would be fun to display costumes worn to bring the Queen to life on the big and small screen. Not only does this provide an opportunity to see these prestigious pieces of film and TV history, but by displaying them in the Great Hall, Longleat’s only surviving Elizabethan interior, it gives a sense of how lavish the Queen’s visit on 2 September 1574 might have been.”
The exhibition also features original documents from Elizabeth I’s visit, which was deemed a great success despite initial reluctance from the estate’s owner at the time, Sir John Thynne. The exhibition runs until 3rd November, offering visitors a rare glimpse into both cinematic history and one of Longleat’s most significant royal moments.
For more information and to book tickets, visit www.longleat.co.uk.
