“What’s the point of watching the series? Dynasty on television when we are lucky enough to have a sovereign who wears a tiara, a ruby necklace with matching earrings and a marvelous pale pink evening dress that sparkles?”, exclaimed in October 1986, a reader of Kent Evening Post. “The images of the Queen in China are so refreshing! What a wonderful ambassador for Britain!”
The state visit of Elizabeth II to the People’s Republic of China – from October 12 to 18, 1986 – is a historic event. This is the first time that a British sovereign has visited Beijing. On October 14, the Queen and Prince Philip walk the Great Wall of China. Elizabeth II chose an imperial purple suit – a clever wink – designed by Kenneth Fleetwood, Hardy Amies’ assistant and then artistic director, as well as a hat by milliner Frederick Fox
But a state visit wouldn’t really be one without the traditional banquet given in the host country. The Chinese did things big. No less than ten dishes follow one another with, on the menu, sea cucumbers and shark fins, refined dishes reserved for the elite. Her Majesty is unanimous in her “marvelous evening dress”, to use the words of her admirer Kent Evening Post.
It is the work of Ian Thomas, former right-hand man of Norman Hartnell. Aware of the diplomatic issues, the designer sought to pay homage to Chinese culture through the language of flowers. The process is as old as time – or rather as old as the House of Windsor – but it works every time. All that remains is to choose an emblematic flower… in a country with so many!
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Among the most popular, the lotus flower, symbol of peace and harmony, has long inspired poets. But perhaps it is, in fact, too well known, omnipresent, a real cheap cliché of Asia? In any case, she leaves the British designer unmoved. Plum blossom might do the trick. It is a guarantee of modesty because it appears at the end of winter and disappears when the others flower… Unfortunately, since Mao Zedong, it has been associated with the martyrs of the revolution. Too political.
Chrysanthemum is appreciated in China but has been associated for centuries with the emperors of Japan. The narcissus, a lucky flower on this side of the globe, does not have a good press in Europe. As for the Chinese rose, as beautiful as it is, it is best known for its medicinal virtues: it relieves women of menstrual pain… No comment. Salvation will ultimately come from the peony, the queen of flowers, which brings wealth and prosperity to the Chinese, and to Her Majesty, embroidered on a dress, a lovely success in esteem.
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