This is the earliest surviving dress known to have been worn by Queen Victoria. The lace is made using natural, unbleached silk rather than white linen thread, giving the dress its luminous, glossy appearance.

This may be the dress which is depicted in the painting Queen Victoria when a Girl by Richard Westall (RCIN 400135)

It is likely that this dress was presented to Queen Victoria as a gift by her uncle Leopold, King of the Belgians and his French wife Louise-Marie.