One of the smallest, yet most interesting interiors of the private apartments of Emperor Nicholas II in the Alexander Palace, is the Valet’s Room. During the reign of the last Tsar, the interior was separated by a large white partition. In the first half was the Emperor’s dressing room, while the second half was used by the valet on duty.

The Tsar’s dressing room was furnished with a large special built-in oak wardrobe with sliding doors and drawers, in which the Emperor’s clothes: uniforms, shoes, hats, underwear and various accessories were kept.

The clothes worn by Nicholas II were sewn by St. Petersburg’s finest craftsmen. One uniform benefited the experience of several generations of craftsmen. The Tsar’s uniforms, coats and hats embodied all the achievements of sewing technologies of the early 20th century. The Emperor’s uniforms were made of a wide variety of materials: leather, fur, feathers or horsehair, metals, wood, and so on.

The collection of the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum maintains a significant number of items that made up the military wardrobe of Emperor Nicholas II – almost 800 items that were made in the late 19th – early 20th centuries. Among these are the uniforms sewn for Nicholas II, when he was still the heir to the throne, have been preserved. The last Emperor of the Russian Empire wore the uniform (ceremonial and everyday) of military units of both the Russian Imperial Army and those of foreign states, of which he was an Honorary Colonel or Commander-in-Chief.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the cost of a standard uniform of the Guards infantry with lapel was 150 rubles. Traditionally, cloths of different colours were used for uniforms: green for infantry; red, blue, white, even brown for cavalry. The ceremonial uniforms were embroidered with gold or silver, which the last Emperor proudly wore.

Today, the Valet’s Room in the Alexander Palace presents several samples of authentic uniforms of various regiments of the Russian Imperial Army, worn by Nicholas II, in the original oak Imperial Wardrobe. In addition, other uniforms of Nicholas II from the wardrobe are on display in the nearby Sovereign’s Martial Chamber at Tsarskoye Selo.

By 1917, up to 1500 uniforms of the Emperor were stored in oak wardrobes in the dressing room of Nicholas II in the Alexander Palace. It is interesting to note, that during the 1930s, part of the collection of Nicholas II’s uniforms were transferred from the Alexander Palace to the Artillery Historical Museum in St. Petersburg, where they remain to this day.

In recent years, the uniforms of Nicholas II from the funds of the Alexander Palace, have been loaned out for exhibitions in such cities as St. Petersburg, Moscow, Tula [includes 21 colour photos], Novosibirsk and Minsk.

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Language: Russian. Duration: 11 minutes

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© Paul Gilbert. 18 November 2024