Bacton Altar Cloth

After several years of conservation and restoration, the garment was exhibited to the public in 2019 and 2020 along with the Rainbow Portrait, in which the queen is depicted wearing a highly similar dress.

[10] The Altar Cloth had survived the centuries as it was considered a sacred object by the parishioners at St Faith's Church in Bacton.

For 106 years the framed cloth remained on the north wall of Bacton Church, away from direct sunlight, which helped preserve the garment from fading.

[16] The altar cloth was examined by the dress historian Janet Arnold who wrote about it in 1988, describing the fabric as "silver chamblet" in poor condition.

Subsequently, Eleri Lynn, a curator at the Historic Royal Palaces who was researching a book on Tudor fashion, saw Richardson's photos of the cloth online.

Lynn examined the cloth and discovered it was of extraordinarily high quality, and observed the evidence of pattern cutting that reveals it had been a dress.