Queen Victoria to the Duke of Somerset

Buckingham Palace, 29th June 1860.

Before sanctioning the proposed change in the Naval Uniform, the Queen wishes to know what the State occasions are on which the full dress is to be worn. The officers generally wear an undress without epaulettes, which in consequence are of little inconvenience to them. She has always understood the Service to cling very much to its present uniform, and she would be sorry to shock their feelings.

Footnote 25: The principal change proposed was that full dress should cease to be obligatory at Courts-Martial.