The Sleeping Beauty, first performed by the Sadler's Wells (now Royal) Ballet in 1946, is Messel's most enduring production in Great Britain. He designed over one thousand costumes for the many revivals of this production between 1946 and 1970. The fanciful costumes and sets are inspired by the work of artists and stage designers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

This crown was designed for Prince Florimund in Act III and photographs of the dress rehearsal show Robert Helpmann and David Paltenghi, who both danced the role in the 1946 season, wearing it. It is made from papier mâché attached to wire and reinforced on the inside with brown paper tape, giving the illusion of silver, but although it had to be light enough to be worn comfortably during an arduous ballet performance, it would seem that the dancers did not feel comfortable and it was never worn after the first night. This is often the fate of hats and headgear designed for men in ballet, especially if the role calls for energetic movement when it is only too easy for headdresses to become dislodged. Ballerina's don't have the same problem, as the headdresses can be securely pinned into their hair, but it is still advisable to design something that is light and sits firmly to the head.

Great Britain’s leading theatre designer from the early 1930s to the mid 1950s, Oliver Messel (1904-1978) won international acclaim for his lavish, painterly and poetic designs informed by period styles. His work spans ballet, drama, film, musical, opera and revue. Messel’s traditional style of theatre design became unfashionable from the mid 1950s onwards, and he increasingly concentrated on painting, interior and textile design, including designing luxury homes in the Caribbean.