Royals get knickers in a twist over lingerie-maker’s book
BRITAIN’S Queen Elizabeth’s lingerie supplier, Rigby & Peller, has been stripped of its royal warrant after the company’s former owner wrote a tell-all book about palace fittings.
The upmarket lingerie firm held the warrant for 57 years, but lost its royal approval after June Kenton wrote a memoir about her work.
The 82-year-old is known for transforming the brand into a world-leading retailer and her autobiography, ‘Storm in D-Cup’, goes into detail about fittings with the British queen, Princess Diana and Princess Margaret.
Since the incident, Ms Kenton explained that it was never her intention to upset anyone.
She said: “It is very sad for me that they didn’t like it and I’m finding that very difficult to accept. It’s horrible.
“I never ever thought when I was writing the book that it would upset anyone.
“I’ve had the royal warrant for so long I never imagined that this would happen.”
Ms Kenton received a letter from the Lord Chamberlain last year stating that Rigby & Peller was to lose its royal warrant as a result of the autobiography.
In the book, Ms Kenton wrote about fitting the queen, explaining that she was half-dressed and that her corgis were often present.
She also wrote about Princess Diana, saying she would accept posters showing models in lingerie and swimwear to give to princes William and Harry to hang up in their Eton rooms.
Ms Kenton bought Rigby & Peller with her husband in 1982, paying £20,000, but sold her stake for £8m (€9m)
29 years later to Van de Velde. The cost of a bra from Rigby & Peller’s ranges in price from £50 (€56) to £200
(€225) and it has had a host of famous clients, including Kim Kardashian, Margaret Thatcher, Gwyneth Paltrow and Joan Collins.