Former owner’s book sees loyal bra firm stripped of royal warrant
BRITAIN: The Queen’s personal bra fitter is reeling after learning that her former company has been stripped of its royal warrant.
Upmarket lingerie firm Rigby & Peller held the warrant for 57 years but lost royal assent after June Kenton wrote a book about her work.
The 82-year-old businesswoman made the brand a world leader, and her autobiography, Storm In A D-cup, published last year, detailed fittings with the Queen, Diana, Princess of Wales, and Princess Margaret.
Kenton received a letter from the Lord Chamberlain stating that Rigby & Peller was to lose its royal warrant as a result of the autobiography.
‘‘It is very sad for me that they didn’t like it, and I’m finding that very difficult to accept,’’ Kenton said. ‘‘It’s horrible and a real shock. I never thought when I wrote the book that it would upset anyone.‘‘
In the book, Kenton wrote about fitting the Queen, explaining that she was half-dressed and that her corgis were often present. She also wrote that Diana accepted posters of models in lingerie and swimwear to give to her sons to display in their Eton studies.
Kenton bought Rigby & Peller for £20,000 in 1982, and sold her stake for £8 million in 2011 to Van de Velde. She remained on the board and continued to fit the Queen’s bras. Other clients included Kim Kardashian, Joan Collins, Lady Gaga, Cherie Blair and Dawn French.
‘‘The book doesn’t contain anything naughty. But it’s a fact I have done work for the Queen. There would be a gaping hole if I didn’t mention it,’’ Kenton said.
‘‘I’m coming towards the end of my life - I’m 82, so it is what it is. There is nothing I can do.’’
The firm must now remove the royal coat of arms from promotions and shop signs.
In a serialisation of the book in the Daily Mail, Kenton described the first time she carried out a fitting at Buckingham Palace, when the Queen would not proceed until she had ordered her corgis to be brought in from outside, because a thunderstorm was brewing.
She also recalled the Queen Mother telling her that Princess Margaret liked to interfere with her choice of hats. The Queen Mother said: ‘‘I pretend to listen to Margaret and then, once she has gone, I order what I want.’’
– Telegraph Group, The Times