WHAT SHE KEEPS IN IT

THE contents of the royal handbag is a secret so closely guarded even her bagmaker doesn’t know the particulars.

But over the years, royal aides have let slip fascinating details about Her Majesty’s most prized possessions:

A LIPSTICK, believed to be the same Clarins shade she had commissioned to match her coronation robes in 1953.

AN S-SHAPED hook, so she doesn’t have to put her handbag on the floor.

A guest of the Queen’s cousin once revealed: ‘I watched the Queen open her handbag and remove a white suction cup and discreetly spit into it. The Queen then attached the cup to the underside of the table. The cup had a hook on it, and she attached her bag to it.’ A COMPACT mirror. A GLASSES case. MINT lozenges. A FOUNTAIN pen. A CRISP £5 or £10 note folded in half. Sally Bedell Smith, author of Elizabeth The Queen, says she keeps a single note in her bag for the church donation plate — the only cash she ever carries.

PERSONAL items, claims Phil Dampier, author of What’s In The Queen’s Handbag, such as miniature dogs, horses and saddles (good luck charms from her children) and a few photographs, including one of Prince Andrew on his return from the Falklands in 1982.