Mum: My lessons in drag for son,17 CLAIRE HELPS MATTI REACH PAGEANT FINALS
A MUM is supporting her drag queen son by transforming alongside him.
Claire Elliot, 48, enjoys letting 17-year-old Matti practise make-up skills on her to hone his technique.
Matti hopes to one day become a professional queen like those on TV show RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Claire, of Cranleigh, Surrey, said: “I actually love it, it’s so much fun. “It’s a great time to bond, too, and we have such a laugh.
“Any time I’ve got a spare few hours, or even if his mates are over, he’ll get our make-up done.” Matti, who uses the drag queen name Amber Lynne – a take on the name of Henry VIII’s second wife – regularly performs with group United Shapes of Drag in the Apple Tree pub in Clerkenwell, London. The music student is through to the finals of Miss Drag UK and credits his success to his mum.
Matti said: “It just feels normal to me to have such a supportive mum, but I do realise how lucky I am.
“She has always allowed me to go down my own path. As long as she can make sure I’m safe, she’s happy.
“It must have been obvious to her that I’d end up in drag as I was obsessed with princesses and Barbies as a kid. “I used to love watching RuPaul’s Drag Race and tried my first proper drag after just one episode.”
He added: “Becoming a drag queen is not an easy thing to figure out. “There’s lots to it and so we’ve been figuring it out together really.”
Claire, who runs a dog boarding house from her home, said: “I know that he might come across negativity out in the world – he already has.
“But we are so proud of him and all he’s achieved.”