Stripped: bra firm loses royal warrant over book
THE QUEEN’S personal brafitter is reeling after learning that Rigby & Peller, her former company, has been stripped of its royal warrant.
The upmarket lingerie firm 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.
She received a letter from the Lord Chamberlain stating that Rigby & Peller was to lose its royal warrant as a result of the autobiography.
Mrs Kenton 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 and a real shock.
“I never thought when I wrote the book that it would upset anyone. I never imagined this would happen.”
In the book, Mrs 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.
Mrs Kenton bought Rigby & Peller for £20,000 in 1982 and sold her stake for £8million in 2011 to Van de Velde. She remained on the board and continued to fit the Queen’s bras. 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. I’m coming towards the end of my life – I’m 82 so it is what it is. There is nothing I can do,” she said.
The firm must now remove the coat of arms from promotions and shop signs.