Seven ways to strike a casually laid-back look like the Queen

Blimey, what else has the Queen been getting up to behind the scenes – wearing jeans and flip-flops?

Did you see that picture of the Queen? You’ll know the one I mean, because it’s not often you see a picture of the Queen and do a double-take. I’m talking – of course – about the hands-in-pockets one. Everyone looked at it and thought: “Why does she look so relaxed? Hang on… She’s got her hands in her pockets! ” Then we thought: “Blimey, what else has she been getting up to behind the scenes: wearing jeans and flip-flops with spongy bits between her toes? Jogging in a grey Nike hoodie? Having a TV dinner on a tray in front of Gogglebox?”

Now we know from Angela Kelly’s The Other Side of the Coin that the Queen wanted to be shown looking at ease. Her choosing to be pictured hands in pockets is as much a sign of the changing times as tieless men on TV, exercise clothes worn everywhere in public, the unshaven, rough beard look and umpteen other examples of the New Casual. Even at the highest levels of society, casual is the norm.

Here are a few examples that we can expect to be adopted by HM, or not, in the near future… Shoeless indoors

Just a small thing, but in the space of a few years, removing your shoes at the front door has travelled from something Not Really Done to Sign Of Scandinavian Style Modern Living (see wooden floors and underfloor heating). You’re not trying this at Balmoral, but probably in certain rooms in KP. Eating rustic/grazing

You may remember pre-hellmannsgate (when Miriam Clegg outed Samcam for giving her plain roast chicken on a board and Hellmann’s for lunch), we were still clinging by a thread to the idea of making an effort entertaining, with three courses and home-made sauces. Now we’re all grazey and lazy. It’s all about things on boards now, Miriam, and small amounts in little bowls. It’s all about tearing (tearing is the new cutting) and eating with your hands and never having much to do with a plate.

Texts instead of thank-you letters

Does anyone put pen to paper for any reason now other than a letter of condolence? Well, yes, Meghan, come to think of it. So the New Casual rule still only applies to Us – that is: a thank-you text for dinner/the weekend,

maybe, a card if someone’s really pushed the boat out and, say, had you to stay for a week in their villa in Morocco. (More likely just a really long text in those circs, maybe a phone call.) Messy gardens

It’s called rewilding – or, in an ordinary garden, rewilding “lite”, and, depending on your point of view, this fashion for letting your garden “go a bit” is either environmentally aware (good for bees) or New Casual, eg, easier and less formal than the old-style hedge-trimming and lawn-mowing. Eating everywhere

You’ll remember it was recently suggested that eating on public transport should be banned as it contributes to obesity, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg of New Casual eating habits. What about getting a Deliveroo and eating it out of its box while lying on the floor? How about slurping a coffee in any situation and arriving most places with a coffee in hand? New Casual has killed off the dining room, so if you have a dining room with a door, you are probably royalty. Communicating

If you are fully New Casual, this is done on a strictly suit-yourself basis. No message need be answered until you are good and ready, and maybe not at all. The Queen’s never, ever going to get this casual, obviously.