SKIRTS THAT GET SHORTER

SHE raised eyebrows for flashing a lot of leg this week (left) — but it’s not the first time she has surprised in a short skirt recently, including for a meeting with President Putin (right).

Indeed, during her years in the public eye, her average hem length has risen by around 15 in, with far more above-the-knee skirts in her wardrobe than ever before.

In the Noughties, she tended to wear trousers and below-the-knee, mid-calflength dresses, while her only knee-length skirt — an eye- catching artificial leather number — appeared just twice in public.

But over time she’s found courage to go higher. From a £350 Aztec-pattered Amanda Wakeley dress to a £655 purple asymmetric design by Escada, almost all her recent favourite outfits have a skirt length of 20 in or less.

‘ She likes to shock,’ a Downing Street source says. ‘Her mindset is very much: “People think I’m a staid, middle-aged woman, but there’s more to me than meets the eye.” ’