Power dressing
EMMA JOHNSON takes a look back at the Queen’s enduring sense of style
LONG before Princess Diana was being feted by fashion designers and decades before the Duchesses of Cambridge and Sussex were even born, Queen Elizabeth II had already made her mark as a global style icon.
As a young princess she dazzled in the designs of the era. There were demure tea dresses in the Thirties and sharp-shouldered jackets in the Forties, while she embraced the full skirts that the Fifties brought.
Famously, when the young royal married Prince Philip back in 1947 in a Norman Hartnell-designed ivory silk and duchess satin gown, just like every other bride of the day, she had to save up enough ration coupons to pay for it.
And in her 70 years as monarch, throughout the 300-plus meets, greets, banquets and official openings she tirelessly completed every year, she never put a sensible shoeclad foot wrong on the fashion front.
The hats, the frock coats, the gloves, the pearls, those little black Launer handbags that hung so deftly in the crook of her arm, every item was carefully considered.
Whether meeting politicians,
movie stars, military figures or royal fans and well wishers, the Queen understood the power in the clothes she wore.
Jewellery and accessories would be selected to reflect people and places, while a firm belief that she must stand out in a crowd – the people who come to see her deserve to be able to see her – inspired the bright outfits and eye-catching hats chosen for public walkabouts.
Even the off-duty looks she showcased during breaks at Balmoral or while spending time with her beloved corgis – waxed jackets, sturdy boots and silk headscarves – were iconic.
Blue was widely regarded as her favourite colour, although yellow has to be a close second.
In recent years much of the credit for the Queen’s impeccable appearance has been awarded to Angela Kelly.
The Liverpool-born docker’s daughter has been Personal Advisor to Her Majesty (The Queen’s Wardrobe) since 1994 and not only helped to put together the monarch’s outfits but often designed or altered them herself.
She was responsible for the yellow frock coat the Queen wore for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding in 2011 as well as the powder blue coat and hat Her Majesty donned for Princess Eugenie’s 2018 nuptials.
For the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012, the 63-yearold dressmaker created the stunning ivory boucle dress she wore for the pageant on the river Thames.
It was reported the number was designed to make her stand out against the royal barge’s plush red interior and was inspired by gowns worn by Elizabeth I.
Meanwhile, the golden dress Her Majesty wore for the Jubilee concert echoed the colour of the Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace and the peach shade used for the gown the Queen wore in the James Bond video at the opening of the 2012 Olympic Games was chosen so it would stand out in the night sky. Crucially, it also wouldn’t
clash with any of the colours on display inside the Olympic stadium.
More than just a member of staff, Angela is known to have been one of the Queen’s closest confidantes.
In 2019 Her Majesty even gave Angela her blessing to publish a memoir – The Other Side of the
Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe, in which she gave a peek behind the scenes of what it was like to dress the world’s longestreigning monarch.
It included the revelation that the Queen always insisted on doing her own make-up, apart from when it came to her Christmas Day televised address to the nation.
The book also confirmed one of the longest-standing royal rumours – that the Queen had someone break in her shoes.
Angela wrote: “As has been reported a lot in the press, a ‘flunky’ wears in Her Majesty’s shoes to ensure that they are comfortable and that she is always good to go.
“And yes, I am that ‘flunky’.”