The Queen's Wardrobe: The Story of Queen Elizabeth II and Her Clothes

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With it, she wore the Robe of the Estate, made from purple velvet and extending more than 6 metres in length. Wheat sheaves and olive branches embroidered in gold thread on the robe symbolised prosperity and peace. Her wardrobe staples – hats, gloves, handbags, court shoes – remained constant throughout her reign and recalled the sartorial conventions of a bygone era. They also constituted her work wear, signalling she was on duty.

Writing in her book The Other Side of The Coin: The Queen, The Dresser and The Wardrobe, Angela Kelly, the queen's personal dresser, describes the many considerations that have to be taken into account when designing the silhouette and technical aspects of the queen's clothes: The abdication of the Queen's uncle and her father's death at 56 left the monarchy in crisis, and from the beginning of her reign, the Queen used clothes to communicate a consistent message: "That she's steadfast, she's dependable, that there's a continuity of the monarchy," says Dr Emily Brayshaw, Honorary Research Fellow at UTS.Angela Kelly writes that "colour is key" to the queen's wardrobe, "though—the chosen colour must suit." The Queen's dressing got better as she aged," says McNeil, largely due to the influence of Angela Kelly, who joined the palace in 1994 and eventually became the Queen's senior dresser and a trusted confidante. The queen has a dedicated team to help her with her wardrobe. Her most senior wardrobe adviser is Angela Kelly who holds the distinguished title of Personal Assistant, Adviser and Curator to Her Majesty The Queen (Jewellery, Insignias and Wardrobe).

As Britain’s longest-reigning Monarch, the Queen holds an incomparable position in public life and remains one of Britain’s most enduring dressers. Her early years on the throne were defined by pieces created by court dressers, Norman Hartnell and Hardy Amies, yet in recent years senior dresser, and close confidante, Angela Kelly, has come to be responsible for her consortium of looks, especially those that have most recently taken her through her 90th birthday celebrations, the Diamond Jubilee year and a flurry of Royal Weddings. Below Kelly there are four other dressers, a dedicated milliner, a dressmaker and a housemaid. The queen also has a hairdresser who comes regularly and sets her famous regal hairstyle. Hats were also an integral part of the queen’s wardrobe. Marvelous millinery from Rachel Trevor-Morgan would usually be found atop Her Majesty’s head when she wasn't wearing a crown or tiara, of course.One of the most photographed people in the world during her lifetime, the late Queen lived her life in the public eye. The Queen prioritised visibility in her fashion choices, recognising that when she was in public, she was always on display. From floral pinafores as a Princess, to bedazzled ballgowns as a newly crowned Queen and the joy-inspiring rainbow wardrobe in later life, Queen Elizabeth II always served fashion, as well as her country.

The story of Queen Elizabeth II, who famously said ‘if I wore beige, no one would know who I was’, told through her clothes and jewellery. The Queen’s Wardrobe is a gorgeous gift to treasure, celebrating a long life devoted to service. The Queen’s most well-known quote about her image is her assertion that she “needed to be seen to be believed.” They say your brand is defined by what a person sees if they close their eyes and hear your name, and the image that comes to mind of the Queen – cheerful in bright colours, her regal diamonds and pearls counterbalanced by the eminently practical handbag and shoes – sums up what she stood for. Rather than take traditional deference to monarchy for granted, she won the respect of the public through hard work. Long before resilience became a buzzword during the pandemic, she was modelling what resilience looked like with her dependably rainbow-hued wardrobe. She showed up, as the young people say. Her clothes were never the main event, but they were a steadying mood music which set a certain tone. The queen's rainbow colored wardrobe has won the acclaim of the fashion press over recent years. In 2012, the diamond jubilee year, British Vogue charted all of the monarch's outfits and found that her most worn color was blue—making up 24 percent of the outfits she had worn on public outings.Her other favorite accessories included her trusted Launer handbag, a vivaciously versatile purse, and perfectly practical pumps from Anello & Davide, who also created Dorothy’s ruby slippers in The Wizard of Oz. If you do nothing, you will be auto-enrolled in our premium digital monthly subscription plan and retain complete access for 65 € per month.

Hats were also an integral part of the Queen’s wardrobe. Marvellous millinery from Rachel Trevor-Morgan would usually be found atop of her majesty’s head, when she wasn't wearing a crown of course. Still, the fairytale moments you'd expect when a princess becomes a Queen were all there. Her coronation gown, made in duchesse satin with colourful embroideries of the flowers of the commonwealth and the emblems of Great Britain, was undoubtedly a showstopper.According to Kelly, a royal outfit could have a 25-year lifespan. After two or three public outings, a piece would be modified or retired to the Queen's private wardrobe. Always thrifty, the Queen liked her clothes "to be adapted and recycled as much as possible", Kelly wrote. Her other favourite accessories included her trusted Launer handbag – a vivaciously versatile purse – and perfectly practical pumps from Anello & Davide, who also created Dorothy’s ruby slippers in The Wizard of Oz. The queen's wardrobe is mainly created by two designers, one of them being Kelly herself who was responsible for many of the looks worn for the diamond jubilee and also the famous primrose yellow outfit worn to the wedding of Prince William. Written by the Waterstones Children's Book Prize-winning Julia Golding, The Queen's Wardrobe is full of fascinating stories from the long life of our record-breaking Queen. The detailed and colourful artwork from bestselling Kate Hindley shows what it's really like to grow up as a princess.