Decoding the Queen's ‘just daring enough’ wardrobe
Hampton Court Palace has seen plenty of queens walk across its courtyard over the centuries, but none of them, I’d wager, could have been mistaken for looking like they were on their way to a night out at Abba Voyage.
When the Queen arrived at the palace on Sunday for the inaugural Queen’s Reading Room literary festival, she showed off the cobalt blue Anna Valentine jumpsuit, which she debuted at May’s Coronation concert, in its full glory. Then, it was somewhat hidden behind the seating and staging, but on this second outing, its fabulously swooshy trousers were displayed beautifully. No wonder she was grinning from ear to ear.
The Queen’s Reading Room is the first live event spin-off of one of the Queen’s great passion projects of recent years, the book club which she started during lockdown. It’s an initiative that is all her own, and the outfit she chose for the occasion underlined that – she looked more glamorous and relaxed than any of us might imagine a septuagenarian queen could be.
It’s been more than a month now since the Coronation and Camilla’s rebranding from Queen Consort to Queen. She’s never been one to attempt fashion plate status, but it’s evident that with the guidance of her long-time dresser Jacqui Meakin, she’s developing a look to suit a new era and her position as the most senior woman in the Royal family.
Prince Harry might have complained about his stepmother turning his old Clarence House bedroom into a dressing room, but Camilla’s wardrobe is nowhere near as vast as that of the late Queen or the Princess of Wales. She repeats often and depends on a small selection of staple accessories. But she has also been shoring up her repertoire recently with some new purchases that crystallise how she’s styling herself as a modern 75-year-old queen.
There seems to be a subtle running theme to how Camilla approaches dressing for an engagement, too. If she’s attending solo or is very much the star of the show, then her outfit will be a soupcon more daring, with less of a staid “uniform” feel. Sunday’s jumpsuit is an excellent example, but there are others.
Both Camilla and Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, have developed a penchant for Me and Em, a label loved by a certain kind of woman who has plenty of money to spend and wants to look au courant without erring into fashion victim territory. Last week, Camilla added yet another new frock from the brand to her collection, wearing a £250 cobalt blue midi dress (fast becoming her signature shade) with the slit neckline that is a running theme in her dresses. “The deeper the better, especially on a fuller bust and far more flattering on her than a round neck. It’s also excellent for all her lovely necklaces,” Fiona Clare, one of her favourite designers, told The Telegraph earlier this year.
She wore the Me and Em dress for what looked like a rather fun afternoon of champagne and cake, meeting with 100-year-old Second World War veteran Lieut Michael de Burgh. Then there was a scallop-edged jacket, which the horse-mad Queen wore at The British Racing School in Newmarket earlier this month.
By contrast, when the occasion demands formality and regal elegance, Camilla has her own formula for delivering it. At the Chelsea Flower Show, she was dutifully literal in a floral Fiona Clare frock. On a visit to Northern Ireland in May, she opted for a matching Bruce Oldfield coat dress, Philip Treacy hat and gloves worn for an official reception with the King at Hillsborough Castle, and a dress by Anna Valentine came in the perfect diplomatic shade of emerald green.
Even here, though, Camilla added style tweaks that would even make a woman half her age look instantly cooler. When she felt chilly, the Queen draped her trench coat around her shoulders. It’s what fashion editors call shoulder robing and is practised by all the most-photographed influencers and insiders at fashion week. She also carried a handbag by Bottega Veneta, an It label which shows someone on her team is keeping up with what’s in and what’s out.
Camilla also has several Chanel bags in her collection, though we’ll never know if that’s because she’s a fan of the Parisian maison or down to its logo bearing her and Charles’ interlocked initials. And amidst all her traditional brooches and jewels (Van Cleef and Arpels and Kiki McDonough are her favourites), is a very sweet locket bearing a ruby (her birth stone) and her grandchildren’s initials.
Not that all her accessories are chosen for their fashion-forward properties. Camilla’s footwear now largely comes from Eliot Zed, a shoemaker specialising in comfort. “She knows what she likes and she’s growing in confidence,” Fiona Clare hinted in April. Expect plenty more moments like that jumpsuit stride from Queen Camilla.
