Her Majesty by Robert Hardman

early1950s would have found few changes beyond some cars at the back of the Royal Mews and the advent of telephones. Had the same courtier nodded off and reawoken after a further half-century, he might have expired on discovering footmen in the Monarch’s pool and secretaries borrowing the Royal Box at the Royal Albert Hall. On the other hand, he might be relieved to discover a monarch who had actually changed very little over the same period, her sense of duty and her love of horses, dogs and Prince Philip completely undimmed.
    ‘The Queen realises that the world is changing, that the country is changing and that this must be reflected within the Household,’ says a close colleague of many years’ standing. ‘But it needn’t necessarily reflect her personal life. That’s where she would dig her well-known heel in.’
    Royal truths, taught on a grandmother’s knee, certainly hold fast today. Queen Mary – along with George V – believed in settling upon a style and sticking with it. ‘Queen Mary remained frozen into the fashions of 1913 and that’s why she wore the toque and a stiff piece of buckram under the dress so that she could load herself with jewels,’ says the historian Kenneth Rose. ‘The King insisted on her having this rigid, old-fashioned appearance because he didn’t like change.’
    The Queen is similarly wedded to a certain style. Once teased by some fashion commentators for her floral patterns and sensible shoes, she is now held aloft as a fashion icon. ‘She is, simply, one of the most elegant women in the world,’ declared Miuccia Prada when the Queen’s state visit to Italy in 2000 reached Milan. The sentiment was echoed by an entire room full of brand names including Missoni, Fendi, Ferré and Krizia (‘The Queen is above fashion,’ purred Mariuccia Krizia). Even the Guardian felt moved to salute the Queen on its front page the next day.
    The Queen’s own interest in fashion and jewellery, as in so much else, might be described as practical. All her shoes, for example, have a large square heel because she has discovered that it spreads the pressure more evenly than a point and thus makes standing up all day more tolerable. The royal designer, Hardy Amies, was always in awe of the Queen’s ability to put on a tiara while walking downstairs. She has refreshingly uncomplicated views on clothes. According to Sarah Bradford, the Queen told a milliner: ‘I can’t wear beige because people won’t know who I am.’ A Private Secretary who misinformed her about a dress code with the result that she turned up in day clothes to find everyone else in ‘full fig’, was later admonished gently with the words: ‘I think we were a little underdressed.’
    However, the Queen is well aware that her choice of clothes can be critical to the success of an engagement. The green ensemble she worefor her arrival in Ireland in May 2011 set the tone for one of the most successful state visits of modern times in an instant. She had not reached the foot of the aeroplane steps before Irish commentators were joyously saluting her ‘emerald’ hat, coat and dress (the official Palace designation of ‘jade’ was largely ignored). The following night, her evening dress for the state banquet was decorated with 2,091 embroidered shamrocks and an Irish harp in Swarovski crystals. By the end of the tour, her dresser, Angela Kelly (herself of Irish descent), had become something of a national celebrity in her own right.
    On any visit, she must dress up. It’s not vanity on her part. It would simply offend her hosts if she did not. When the royal party got soaked at a military parade in Northern Ireland in 2010, there was no change of clothes available. As everyone thawed out indoors, the Queen declined a chair. ‘I’ll stand,’ she said, explaining that by drying out on her feet her clothes would not be creased for the official lunch. A rare but historic wardrobe blunder took place just after the Coronation