The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe

The Queen and King Yang Dipertuan Agong of Malaysia during the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur in 1998.

BACK TO FRONT

OR FRONT TO

BACK?

I’ve learned countless new skills and techniques during my years working for The Queen. Even now I face new challenges when it comes to creating Her Majesty’s outfits, but I always keep one thing in mind on a day-to-day basis: to trust my instincts. I learned this valuable lesson soon after I joined the Royal Household, and one memorable occasion will stay with me as a reminder of how important it is to speak up.

A year after Peggy Hoath retired, in the autumn of 1995, I was promoted to Senior Dresser. Peggy had worked for The Queen for over thirty-five years, and knew all the tricks of the trade. Her standards were so high that I thought I would never be able to reach them. But I listened and learned, and everything she taught me is still carried out to this day.

Then, in 1998, although I wasn’t yet in charge of designing The Queen’s wardrobe, I did assist in choosing appropriate outfits for each occasion. We were planning for Her Majesty’s upcoming tour of Malaysia, where she would be closing the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. As the weather is so warm over there, it was decided that Her Majesty would wear a dress but no jacket or coat, and she chose a vibrant deep coral for the outfit and matching hat. Designs were drawn up and a brief was sent to the milliner. Sketches were done for the hat and, due to Her Majesty’s busy schedule, the hat was delivered at the last minute. Her Majesty didn’t have a chance to try it on and I didn’t have a chance to look it over before it was packed up.

On the day of the ceremony, I was helping Her Majesty get ready and went to take the hat out of the box in which it had been carefully packed. As soon as I had it in my hands, I knew, deep down, that it was not going to suit The Queen. With a commanding shell-like brim and a very large flower on the reverse, it was certainly an interesting and beautifully made piece, but I had a gut feeling that it would not complement the outfit or enhance Her Majesty’s features. I was also very aware that The Queen was going to give a speech that would be broadcast live on television and that the world’s media would be paying close attention, as always, to what she was wearing.

As the morning went on, I became increasingly worried, so I decided I had to raise my concern and face the consequences later. So, I waited for The Queen to come into the dressing room, took a deep breath, and said, ‘Your Majesty, I don’t think you should wear this hat. It is not the right design for you and it won’t suit you.’ A long silence followed before she eventually looked up and said, ‘Well, it’s a bit late now. What else can I wear? I must wear it.’

Although I admired her pragmatic approach, I was insistent. I told her I had been examining the hat from all angles and that it would be better worn back to front. The Queen couldn’t believe that this would work. I told her that, if she did not believe me, she should consult The Duke of Edinburgh, as he always tells her the truth. At this point, I left the room feeling somewhat terrified, as you can imagine.

Before long, Her Majesty called me back. She had consulted His Royal Highness and, after an amusing conversation, in which I imagine The Duke didn’t hold back, The Queen had decided to wear the hat the wrong way around, as I had suggested. She was, however, very concerned that the milliner might be upset. I told her not to worry and that I would think of an explanation for when we returned to London.

I remember feeling so relieved and proud when Her Majesty stepped out onto the stage to deliver her speech that day. The press admired her outfit: the hat had a wonderful 1940s feel to it, with the large flower sitting high at the top. During The Queen’s speech, I was holding my breath – not because I was concerned for her but because I was eager to hear whether she was happy with her last-minute decision to turn the hat. Sure enough, when she came to see me after the event, she greeted me with a lovely smile. No words were needed. It was in moments like these that I knew Her Majesty and I would make a great team. I was so proud that I’d voiced my concern, and I think The Queen appreciated it, too.

So, dear reader, what do you think? Was it back to front, or front to back? Or, in fact exactly the right way around?

Top: The ‘front’. Bottom: The ‘back’, but so much more stylish.

The Queen and Pope John Paul II during a State Visit to the Vatican in 2000.

MEETING HIS

HOLINESS

THE POPE

After the incident with the back-to-front hat at the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony, I became more determined to speak up when it came to matters of Her Majesty’s wardrobe. I had worked so hard to familiarise myself with what Her Majesty liked to wear and, crucially, what was appropriate for The Queen to wear to any given engagement. However, speaking up and being heard wasn’t always easy, as one particular incident taught me.

It was the year 2000 and Her Majesty was due to travel to Rome on a four-day State Visit. I wasn’t yet responsible for attending recces ahead of such trips, so it was the Private Secretaries who on their return outlined the provisional engagements that The Queen would be attending. On one day Her Majesty would be meeting with His Holiness the Pope, after which there would be a private engagement, and so they suggested The Queen would be fine to wear a normal day dress for both events. Straight away, I knew this would be a mistake. Whenever Her Majesty had visited the Pope previously she had always, without fail, worn a long black dress, a beautiful diamond tiara and a long mantilla lace veil. Having been brought up Catholic, I knew instinctively that a day dress simply would not be appropriate and so I expressed this to the Secretaries, who made it clear that my advice wasn’t welcome.

Feeling ignored and patronised, I decided to discuss the matter with Her Majesty directly. I told her that the Private Secretaries had advised that she should wear a colourful day dress to meet with the Pope as it could then also be worn to her next engagement. I insisted that this would not be appropriate for meeting with His Holiness. As always, The Queen listened, however, once she had discussed the matter again with her Private Secretaries, they still insisted that a colourful day dress should be worn. In response, I asked her to go back to the Secretaries and ask them to do their homework. I considered it to be bad advice. I sensed that Her Majesty was starting to feel torn as to whose advice to take.

Confident in the knowledge that I would be standing my ground, regardless of what the Secretaries said, I came up with a secret plan. While preparing for the upcoming tour, I selected one of Her Majesty’s favourite outfits – something I knew she would feel comfortable in – and requested that one of the dressmakers, Maureen Rose, create something in exactly the same style but in navy blue, and to send the invoice only to me. There would be no fittings on this occasion as I did not want to alert anyone to my plan. In addition, I approached Freddie Fox, the milliner at the time, and asked him to design a pillbox-style hat with a detachable veil and that the invoice must also be sent directly to me.

I spoke with Her Majesty one final time before the tour. Once again, I told her that I was certain the Vatican would not have suggested that a day dress would be appropriate. I remember The Queen asking if I had ever been to the Vatican before and how I could be so sure of my advice. I hadn’t, but said the reason I knew was because I was brought up a strong Catholic and that if The Queen turned up for such an important meeting in a day dress, where would it all end? I felt that standards would start slipping. Would guests just turn up to the Investitures in a cotton dress and pumps because they felt more comfortable? I insisted once more that the Pope would not expect guests to arrive in such informal dress. I simply would not dress The Queen this way and at this point, Her Majesty just wanted the matter to be sorted. I had to carry off my plan perfectly.

Three months later, we were in Rome and I went about unpacking Her Majesty’s clothes and arranging her outfits for the upcoming engagements. Soon enough, the day of her visit to the Pope arrived and I heard my name being called loudly down the corridor: I will never forget the sight of the Private Secretary frantically running down one of the longest corridors in the Quirinale Palace, bellowing my name, ‘Angela, Angela, quick!’, and wearing his brown jumper, brown corduroy trousers, brown socks but no shoes! He demanded to know what The Queen would be wearing that day. I calmly informed him that Her Majesty would be wearing a shocking pink outfit, as advised by him and the Assistant Private Secretaries, which did little to calm his panicked state. ‘Don’t you always travel with a black outfit?’ he asked, and I replied that I had not on this occasion. In fact, we do always travel with a black outfit in case of an unexpected sad occasion, but I wasn’t going to let him know that after what he had put me through. I told him not to worry and that Her Majesty would still look beautiful.

He then sent a message to The Queen asking what should be done, as the Vatican had said that the outfit must be dark. Shortly afterwards, The Queen sent for me and asked if we had any dark outfits that she could wear instead. ‘Okay, Your Majesty,’ I said, ‘I’ll show you something.’ And with that, I produced the navy-blue dress and pillbox hat that I had had secretly made before casually commenting that, ideally, the outfit would be black for a meeting with the Pope. Her Majesty agreed and without a moment of hesitation, I produced the exact same dress and veiled hat in black. ‘Luckily enough,’ I said, ‘I also had this made. So you’re absolutely fine.’ I vividly remember the brief look of relief on The Queen’s face.

The two versions of the dress that I had secretly had made.

Watching Her Majesty walk out in her stylish, modern and appropriate black outfit to meet His Holiness the Pope, I felt so proud of myself for having faith in my convictions. The Queen walked out dressed appropriately in her new black outfit as Head of the Church of England meeting another head of the church, His Holiness the Pope. I had known all along that my instincts about The Queen’s outfit that day were right, even though I wasn’t being listened to. From then on, I felt confident that my opinion would be heard.

Eventually I found out that the private engagement was a photograph of The Queen with members of the Royal Household outside the Sistine Chapel, and the Private Secretaries wanted Her Majesty to wear a normal day dress so that it looked like a fun day out, as the Royal Household wouldn’t be dressed in black. This photograph moment had been prioritised above that important private meeting with His Holiness.

In 2014, The Queen met privately with the Pope during a visit to Rome. I had the honour and privilege to be presented to His Holiness. This was extremely special for me. I was holding my rosary beads when the Pope touched my hands to bless them, and I knew my mother would have been so proud of me.

A little colour makes all the difference. At Joel & Son Fabrics in 2019.

FINDING

MY FEET

As my role progressed, I spent more and more time working on Her Majesty’s wardrobe and I started to notice that many of her outfits were made in similar colours. The Queen was wearing a lot of dark green, navy, and red, and I had also noticed that some of the older pieces – the stunning Hardy Amies evening gowns, for example – which had been the height of fashion a few years before, had begun to look a little tired. Spending time with The Queen had allowed me to understand better her likes and dislikes, and I sensed that she would enjoy more vibrant colours and some fresher designs. At this point Her Majesty’s outfits were still only made by designers and dressmakers outside the Palace.

On one occasion I mentioned to The Queen that the designers should be looking at brighter colours and new designs, but who was I to tell them? I had been Senior Dresser for a couple of years and in that time had become more confident, talking to The Queen more about her outfits. I think The Queen knew that I was loyal and would only ever be honest with her. I could not help thinking that The Queen’s style needed to change quickly, before she was made to look older than she was – which was what some of the old designs did. Some of the coats and dresses also had to be made shorter, as The Queen still had, and still does have, a good figure and excellent legs.

One day, The Queen invited me to join her the next time a designer, his team and the milliner came in for a fitting. I was slightly taken aback as I wouldn’t usually be present for fittings; usually I just saw the dressmakers into the room and would leave them to it, but this time I was asked to stay. I was also quite anxious as I knew I couldn’t hide my feelings very well: if an outfit did not suit Her Majesty, the expression on my face would make it clear to everyone what I thought. Even worse, if The Queen asked my advice, I would be forced to dismiss an outfit in front of its designer, or the hat in front of its milliner. Her Majesty would never want to hurt anyone’s feelings, even if I didn’t mind, and I would have to be honest about my opinion for her sake. Little did I know that this moment was yet another stepping stone for me, another door opening.

With the fitting under way, as I’d anticipated, the expression on my face started to give everything away and Her Majesty asked my opinion. This question didn’t go down well with everyone in the room. With bated breath they all turned to me for my answer and waited, and I could see the shock across their faces as I told them my thoughts: the hats were too masculine and their patterns too large. In terms of the outfits, The Queen needed something more chic, fitted and elegant. There was a shocked silence in the room after I spoke. I suspected that I would never be invited back, and I imagine the designer and milliner hoped as much, but Her Majesty continued to request my presence at fittings, to the dread of those designers. I became their worst nightmare.

I vividly remember one fitting where The Queen was draped in a very large piece of bold, jacquard material in a large print. Even a six-foot-tall model would have struggled to pull off something like that, and it absolutely drowned Her Majesty. Once again, I could not hide my disapproval when Her Majesty asked my thoughts. Without hesitation, I said, ‘No way! It doesn’t suit you at all and it is totally the wrong pattern.’ An awkward silence and an icy atmosphere descended on the room. Everyone in sequence turned their heads towards me with what felt like daggers in their eyes, except for The Queen who stared straight ahead and goodness knows what she was thinking. The atmosphere was ice cold. Just at that moment, The Duke of Edinburgh happened to walk past and Her Majesty asked what he thought of the material, knowing that, like mine, his feedback is always honest. ‘Is that the new material for the sofa?’ he joked, before continuing on his way. I excused myself, left the room, and privately punched the air with delight. I composed myself, then walked back into the dressing room where I noticed the material was being folded and put away unused. The Queen was thanking the designers and the milliner for their time and they left the room.

Shortly after that fitting, and experiencing my honesty, Her Majesty asked me to draw some of my own designs for what I thought she should wear. I told her I couldn’t – it had been a long time since I had sketched any outfits. ‘If I wanted an artist, I would hire one,’ The Queen said jokingly. And with that, I began rummaging through the parcels of gift materials, taking samples to show Her Majesty the wealth of beautiful silks and glorious patterns that she already had in her stockroom. Then I showed her some quickly drawn sketches of more fitted, stylish pieces. Thanks to my mum, I’d already had extensive training on the necessary skills but I was a little out of practice. I needed to refresh my memory quickly, considering that it was Her Majesty’s outfits I would be working on. Each was inspired by my own love of fashion and my mother’s elegant wardrobe – her perfectly tailored skirts and jackets. Sometimes I channelled the sensibility of my aunt Edwina – a designer, tailor, and dressmaker, who liked to dress more daringly. She was the first woman I saw in a transparent black chiffon blouse. The Queen saw my drawings of the designs, along with samples of the beautiful materials already being stored upstairs, and accepted them. The Queen liked the designs and suggested that we employ a machinist to help me. Before long, Her Majesty’s wardrobe was being revitalised as, piece by piece, vibrant colours and stylish cuts made their way onto the rails. More to the point, The Queen was happy. It is an honour to be the first ever in-house Designer to Her Majesty The Queen.

Her Majesty wore this for her 90th birthday in Windsor in 2016.

The symbolic 'Girls of Great Britian and Ireland' Tiara is one of my favourite pieces.

THE QUEEN’S

JEWELLERY

Before long, my role as Senior Dresser and Designer for Her Majesty evolved. Owing to the strength of my relationship with The Queen and the mutual respect we shared, in 1998 I was given the additional titles of Personal Advisor and Curator to Her Majesty The Queen. I still continued to design outfits for Her Majesty, and did this mainly in the evenings and at weekends. As Personal Advisor, I am in the privileged position of not only advising The Queen on her outfits and hats, but also looking after Her Majesty’s health and well-being, and communicating with her team of expert professors and doctors.

As Curator, I would be responsible for The Queen’s personal jewellery and certain pieces from the Crown Jewels, as well as The Queen’s Insignia. It is a great honour and privilege to be entrusted with the care of The Queen’s private jewellery and to help select items that are worn on a daily basis.

One of the first things I wanted to do in this new role as Curator was to find a jeweller with whom I could build a relationship, as the previous Crown Jeweller was due to retire. They would oversee one of the rarest collections of gems and historical pieces, some of which have never been seen, and would need to be extremely knowledgeable about the repair and restoration of antique jewellery. And, as is the case with all staff members in the Royal Household, they would need to be very discreet.

Having discussed this idea with Her Majesty, who agreed, I knew exactly where to begin my search; the Royal Palace itself, which often proved to be a fountain of knowledge. Not wanting to rouse anyone’s suspicions, I mentioned to several people that I was looking to commission a jeweller to design something for myself, and time and time again the same name was suggested: Mr Harry Collins from G. Collins & Sons, who was based in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Her Majesty often chooses smaller, family-run businesses to work with and was not in the slightest bit bothered by the fact that Mr Collins was based outside of London, so a date was soon set for him to come to Buckingham Palace and bring a selection of his work.

A week later, a very anxious Mr Collins arrived for his appointment, unaware that I had arranged for Her Majesty to join us. Shortly before The Queen’s arrival, I asked him to display his silverware on the table and wait outside the room. Understandably, Harry seemed a little unnerved as he left. Her Majesty joined me to review his work and she was keen to purchase a few salvers and trinkets, so I proceeded to go and bring Mr Collins back into the room. I had to put him under pressure to see how he would cope, especially if I gave him a particular piece of jewellery from The Queen’s collection. I needed to be sure that he would be able to work under stress if necessary.

I always find it fascinating to see how differently people respond on first meeting The Queen. Unsurprisingly, Mr Collins was rather taken aback, and after the formal introductions, he began to discuss his work with Her Majesty, going into detail about his style and techniques. The Queen kept glancing in my direction and I knew from the look on her face that she was happy – this was her seal of approval and a signal to present Mr Collins with a beautiful leather fitted case which contained the Vladimir Tiara.

The Vladimir Tiara is made up of fifteen intertwined diamond-set ovals from which hang pendant pearls. The pearls can be interchanged with emeralds.

I brought the case in and placed it on the table. Then I opened the box and took out the tiara, handing it to Mr Collins and explaining what was needed. Mr Collins delicately took the tiara from me and held it as gently as one would hold a baby. Carefully turning the headpiece to examine its diamonds and pear-shaped, cabochon-cut emeralds, he was clearly transfixed and I noticed that he kept staring at the tiara and Her Majesty in turn. It struck me that he was frozen to the spot – still smiling, but saying no words: it was as though he had stage fright. Luckily, The Queen is very adept in these situations and simply flashed Mr Collins a huge smile which helped snap him out of his trance.