The late Queen's most meaningful outfits are getting a new lease of life
' Never complain, never explain ' is a motto that has become synonymous with the late Queen Elizabeth II. Yet one way in which she did convey a surprising amount was through her wardrobe, using it to win favour in the countries she visited, to pay homage to her ancestry, or even to subtly communicate her political leanings. Now the influence of the people behind the monarch's wardrobe – the Designer, the Milliner and the Dresser – are the subject of a new play.
Described by the playwright Daisy Goodwin as an 'emotional journey in 12 dresses', By Royal Appointment, which opens at the Bath Playhouse today, looks at how the late Queen's wardrobe was decided on behind the scenes. Particular focus is given to the late Queen's Dresser, Angela Kelly, and the considerable influence that she exerted as one of Her Majesty's closest confidantes – quite the feat for a working class girl from Liverpool.
For costume designer Jonathan Fensom, it was a full circle moment, after he wrote his university thesis on the 'mute monarch', and what she was trying to communicate with what she wore. 'I don't think she was particularly interested in fashion per se, but everything was symbolic,' he explains. 'She wanted to create a sense of continuity within her own reign, and the longer it went on the more important that became.'
Here, we decode eight of the outfits featured in the play and what the late Queen was trying to communicate with each of them.
A fashion-forward choice for Prince Charles's Investiture, 1969
The first look focused on in the play is the pale primrose yellow ensemble and Tudor-style gable hat she wore to her son Prince Charles's Investiture as the Prince of Wales. 'From Daisy's point of view, it was the first really iconic outfit that everybody remembers who was around at that time,' explains Fensom. 'When the hat arrived we were all looking at it like an ancient treasure, because it's the most extraordinary shape.' Made by French milliner Simone Mirman (who created pieces for Christian Dior, Hardy Amies and Norman Hartnell), the hat was both a callback to when the Prince of Wales was first invested, and the fashion of the time, which had been heavily inspired by the success of Renaissance films like Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet. 'Lord Snowdon designed the ceremony, and he wanted to be a bit fashionable about it,' explains Fensom. 'When you look at the Queen's dress, it looks very Pierre Cardin.'
Parisian chic to say goodbye to the Duke of Windsor, 1972
For her state visit to France in 1972, the late Queen commissioned her go-to designers, Norman Hartnell and Hardy Amies, to create a series of chic looks. During the trip, she took a brief detour from official duty to visit her dying uncle, the disgraced Duke of Windsor, at his home Villa Windsor just outside of Paris. She chose a chic jacquard coat for the occasion, no doubt keenly aware of both her uncle and his wife's fastidious approach to fashion. In a particularly touching move, the Duke reportedly fully dressed for his niece's visit, despite the great pain it would have caused him.
Pretty in pink at her Silver Jubilee, 1977
It would be easy to think that the late Queen's choice of a Hardy Amies baby pink dress and matching hat for her Silver Jubilee was inconsequential. Yet as ever with the late royal, it was a sartorial Easter egg of sorts. That's because Her Majesty was subtly referencing the last Jubilee that she had attended – the Silver Jubilee of her grandfather, King George V in 1935 – when she had worn pink as a little girl. 'When the Queen asked for it to be made in pink, they first came back with a bubblegum pink version,' shares Fensom. 'Then she said, no, she wanted it to be the same shade as at her grandfather's Silver Jubilee.' It kickstarted something of a trend, with pink becoming a popular colour for members of the Royal Family to wear at subsequent Jubilees. At the Platinum Jubilee in 2022, Zara Tindall, Lady Louise Windsor, the Duchess of Edinburgh, Lady Sarah Chatto and Lady Frederick Windsor all wore variations of the shade.
Black for her 'annus horribilis', 1992
1992 was a bad year for the late Queen on all accounts. Windsor Castle was severely damaged by a fire, Prince Charles and Princess Diana separated, and the Duchess of York was caught getting her toes sucked by a man that was not her husband Prince Andrew, the Duke of York. During a speech she gave at the Guildhall to mark 40 years since her accession, she famously dubbed it her 'annus horribilis'. Rather uncharacteristically, she chose to wear all black for the occasion, looking almost as if she was in mourning – perhaps indicating a flair for the dramatic.
Royal purple at Prince Edward's wedding, 1999
In the years after joining the late Queen's staff, her Dresser, Angela Kelly, was credited with giving Her Majesty an image overhaul, adding some much-needed glamour to the wardrobe of the nation's grandmother. Case in point is the elegant lilac gown that the late Queen wore for the 1999 wedding of her youngest son, Prince Edward. Featuring sheer sleeves, elaborate beading on the bodice and a pleated skirt, and accessorised with her trademark gloves and a playful feathered fascinator, it was certainly more daring than what she wore to her elder children's weddings, though theirs had been much more high profile affairs of course.
Emerald for a groundbreaking visit to the Republic of Ireland, 2011
When the late Queen visited other countries, she would often nod to their heritage via a symbolic brooch or colour palette that matched the flag. But on certain occasions, she also used her look to launch a more significant charm offensive. Such was the case in 2011, when she became the first monarch in over a century to visit the Republic of Ireland. Selecting an emerald green colour palette, she made her intention for friendship clear from the moment she stepped off the plane, immediately dispelling any anguish over the visit. For the state banquet at Dublin Castle later that evening, she changed into a specially made gown with particular significance, as Kelly described in her book: 'The Queen was very specific in her guidance: The gown featured more than two thousand silk shamrocks especially designed for the dress and sewn by hand.'
The 'Brexit' hat, 2017
In 2017 the late Queen made headlines after arriving at the Opening of Parliament wearing a bright blue dress coat and a matching hat, which also featured yellow floral embellishment, thought to resemble the EU flag. Coming as it did just a few months after the Brexit vote, the monarch's choice of colour palette looked to symbolise a warmth towards Europe and even the suggestion that she would not have voted to leave. 'I think she had become very brave with her fashion then,' says Fensom. 'Because it was so obvious, wasn't it?'
In a kilt and a cardigan in her last photograph, 2022
It is perhaps fitting that in her final image as monarch, the late Queen looked the most authentically herself, wearing a kilt, blouse and cardigan and carrying her signature Launer handbag for a day of meetings at her beloved Scottish summer home, Balmoral. While the actress playing the late Queen, 90-year-old Anne Reid, doesn't change into every costume featured (instead they are shown on mannequins), Fensom says there was a poignancy to showing her in this one. 'It's what everyone remembers as the last thing they saw her in,' he says.
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