Extra, Extra: Queen Elizabeth Changes Her Outfit Up to 7 Times a Day on Christmas Holiday
Under regular circumstances, Queen Elizabeth opts for a brightly colored coat and a festive hat. But when the 93-year-old monarch jaunts off for her annual holiday sojourn to Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, England, all bets are off.
No, Her Majesty doesn’t lounge around in royal crested athleisure all day or ironically don ugly Christmas sweaters. Instead, she ups the ante and changes her outfit up to seven times a day.
According to the queen’s longtime dresser, Angela Kelly’s, new book The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser, the Wardrobe ($20 on Amazon), “The queen is just as busy as she would be in London, with more guests to entertain. There may be several outfit changes in one day—it could be as many as five or even up to seven.” Our question: How does one even pack for such a fashion week-esque vacation? Although Kelly doesn’t reveal that tidbit of information, she does explain how Queen Elizabeth selects her evening ensembles.
“I lay out sketches of evening dresses for the queen to look through and choose what she would like to wear that evening and, occasionally, she may have to pick out a dress for a cocktail party,” Kelly wrote.
With the monarch has chosen her frock, it’s time to inform her ladies’ maids so they can coordinate their own outfits. “Once Her Majesty has chosen her dress for dinner, a handwritten notice is pinned up in the Dressers’ Corridor detailing what she will be wearing, so that the Queen’s ladies’ maids can select an appropriate dress for the lady they are looking after,” Kelly explained.
But Kelly says Queen Elizabeth doesn’t really care if anyone matches her because she’s not a regular queen; she’s a chill queen. “When it comes to the royal family, it doesn’t matter if they wear the same color as the Queen because they are family,” Kelly noted. “Other guests though, feel they shouldn’t be in the same color as Her Majesty, although the Queen would not mind if this did happen.”
So why does Queen Elizabeth get decked out to the nines for every single dinner—even when she’s in the countryside? It’s been a royal tradition since her mom, the Queen Mother, was in charge. “The Queen has followed her example,” Kelly said. “Imagine having such spectacular jewelry to wear and knowing the history behind each piece.”
You never cease to surprise us, Queen Elizabeth.
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