This is everything that the Queen carries in her handbag
The Queen’s love for Launer handbags is no secret.
Her collection is rumoured to number more than 200, and there is barely a week where Her Majesty is photographed without one of the trusty totes by her side.
But despite the omnipresence of her favourite accessory, very few people know actually lies inside her handbag.
Beats by Dr. Dre headphones? Contour palette? Oyster card? Not quite...
Here, experts dissect what the Queen’s ever-faithful companion actually holds (note: it will probably put your jumble of chewing gum wrappers, train tickets and receipts to shame).
1. A mirror and lipstick
In 2012, royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith disclosed that the Queen, like many women, is never caught without a compact mirror and spare lippy to apply those all-important touchups. Her favourite red shade is reported to be from Clarins.
2. A £5 note
Bedell also dished in 'Elizabeth the Queen: The Woman Behind The Throne' that Her Majesty always carries a crisply folded £5 note to donate to the church collection on Sundays. According to The Telegraph, sometimes the monarch’s donation increases to £10 - but apparently that is as generous a donation as she chooses to make.
3. A portable hook so she can hang it from the table
This is one of those amazing ideas we wish the Queen had shared with us in her Christmas speech a long time ago. Bedell Smith claims that among the bag’s other secrets are a portable hook, which is used to hang it discreetly under tables so the Queen’s bag doesn’t get wet, damaged or stolen. In the writer’s biography, a dinner guest at the Berkshire home of the Queen’s cousin is said to have been shocked to see the Queen spitting into a plastic suction cup before attaching the hook under the table. Ingenious.
4. Reading glasses, mint lozenges and a fountain pen
The Queen is never caught without fresh breath, a good pair of eyes or a pen to sign documents. Writing in The Lady, Bedell Smith also disclosed that the handbag usually contains a pair of reading glasses, mint lozenges and a fountain pen.
5. A camera for selfies with celebs
Proving she's just like the rest of us, royal writer Phil Dampier says that the Queen likes to have a diary and a small camera, which she uses "to take pictures of visiting presidents and other VIPs." Anyone for a selfie?
6. A mobile phone
But it’s probably not an iPhone 7. Royal biographer Penny Junor told The Telegraph that she might well keep pace with the younger royal set by carrying a mobile phone. “She does have a mobile and she speaks to her grandchildren on it,” says Junor. “I don’t know whether it’s a smartphone though.”
Doesn’t sound like a lot does it? But apparently the Queen has a sneaky tip.
According to experts, the monarch always has a back-up bag ten paces behind.
Royal handbag investigator, Phil Dampier, wrote in 'What's In The Queen's Handbag: And Other Royal Secrets' the bulk of the Queen’s handbag paraphernalia is lugged around by her ladies-in-waiting, who travel with spare tights and gloves, as well as a moist, lavender-scented cloth in case of heat.
One bag for show and another for the unsightly clutter that nobody wants to stick their hand into? Sounds like an idea the rest of us should get on board with.
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