Royal Style thread: part 2

[QueenOfTheAndals]

As requested!

Mme Guillotine

Fascinating about the clothes storage. Is it part of your job to have access?

I'm a historian specialising in royal history so it's kinda my job, yes, in a way. I've had private, behind the scenes access to lots of places such as Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Kensington Palace etc for research purposes or as part of press events.

My first visit to the royal clothes collection was pretty amazing though as they pulled out some clothes for me to look at (including the Duke of Windsor's amazing safari outfit - his shoes were BEAUTIFUL) and I got to roam around all the boxes in a state of amazement at the stuff that they have. It was also fascinating to see inside Princess Margaret's apartment - her bathroom was huge! There was a beautiful portrait of Princess Diana in her wedding dress on the stairs outside as well, which I bet takes pride of place inside the Cambridge's place now! :)

That sounds amazing Guillotine. What an interesting role to have!!!!

What will they do with Kate’s Zara clothes then?

I guess they keep all the clothes worn to state events/royal weddings etc? But there must be clothes that make headlines for other reasons such as Diana’s LBD etc? Does Kate go in/send somebody to look around William’s childhood clothes to replicate them for George or do they wear the originals? It would be less ridiculous if they were originals.

How long after they are worn, are the clothes archived?

Are they in boxes on shelves?

When you go to the palaces, do you ever pass the RF going about their day? Do they find it off to have strangers with notebooks walking their homes? Do you have to sign confidentiality contracts?

It's a pretty nice job to have. I've had amazing experiences because of it and of course it's lovely seeing your work on supermarket and bookshop shelves! :)

I don't think Kate's every day high street stuff will make it into the collection unless it's something particularly special like the stuff she wore for engagement photos etc. The more spectacular evening dresses will probably end up in there though along with her wedding dress and future coronation gowns etc. :)

They have a LOT of storage space but the collection is already huge so I think they are pretty fussy about what they keep for posterity so that'll be the most historically significant and special pieces.

I get the impression that the royal children wear genuine royal hand me downs, yes. I suspect they're still in storage at Kensington Palace. Kate has a reputation for thriftiness so I doubt she'd buy something new if she can have a vintage royal original!

The wedding and coronation clothes go into the collection straight away because they're not likely to be worn again. They also store the ermine trimmed robes, which are so expensive to make that they are used repeatedly. Other things will go in when the owner dies or they're having a sort out and want to move old stuff on.

Most of the collection is stored in boxes on shelves. They're wrapped in special tissue paper etc and its all temperature controlled etc to make sure that nothing deteriorates and moths can't get in. The new department in Hampton Court Palace has a pretty clinical feel to it actually, like a forensics lab!

Hah, no, I've never seen the royal family hanging around while I do my important historian business. I don't think they mind too much tbh - their residences are massive so we can all co-exist and I think that they like the fact that people are interested in their family history as they are pretty liberal with access. We don't have to sign anything but I think we're so aware that being allowed access to these things is such a huge privilege that we wouldn't want to overstep the mark anyway! :)

I have read that Princess Anne keeps her clothes from many stages in her life in a large room in her house, all labeled with the times she wore them. And since she can still wear clothes she wore in her twenties, she will dive in to her collection to wear an oldie but goodie from time to time.

Princess Anne often wears outfits from at least 40 years ago. When she got married she had a load of outfits made by Maureen Baker, which she still wears. I saw her at an event not long ago in the outfit she wore at Charles and Diana's wedding.

Anne and I are about the same age. I have a handbag from 40 years ago that I can still wear.

When you think about the typical 70s and 80s fashions and the fact that Princess Anne still wears so many items from those years and still manages to look stylish, you realise what a good eye she had.

Do we think it's just a case of having kept her figure or did she have the clothes originally made with extra fabric in the seams so they could subtly be altered?

mathanxiety I don’t think many would agree with you that Princess Anne is stylish. Probably not even Princess Anne herself!

I think she's kept her figure. She's athletic, and she strikes me as someone who has a lot of self-discipline. Maybe she wears those older dresses in part to show off a little bit. More power to her, I say.

I think that like her mother, Princess Anne has a unique style of dress that suits her perfectly but would look ridiculous on others.

I think Anne even at her most attractive could be described as a handsome woman rather than a great beauty....

I would say she has definitely kept her figure & just rewears the clothes.

I don't think Anne is or was beautiful or chic, but she has stayed slim and fit and has found her own style. It works for her. She's not pretending to be glamorous or fashionable, she's obviously aimed at looking smart and functional. Works for her!!

I think Anne was beautiful in that picture.
My word her husband keeps a low profile.

I think Ann is happier in country wear.

They spend lots of time just yachting about (not in the CDAN sense). They are known to frequent lots of little stop off points in the Scottish isles in Summer

This is officially my most favourite MN thread ever now after your tidbits guillotine

Rumours have it that Anne & Tim Laurence have a marriage in name only and she is now seeing Andrew Parker Bowles. Her flame from the 1970s

Oo interesting. Now he's no looker. Supposed to be a bit of a ladies man though. I think Tim comes over quite dignified looking.
Anne nearly ran me over once. Well her protection driver leaving Murrayfield. I am proud to say I gave her the 'V'

Didn't she cheat on Mark Philips with Tim Laurence? I seem to remember a vague scandal about love letters.

Though "Foggy" was no saint and fathered a child with another woman while married to Anne. I think his second marriage ended in divorce too.

The marriage to Mark Phillips ran into trouble, he wasn't faithful from early on. She married Tim Laurence for propriety's sake when his love letters to her were discovered. She's not with him much, but he's very traditional and she doesn't want a second divorce. When they were first married I heard pregnancy rumours, but obviously nothing came of that.

Apparently her hobby is to visit lighthouses - which is why they sail around the British coast. As well as horses, presumably.

Rumours have it that Anne & Tim Laurence have a marriage in name only and she is now seeing Andrew Parker Bowles. Her flame from the 1970s

Won't that be a bit awkward chez ChazNMilla's?

I think Anne was biffing him prior to him marrying Camilla

I think Andrew PB was the inspiration for Jilly Cooper's Rupert Campbell Black. He was quite the player back in the 70's