LATE QUEEN’S OFF-DUTY STYLE TO BE SHOWCASED AT EXHIBITION
Elizabeth II’s practical, off-duty style will be showcased at a Buckingham Palace exhibition exploring her influence on British fashion.
On display alongside the late Queen’s elaborate hats and evening gowns will be headscarves, riding clothes and even a clear plastic raincoat, each offering a snapshot of her everyday wardrobe.
Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style will feature approximately 200 items – about half of which will be on display for the first time.
The British designers Erdem Moralioglu, Richard Quinn and Christopher Kane will all contribute to the exhibition, which will open next April and mark the centenary of the late monarch’s birth.
The trio will also offer reflections on her fashion legacy to the official centenary publication, Queen Elizabeth II: Fashion and Style.
The book, which will explore the late Queen’s fashion archive in great detail, will feature a tribute by Dame Anna Wintour, the former editor and current global editorial director of US Vogue.
Mr Moralioglu said: “The wardrobe of Her late Majesty is a snapshot of a very long life, a life of duty, and in so many ways it’s a time capsule. It captures a very specific and important moment in history.”
Among the pieces on display from the late Queen’s private, off-duty wardrobe will be tweed suits, a Harris tweed jacket, and a Balmoral tartan skirt designed by Norman Hartnell and worn in the 1950s.
A dark green overcoat designed by her personal dresser, Angela Kelly, and worn by the monarch when she planted a tree alongside her son, then Prince Charles, in the grounds of Frogmore House, Windsor, the year before her death will also be on display.
Meanwhile, a clear plastic raincoat made by the couturier Hardy Amies in the 1960s will also feature. The garment was deemed strikingly modern for the era and a forerunner to the colour-tipped, clear umbrellas that the late Queen later used regularly on official engagements.
The coat allowed the monarch and her brightly coloured daywear to be visible to crowds of onlookers no matter what the weather. Amies went on to create clothes in a futuristic style for Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 cult film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Mr Quinn was the winner of the inaugural Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design, and the late Queen attended his catwalk show at London Fashion Week in 2018.
He said: “There is no doubt that Queen Elizabeth II’s style and promotion of British couture over the 90 years had a huge impact on British fashion.
“The ultimate stamp of approval, she always shone a light on British designers, highlighting the relevance and significance of British fashion across the world.”
Mr Kane added: “Queen Elizabeth II’s wardrobe is one of the most significant living archives in modern fashion history. From the decline of the court dressmaker to the rise of couturiers like Hartnell and Hardy Amies, her garments tell the story of Britain and its changing identity through fashion.
“For designers and students, it offers a masterclass in silhouette, construction, repetition, symbolism and, perhaps most importantly, restraint.”
Among the exhibits will be a silver lamé and tulle bridesmaid dress worn by Princess Elizabeth when she was eight years old, a trio of floaty, vibrantly printed Ian Thomas evening dresses from the 1970s, and the late Queen’s Sir Norman Hartnell wedding and coronation gowns.
Couture evening wear by the late Queen’s most influential designer, Hartnell, will include a green gown worn for a state banquet given for President Eisenhower at the British Embassy in Washington DC in 1957. Garments worn for milestone family moments will include the crinoline-skirted blue gown and matching bolero jacket worn for her sister Princess Margaret’s wedding in 1960 – the last time a full-length dress was worn for a royal wedding in England.
The monarch’s fashion archive is considered one of the largest and most important surviving collections of 20th-century British fashion and now forms part of the Royal Collection.
The late Queen, who died in Sept 2022 at the age of 96, would have celebrated her 100th birthday on April 21 2026.
Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style is at The King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, from April 10 to Oct 18 2026. Tickets go on sale on Nov 4 2025.
2025-11-04T06:05:54Z