UNSURPRISINGLY, members of the royal family often need a wide variety of outfits during royal tours – including back-ups – and the Queen is no different.
According to one royal dressmaker, Her Maj’s wardrobe ended up “drenched” on one particular trip, thanks to an airport blunder made by the crew.
The Queen’s clothes were once transported in leather wardrobes
In her new book, The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe, the Queen’s dressmaker Angela Kelly said Her Maj used to take three large, leather wardrobes with her whenever she went away.
They were extremely heavy and unsurprisingly, difficult to transport.
But Angela says that understanding it had become “a nightmare” they decided to replace the wardrobes with hanging bags, with each bag containing two outfits.
It seemed like a good idea until a trip to Italy in 2000, in which the Queen and Prince Philip touched down in Italy to be met with torrential rain.
The luggage ended up soaked when staff transported it across the tarmac
Despite the weather, staff decided to transfer the clothing rail across the runway, and when caught by a gust of wind, the bags went everywhere, leaving the Queen’s clothing drenched.
“I watched the whole thing happen in slow motion from the plane – I felt so sorry for them scrambling around trying to pick up Her Majesty’s soaked clothes,” said Angela.
Following the blunder, a set of lightweight cases on wheels were purchased instead, in which clothes are packed to make sure the weight is evenly distributed so they don’t topple over.
Her Maj has to take as many as 30 outfits on tours
Angela also revealed that the Queen is a very modest lady and doesnt spread out over the royal residence – only using six out of 775 bedrooms.
She said: Her Majesty is a very modest lady and only occupies a few rooms: her bedroom; her private sitting room; her dressing room and bathroom; the Audience Room, which is where she meets with the Prime Minister and other dignitaries; and the Empire Room, which is a waiting room.
These rooms arent vast and there is space for very little furniture; just the odd wardrobe or chest of drawers.
She also revealed that the royal christening gown – worn by young royals from Prince George to baby Archie –was actually dyed with 4p Yorkshire Tea to make sure it was a colour the Queen was happy with.
She wrote: To make sure it looked authentic we dyed it in Yorkshire Tea (the strongest, as we all know).
We placed each piece of lace in a small bowl from the dressers kitchen, filled with cool water and a tea bag and left it for about five minutes, checking regularly until the colour was perfect.
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We also revealed Kate Middleton feels sorry for Meghan Markle and is doing her best to patch things up after Harry and Williams feud.
And we told you how the Queens Ascot outfits are locked away as punters spend thousands guessing what colour shell wear, dresser claims.
