remember feeling so relieved and proud when Her Majesty stepped out onto the stage to deliver her speech that day. The press admired her outfit: the hat had a wonderful 1940s feel to it, with the large flower sitting high at the top. During The Queen’s speech, I was holding my breath – not because I was concerned for her but because I was eager to hear whether she was happy with her last-minute decision to turn the hat. Sure enough, when she came to see me after the event, she greeted me with a lovely smile. No words were needed. It was in moments like these that I knew Her Majesty and I would make a great team. I was so proud that I’d voiced my concern, and I think The Queen appreciated it, too.
So, dear reader, what do you think? Was it back to front, or front to back? Or, in fact exactly the right way around?
Top: The ‘front’. Bottom: The ‘back’, but so much more stylish.
The Queen and Pope John Paul II during a State Visit to the Vatican in 2000.
MEETING HIS
HOLINESS
THE POPE
After the incident with the back-to-front hat at the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony, I became more determined to speak up when it came to matters of Her Majesty’s wardrobe. I had worked so hard to familiarise myself with what Her Majesty liked to wear and, crucially, what was appropriate for The Queen to wear to any given engagement. However, speaking up and being heard wasn’t always easy, as one particular incident taught me.
It was the year 2000 and Her Majesty was due to travel to Rome on a four-day State Visit. I wasn’t yet responsible for attending recces ahead of such trips, so it was the Private Secretaries who on their return outlined the provisional engagements that The Queen would be attending. On one day Her Majesty would be meeting with His Holiness the Pope, after which there would be a private engagement, and so they suggested The Queen would be fine to wear a normal day dress for both events. Straight away, I knew this would be a mistake. Whenever Her Majesty had visited the Pope previously she had always, without fail, worn a long black dress, a beautiful diamond tiara and a long mantilla lace veil. Having been brought up Catholic, I knew instinctively that a day dress simply would not be appropriate and so I expressed this to the Secretaries, who made it clear that my advice wasn’t welcome.
Feeling ignored and patronised, I decided to discuss the matter with Her Majesty directly. I told her that the Private Secretaries had advised that she should wear a colourful day dress to meet with the Pope as it could then also be worn to her next engagement. I insisted that this would not be appropriate for meeting with His Holiness. As always, The Queen listened, however, once she had discussed the matter again with her Private Secretaries, they still insisted that a colourful day dress should be worn. In response, I asked her to go back to the Secretaries and ask them to do their homework. I considered it to be bad advice. I sensed that Her Majesty was starting to feel torn as to whose advice to take.
Confident in the knowledge that I would be standing my ground, regardless of what the Secretaries said, I came up with a secret plan. While preparing for the upcoming tour, I selected one of Her Majesty’s favourite outfits – something I knew she would feel comfortable in – and requested that one of the dressmakers, Maureen Rose, create something in exactly the same style but in navy blue, and to send the invoice only to me. There would be no fittings on this occasion as I did not want to alert anyone to my plan. In addition, I approached Freddie Fox, the milliner at the time, and asked him to design a pillbox-style hat with a detachable veil and that the invoice must also be sent directly to me.
I spoke with Her Majesty one final time before the tour. Once again, I told her that I was certain the Vatican would not have suggested that a day dress would be appropriate. I remember The Queen asking if I had ever been to the Vatican before and how I could be so sure of my advice. I hadn’t, but said the reason I knew was because I was brought up a strong Catholic and that if The Queen turned up for such an important meeting in a day dress, where would it all end? I felt that standards would start slipping. Would guests just turn up to the Investitures in a cotton dress and pumps because they felt more comfortable? I insisted once more that the Pope would not expect guests to arrive in such informal dress. I simply would not dress The Queen this way and at this point, Her Majesty just wanted the matter to be sorted. I had to carry off my plan perfectly.
Three months later, we were in Rome and I went about unpacking Her Majesty’s clothes and arranging her outfits for the upcoming engagements. Soon enough, the day of her visit to the Pope arrived and I heard my name being called loudly down the corridor: I will never forget the sight of the Private Secretary frantically running down one of the longest corridors in the Quirinale Palace, bellowing my name, ‘Angela, Angela, quick!’, and wearing his brown jumper, brown corduroy trousers, brown socks but no shoes! He demanded to know what The Queen would be wearing that day. I calmly informed him that Her Majesty would be wearing a shocking pink outfit, as advised by him and the Assistant Private Secretaries, which did little to calm his panicked state. ‘Don’t you always travel with a black outfit?’ he asked, and I replied that I had not on this occasion. In fact, we do always travel with a black outfit in case of an unexpected sad occasion, but I wasn’t going to let him know that after what he had put me through. I told him not to worry and that Her Majesty would still look beautiful.
He then sent a message to The Queen asking what should be done, as the Vatican had said that the outfit must be dark. Shortly afterwards, The Queen sent for me and asked if we had any dark outfits that she could wear instead. ‘Okay, Your Majesty,’ I said, ‘I’ll show you something.’ And with that, I produced the navy-blue dress and pillbox hat that I had had secretly made before casually commenting that, ideally, the outfit would be black for a meeting with the Pope. Her Majesty agreed and without a moment of hesitation, I produced the exact same dress and veiled hat in black. ‘Luckily enough,’ I said, ‘I also had this made. So you’re absolutely fine.’ I vividly remember the brief look of relief on The Queen’s face.
The two versions of the dress that I had secretly had made.
Watching Her Majesty walk out in her stylish, modern and appropriate black outfit to meet His Holiness the Pope, I felt so proud of myself for having faith in my convictions. The Queen walked out dressed appropriately in her new black outfit as Head of the Church of England meeting another head of the church, His Holiness the Pope. I had known all along that my instincts about The Queen’s outfit that day were right, even though I wasn’t being listened to. From then on, I felt confident that my opinion would be heard.
Eventually I found out that the private engagement was a photograph of The Queen with members of the Royal Household outside the Sistine Chapel, and the Private Secretaries wanted Her Majesty to wear a normal day dress so that it looked like a fun day out, as the Royal Household wouldn’t be dressed in black. This photograph moment had been prioritised above that important private meeting with His Holiness.
In 2014, The Queen met privately with the Pope during a visit to Rome. I had the honour and privilege to be presented to His Holiness. This was extremely special for me. I was holding my rosary beads when the Pope touched my hands to bless them, and I knew my mother would have been so proud of me.
A little colour makes all the difference. At Joel & Son Fabrics in 2019.
FINDING
