Queen Elizabeth II once famously said: “I have to be seen to be believed,” referring to what it was like being a living link to centuries of tradition. Over the course of her 70-year reign, this shaped every element of her wardrobe, from her coronation gown in 1953, to the Imperial State Crown resting on her coffin in Westminster Hall.
Queen Elizabeth II dies — follow the latest news as the world mourns
As a young woman, the queen was dressed by Sir Norman Hartnell, who also dressed her mother. He created her 1947 wedding gown that, in post-war Britain, was made from satin she bought using ration coupons. He also made her coronation gown from ivory silk that at Elizabeth's request was hand-embroidered with emblems from every country she would represent.
Only 26 when she acceded to the throne, Elizabeth had to always convey a sense of regal timelessness. Her sister, Margaret, in contrast, was free to pursue a love of fashion, including Dior's New Look of 1947. Elizabeth's dresses could only gently nod to such trends, and so over the years, she developed her own signature style. By not chasing fashion or trends, she managed to transcend both and create a lexicon of her own.
In turn, this became something of a uniform — the ultimate in power dressing. Always in bright colours, to ensure she could be easily spotted, the look was always a dress or separates with a matching hat and coat.
The hemline always fell to just below the knee and the hat was always off the face. She was always finished with white gloves, a framed bag by Launer and sensible shoes by Anello & Davide, reportedly broken in for her by a member of her staff. Every look was accessorised with an heirloom brooch on her left lapel and a three-strand necklace of pearls.
While the colours have become steadily brighter over the decades, reaching almost neon tones in the last 15 years or so, they have never tipped into being garish. Even lime green felt remarkably normal when teamed with the matching hat, coat and that familiar handbag.
Little wonder then that we were all so charmed, when, during her platinum jubilee celebrations, she revealed to Paddington Bear that she used her ever-present handbag to safely store her marmalade sandwiches.
Acutely aware of the power of her clothes, for a her visit to Ireland in 2011 — the first by a British sovereign in more than a 100 years — the queen understood she needed to strike the right note to move on from Ireland's brutal treatment by the British. To do this, she chose to wear a shade of green, that while not emerald, played homage to the nation's famous colour.
In February 2018, she made a surprise appearance at London Fashion Week, sitting front row at the Richard Quinn show, next to Vogue editor Anna Wintour. On her own blue velvet cushion (the rest of the audience sat on bare benches), the queen was there to present Quinn with the inaugural Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design. Wearing duck egg blue, Wintour complimented the queen's unique style as being an "iconic uniform suggesting continuity and tradition.”
Speaking at the time, Caroline Rush from the British Fashion Council, welcomed the Queen, saying: “Your Majesty, I know you do not wish to be known as a fashion icon, but from all of us in this room, we have the utmost respect for you and also your hard work and diligence.“
The uniform that Wintour described was so well choreographed that when it rained, the Queen carried a transparent umbrella with trim to match her outfit of the day. Nothing was left to chance.
For the past 30 years, the queen's clothes have been designed by Angela Kelly, her personal dresser, who replaced Saville Row tailor Hardy Amies, who in turn took over from Hartnell. Always mindful of the moment, in 2019, the queen announced, via Kelly, that she would no longer be wearing fur.
Of course, the true power of the queen's wardrobe was for formal evening occasions, where she favoured full length, often in pale colours. For state occasions, or hosting dinners for visiting dignitaries and heads of state, she let her jewellery do the talking, arriving in a gown, sash, long gloves and priceless tiaras, necklaces, brooches and bracelets.
Hartnell once said of the queen and the queen mother that neither wanted to be regarded as ”fashion setters”, and instead were "content to leave that to other people with less important work to do.”
Of course, in reality, Queen Elizabeth II created an entire identity through her clothes, providing an unfailing consistency that — for the millions who never met her — made her as familiar as one of their own.
Scroll through the gallery below for more images of Queen Elizabeth II over the years
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Under 19 World Cup
Group A: India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka
Group B: Australia, England, Nigeria, West Indies
Group C: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, UAE
UAE fixtures
Saturday, January 18, v Canada
Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan
Saturday, January 25, v South Africa
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Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
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Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
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Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
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Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
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Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
