The Queen no longer buys clothes with real fur, her senior dresser has revealed, but Her Maj isn’t ready to ditch her favourite animal-derived gowns just yet.
The update was revealed by Angela Kelly, the head of state’s senior dresser and personal adviser, who made the disclosure in her new book ‘The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe’.
“If Her Majesty is due to attend an engagement in particularly cold weather, from 2019 onwards fake fur will be used to make sure she stays warm,” Kelly wrote.
So far, so progressive. But Buckingham Palace has said the Queen will continue to wear real fur to some engagements.
“We are not suggesting that all fur on existing outfits will be replaced, or that The Queen will never wear fur again,” the palace said in a statement to HuffPost UK.
“The Queen will continue to re-wear existing outfits in her wardrobe. As new outfits are designed for The Queen, any fur used will be fake.”
You might be forgiven for wondering how much difference the latest update will make. After all, how many new clothes does a 93-year-old with a bursting wardrobe really need to buy? Nevertheless, the move has been praised by the charity Humane Society International.
“Queen Elizabeth’s decision to ‘go faux’ is the perfect reflection of the mood of the British public, the vast majority of whom detest cruel fur, and want nothing to do with it,” executive director Claire Bass said. “Our head of state going fur-free sends a powerful message that fur is firmly out of fashion and does not belong with Brand Britain.”
The charity is calling on the British Government to take inspiration from the Queen and make the UK the first country in the world to ban the sale of animal fur.