How Queen Elizabeth II used fashion as power during her reign

Known for unwavering duty and devotion to country throughout her seven-decade reign, Queen Elizabeth II is rarely remembered first for her fashion.

Yet her wardrobe was far more than a royal accessory; rather, it was a strategic instrument that helped define her public identity and support her success.

“The importance of royal fashion should never be trivialised because it is the very fabric of history,” Justine Picardie tells WHO from her home in Norfolk.

Picardie is the author of Fashioning the Crown: A Story of Power, Conflict and Couture, which dissects a fascinating half century of royal history through the lens of fashion.

How did Queen Elizabeth use fashion during her reign?

In her later years, the Queen became instantly recognisable for her brightly coloured coats and matching hats, paired with her signature boxy Launer handbag. That rainbow palette was no accident.

The Queen herself once remarked, “I have to be seen to be believed,” and her wardrobe ensured she was visible to the thousands who gathered at public events.

But her influence began long before she started wearing colour-blocked coats.

Born into the royal spotlight exactly 100 years ago, the then Princess Elizabeth was setting trends from her earliest years.

On her third birthday, in 1929, she appeared on the cover of Time magazine, which declared: “She has set the babe fashion for yellow.”

Even then, her clothing choices – carefully curated by the Palace – carried symbolic weight.

“The role of the royals is to reign, not to rule,” Picardie explains. “That is soft power, and it is expressed through what they wear.”

Queen Elizabeth II didn’t ‘break the rules’

Reaching adulthood in World War II, the young Elizabeth and her sister, Princess Margaret, became quiet symbols of solidarity.

“When rationing was in force, they were always wearing the same little handknit jumpers and plain jackets,” Picardie explains. “It showed they were standing with the people, not breaking the rules, enduring the war alongside everyone else.”

Their clothing choices, which came to be seen as a sort of uniform of the era, also communicated unity at a time when the 1936 abdication crisis of Edward VIII had shaken public confidence in the monarchy.

Fashion became even more of a diplomatic tool after the war. Supporting British designers and textile manufacturers has always been an important royal role.

“It was their job to get out and promote the British fashion and textile industry at home and abroad,” says Picardie.

“They are the best ambassadors for a massive industry for Britain. It is something we see being carried on today, during a time of crisis, by the Princess of Wales.”

How the Queen found privacy through fashion choices

At the time of the Queen’s coronation in 1953, the inclusion of embroidered floral emblems from the different nations on her Norman Hartnell gown were used to reaffirm the lifelong commitment Elizabeth had made to the Commonwealth on her 21st birthday.

Fashion also offered the Queen a rare moment of anonymity. During her wartime service she wore military overalls, just like thousands of others.

And, on the night of the VE Day celebrations, she blended into the jubilant crowds celebrating outside the palace gates without detection.

Fashion could also be used to hide such as during the war when Elizabeth could move around undetected in her uniform. ((Credit: Getty))

‘Entirely at ease’

Picardie was granted unprecedented access to the Queen’s archived wardrobe at Windsor Castle for her research.

Around 200 pieces from this collection are now on show in The King’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace as part of the Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style exhibition.

Picardie met the monarch several times (her husband, Philip Astor, was Prince Philip’s godson) and has seen her in formal gown and diamonds for a black-tie dinner, and washing-up gloves after a picnic at Balmoral.

She believes the royal saw fashion as both a tool and something to be enjoyed.

“The Queen was entirely at ease whether she was in a tiara and a jewelled evening gown or a tartan skirt with a Scottish tweed jacket,” Picardie declares.