Justine Picardie Fashioning the Crown
Schedule
Tue, 14 Apr, 2026 at 07:00 pm
UTC+01:00Location
The Old Court | Windsor, EN
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A Story of Power, Conflict and Couture'I have to be seen to be believed.' Queen Elizabeth II
From the bestselling author of Miss Dior and Coco Chanel, a compelling history of the Crown told through the lens of royal fashion, sharing the secrets that lie beneath its sumptuous surface.
Published ahead of the centenary of the birth of Queen Elizabeth II, and featuring more than 100 beautiful images, this book reveals the reinvention of British monarchy, as it fought to survive a tumultuous era of two world wars.
From the birth of the house of Windsor in 1917, its leading women - Queen Mary, the Queen Mother, the Duchess of Windsor and Queen Elizabeth II - faced the perils of abdication and assassination, revolution and the rise of fascism, the threat of invasion and all-out war. Their sartorial decisions, alongside those of their royal husbands, projected power and perpetuity,
diplomacy and defiance.
In this cinematic story of espionage and exquisite couture, Justine Picardie reveals the undercover lives of the creators behind the facade - including Hardy Amies, Cecil Beaton, Norman Hartnell
and Edward Molyneux - and traces the ways in which visual iconography safeguarded the monarchy, even when their reign seemed to be hanging by a thread.
Drawing on original research in the Royal Archives and her own experiences at Balmoral, Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace, Picardie explores the family feuds and international conflicts that
challenged the Crown, and how royal fashion has long been wielded as a weapon.
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Where is it happening?
The Old Court, The Old Court, St Leonard's Road,Windsor, Berkshire, United KingdomEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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