It has been a season of mysteries wrapped in riddles, and the subject of this episode is the crowning (crowned) jewel of private/public enigmas: Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. Our real-life guest is Bethan Holt, Fashion Director for The Telegraph and author of The Queen: 70 years of Majestic Style. Queen Elizabeth II, who took the throne at only 25 and went on to have the longest verified reign of any female head of state in history, was famous for what she did not say–and sometimes, she communicated through her clothes. An acid green suit here, a Burberry headscarf there…what was she trying to tell us? And what, for goodness sake, was in that royal handbag? Bethan has a pretty good idea. Whilst decrypting sartorial messages and helping us understand the nuances of diplomatic dressing for a female monarch who covered such a long period of history, she helps us plan a cozy TV dinner at Balmoral Castle involving large quantities of chocolate biscuit cake. (Plus-fours optional.) So, be you a monarchist, a disloyal subject, a monarchy-curious non-subject, an outright critic… etcetera… welcome. Pull up a priceless piece of furniture, and let us fix you a gin and Dubonnet.

Email us at fanfarefanmail@gmail.com

Listen to our Dinner with QE2 Playlist on Spotify

Monica Ainley DLV @monicaainleyDLV

Emma Knight @emmalknight 

Bethan Holt @bethanholt

Bethan’s book, The Queen: 70 years of Majestic Style, the second edition of which was released in November 2022

Bethan is Fashion Director at The Telegraph. Here are some of her articles.

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