What I admired about her style is that she always looked herself, rather than trying to be fashionable. I know it’s a cliche to say, but she always wore the clothes, they never wore her. By doing so, she was instantly recognizable, and was able to wear these extraordinary outfits. The uniform for Trooping the Colour, for example: a broad-shouldered red jacket resplendent with medals and a tricorn with Lord Mountbatten’s osprey feathers. Or wearing a gold ballgown with white fox stoles and huge tiaras and enormous amounts of jewels. She looked magnificent, but she wore it lightly. I don’t think she really cared about public opinion on what she was wearing. I think she wanted to make her own mark, and the vagaries and the up and downs of fashion didn’t really concern her. Even in the very final photo we saw of her, in black shoes, a kilt, and a cardigan, she looked completely at home in whatever she was wearing, which is a good lesson for all of us.
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