'A romp through British royal fashion and image-making between the Edwardian era and 1960 . . . Compelling and well-researched' New York Times
'Magnificent . . . A book that is tart, racy and compulsively readable. The pictures, as you might expect, are gorgeous' Kathryn Hughes, The Times
Published ahead of the centenary of the Queen's birth, this beautifully illustrated book uncovers the hidden history of the Crown and how it survived a tumultuous era and two world wars.
**Features over 100 sumptuous images**
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 façade - 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.
| ISBN: | 9780571394289 |
| Publication date: | 26th February 2026 |
| Author: | Justine Picardie |
| Publisher: | Faber & Faber |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 384 pages |
| Genres: |
Biography: royalty European history Fashion and textile design |
'A romp through British royal fashion and image-making between the Edwardian era and 1960 . . . Compelling and well-researched' New York Times
'Magnificent . . . A book that is tart, racy and compulsively readable. The pictures, as you might expect, are gorgeous' Kathryn Hughes, The Times
Published ahead of the centenary of the Queen's birth, this beautifully illustrated book uncovers the hidden history of the Crown and how it survived a tumultuous era and two world wars.
**Features over 100 sumptuous images**
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 façade - 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.
Fashioning the Crown features in the following genres: Biography: royalty, European history, Fashion and textile design
Fashioning the Crown is available in Hardback
Fashioning the Crown was written by Justine Picardie and published by Faber & Faber
Fashioning the Crown has 384 pages
£22.50