Queen's BAN
on real fur: Her Majesty now only buys faux pieces for her personal wardrobe
(but will continue to don ermine-trimmed robes and crowns on state occasions)
Queen will
not buy new outfits containing real fur but may still wear fur clothes
The
93-year-old was pictured wearing fur coat on Christmas day in 2015
She is the
first member of the royal family to publicly shun fur
Palace
would not confirm any plans to use faux fur in robes or crowns
By LUKE
ANDREWS FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED:
15:02 GMT, 5 November 2019 | UPDATED: 20:57 GMT, 5 November 2019
The Queen
no longer uses fur in her outfits, having switched to fake fur this year, her
senior dresser has revealed.
Angela
Kelly, the head of state's personal adviser and confidante, made the disclosure
in her book about her close relationship with the monarch, The Other Side Of
The Coin.
She wrote:
'If Her Majesty is due to attend an engagement in particularly cold weather,
from 2019 onwards fake fur will be used to make sure she stays warm.'
Buckingham
Palace today confirmed the move to FEMAIL, saying: 'As new outfits are designed
for the Queen, any fur used will be fake.'
The palace
'would not speculate' on whether any fur coats already owned by the Queen could
still be worn, or if the change will extend to the monarch's historic robe of
state, which consists of an ermine and velvet cape, and is worn at the State
Opening of Parliament.
The move is
believed to make the Queen the first member of the royal family to publicly
shun real fur.
The Queen
will not be buying more clothes containing real fur, the palace has said. She
is pictured here wearing a brown fur coat when she attended church in Norfolk
in 2015 on Christmas day, and wearing a fur coat in 1963
The Queen's
move may not apply to real furs that are used in state robes and official
gowns. Here the Queen is pictured wearing a white fur, believed to be fake, at
the state opening of parliament in 2009
The United
Kingdom was the first country in the world to outlaw fur farming on ethical
grounds in 2000.
Her Majesty
was pictured wearing a brown fur coat to attend a Christmas Day service at St
Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham in 2015, and in a fox-fur-lined coat and
fox-fur hat as she attended the same church on Christmas day in 2010.
PETA, which
has campaigned for fur sales to be banned, said its staff were ‘raising a glass
of gin and Dubonnet’ to the Queen’s compassionate decision.
‘This new
policy is a sign of the times, as 95 per cent of the British public would also
refuse to wear real fur,' they said.
The Queen
wearing a brown fur coat in Winnipeg, in Canada, in 2002 during celebrations of
her Royal Golden Jubilee
Her majesty
was also pictured sporting the same coat when she visited Green Park
underground station in 1969 +7
‘In 2019,
no one can justify subjecting animals to the agony of being caged for life or
caught in steel traps, electrocuted, and skinned for toxic fur items – so it's
a disgrace that soldiers in the Queen's Guard are still parading around with
the fur of bears gunned down in Canada on their caps.
‘We
respectfully urge Her Majesty to complete the policy by ordering that the fur
be replaced by the humane, luxurious faux bearskin that PETA has helped develop
alongside faux-furrier Ecopel and designer Stella McCartney.’
Animal
rights activists at Animal Aid said that the move was 'positive' but called on
the Queen to extend the policy to ceremonial garments.
'With
growing awareness about the terrible cruelty caused by fur production, it is
certainly positive to hear that the Queen will no longer be using real fur in
her new outfits,' they said in a statement.
'It is
abhorrent that to this day, animals are still condemned to appalling suffering
for the sake of fashion, and we are encouraged that the Queen is taking steps
to avoid contributing to this.
'We hope
that this policy will also extend to ceremonial garments such as robes.'
The Humane
Society, which runs the #FurFreeBritain, also said in a statement that it was
'thrilled' Her Majesty had gone fur free.
'Queen
Elizabeth's decision to "go faux" is the perfect reflection of the
mood of the British public, the vast majority of whom detest cruel fur and want
nothing to do with it.
'Our Head
of State going fur free sends a powerful message that fur is firmly out of
fashion and does not belong with Brand Britain.'
The royals
have often been criticised for their use of fur over the years.
In 2013,
the Queen was urged by animal rights charity Peta to get 'with these more
enlightened times'.
She has
worn fur at numerous engagements over the decades, and was often seen in a
brown fur coat she first debuted in 1961, and which she has sometimes worn when
arriving for Christmas Day church services.
Have other
royals worn real fur?
Camilla,
Duchess of Cornwall
Camilla was
photographed wearing a brown hat made of real fur in 2010.
The Duchess
donned the 'ostentatious' garment for a Christmas Day service at St Mary
Magdalene church in Sandringham.
In 2017, it
was reported that the Duchess had switched to fake fur following the barrage of
criticism she received for sporting the Russian-style hat.
She was
rumoured to have purchased six bespoke faux fur-trimmed hats from upmarket firm
Lock & Co - and was seen proudly wearing one during Christmas that year.
Since, she
is said to have sworn off real fur and to have purchased six fake-fur-trimmed
hats such as this one, that she is shown wearing while leaving the same church
in 2016 +7
The Duchess
was roundly berated after she wore the real fur hat in 2010 for a Christmas day
church service at St Mary Magdalene in Sandringham, and is now said to have
sworn off real fur for good
Kate
Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge
Kate has
been pictured wearing fur hats made from alpacas who have died of natural
causes.
The Duchess
was seen in a chestnut brown £225 Sumac hat by Lacorine, made in Peru under the
fairtrade label by local artisans, when she visited Oslo last year.
Kate in
black alpaca fur hat that same week when she visited Nobel Museum in Stockholm
Kate
pictured wearing a chestnut brown alpaca fur £225 Sumac hat by Lacorine, made
in Peru, as she visits Oslo last year and Kate in black alpaca fur hat
that same week when she visited Nobel Museum in Stockholm
The Duke
and Duchess of Cambridge wearing otter fur scarfs on the day they were given
them while visiting a tribe in Canada in 2016 +7
The royal
was also seen wearing a black alpaca fur hat earlier that same week when she
visited the Nobel Museum in Stockholm.
Kate and
Prince William were slammed by animal rights activists in 2016 when they were
shown wearing otter fur scarves they had been given while visiting the First
Nations Haida Community during an official tour of Canada.
The scarves
were given by the tribe as a sign of welcome and respect.
The Duchess
has also been criticised for wearing fake fur hats when they have been
identified as real fur.
The International
Fur Trade Federation accused her of wearing an animal fur bobble hat when she
was pictured in the garment in London in 2012.
However,
Buckingham Palace quickly corrected them, and revealed the hat was, in fact,
fake fur.
Meghan
Markle, Duchess of Sussex
Meghan
Markle and Prince Harry in London in October this year as they attend the
WellChild Awards
The Duchess
was said to be strongly opposed to wearing in real fur in 2018 by her close
friend Gina Nelthorpe-Cowne, who works in talent management, reports the
Independent.
The
52-year-old, who worked as the royal's commercial agent for two years, revealed
Meghan has a strict no-fur policy.
She is also
said to love vegan leather, according to Good Housekeeping.
During an
interview with the publication, she said: 'Personally, I love cropped pants in
vegan leather, a great fitted blazer and a button-down [shirt].'
In 1962,
she wore a leopard-skin coat to a Sandown Park race meeting.
In 2006,
Kate Middleton, before she married the Duke of Cambridge, was accused of being
out of touch after being seen in what appeared to be a mink hat at the
Cheltenham races.
The Duchess
of Cornwall was criticised for wearing a rabbit fur stole during a tour of
Canada in 2009.
On the same
trip, she also wore a fawn-coloured calf-length cape lined with grey fur.
The fur in
the garment had belonged to her grandmother and was re-fashioned for the
occasion
1 comment:
The Queen may not be wearing the same coat in some pictures of her in the 1960s. It one brown mink coat the pelts on the sleeves are horizontal, and in the other coat they are positioned vertically. One of the coats was a gift of one of the provinces of Canada, and may have been worn on a return visit as a courtesy.
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