by Diplomatic dressing is a fine art that any senior member of the Royal family must master. The late Queen was the Queen of it – throughout her 70-year reign, she continued to claim and recreate the respectful gestures she made on foreign visits. This was everything from commissioning a cherry blossom dress to wear in Japan to a shamrock embroidered dress for the first visit to the Republic of Ireland in 2011.
When the occasion is sensitive, the stakes are even higher – the royal presence must fit the theme without any chance of being offensive.
This is a tightrope that the Duchess of Edinburgh has been walking with for the past few days while visiting Italy to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Monte Cassino. Her sparse wardrobe on tour ticked all the right boxes, featuring new pieces by British designers, new finds from Italian labels and items from her existing wardrobe that worked for the commemorative activities.
On Saturday, the Duchess set the sartorial theme for her trip in two looks in muted shades of white and beige. She made her first appearance wearing a tea dress with white spots by fellow Londoner Suzannah with a beige linen blazer from Eleventy Milano, a Milan-based label specializing in quiet super gear. Later in the day, the Duchess changed into another white dress, this time a white crepe design with an exaggerated collar also by Suzannah which she wore with the same robe shoulder blazer over her top.
As one designer who regularly dresses Sophie told me recently, ‘she looks like a 50s movie star’. This was particularly true on Sunday, when the Duchess attended a ceremony commemorating the end of the battle. She wore a £2,190 ‘Dolce Vita’ silk twill shirt dress by Suzannah which is made not only from Italian silk but features a ‘Tuscan Dreamscape’ print. Suzannah Crabb, the founder of her eponymous label, tells me the print started out as a hand painting of palm trees and natural plants, digitally reworked, painting a beautiful background that turned into a dreamy Tuscan landscape. It’s a great piece of wearable art.’ The design looked as refined as it sounded, capturing the mood of the ceremony.
While in Italy, the Duchess carried bags with Sophie Habsburg (also known as Her Royal and Imperial Highness Sophie Habsburg, Grand Duchess of Austria) – a noblewoman whom the Duchess of Edinburgh loves so much. she has designed more than 70 styles. It was fitting that she debuted another new style from the Rome-based label for Sunday’s ceremony; her £297 ‘Noe’ bag is now sold out. Habsburg, who is distantly related to the Edinburghs through Prince Philip, first met Sophie at a wedding and told Tatler last year that ‘she is very cool’.
It is not only in Italy that the Duchess is using her diplomatic dressing skills. The day before her visit to Monte Cassino began, she was in Edinburgh with her husband for the Ceremony of the Keys at the Palace of Holyroodhouse. For this formal engagement, the Duchess sported another new look from Suzannah – the ‘Remy’ cloqué jacket and forest green skirt. ‘The cropped jacket sits directly on the waist of the ’50s-style skirt creating a tailored silhouette and great flare that has presence and modern yet timeless proportions,’ explains Crabbs of the elegant aesthetic of the ensemble.
It may also have been chosen with a deeper meaning in mind. The color was synonymous with ‘Edinburgh green’, the dark shade synonymous with Edinburgh’s title as it was the color used by Prince Philip (formerly the Duke of Edinburgh) on his team uniforms and cars. By casting a shadow at Holyroodhouse, the Duchess paid tribute to her late father-in-law, from whom she and her husband inherited their titles.
At the end of April, the Duchess was in Ukraine – the first British royal to visit the country since the Russian invasion in 2022 – where she showed a similar sensitivity in her style choices. Her stunning look was a £1250 dress by Etro with a floral pattern reminiscent of the traditional Ukrainian ‘Petrykivka’ style of painting.
This was spent for meetings with the United Nations, the First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska and people who help victims of war, including those affected by sexual violence. These were sensitive subjects, but Sophie’s choice showed respect, solidarity and hope.
The late Queen would surely be proud.
