Queen has switched to faux-fur, senior dresser reveals
The Queen no longer uses fur on 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."
Animal charity Humane Society International/UK welcomed the move.
Executive director Claire Bass said: "We are thrilled that Her Majesty has officially 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," she added.
“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.
“We are calling on the British Government to follow Her Majesty’s example and make the UK the first country in the world to ban the sale of animal fur.”
Royals have faced backlash for wearing fur
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.
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.
It is not known whether the change to the Queen’s wardrobe will include the monarch’s historic robe of state, which consists of an ermine and velvet cape, and is worn at the State Opening of Parliament.