According to Brian Hoey, author of Not In Front of the Corgis, the queen regularly gave her old clothes to her dressers. From there, they could either keep the pieces, wear them, or sell them. Hoey notes that if pieces were sold, buyers couldn't know that the clothes came from Her Majesty.
Sometimes, Kate's clothes are simply given back. According to Vogue, royals cannot accept free clothes or gifted outfits. But they can borrow clothes, and Kate's stylist, Natasha Archer, will often request loans of designer items, which will later be returned.
There isn't a hue Her Majesty hasn't worn, but then, with hundreds of engagements to attend a year and often having to change up to five times a day, variety of color is everything.
No washing machines
Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla's clothes are not allowed to be cleaned in washing machines—everything is hand washed. When they sent their clothing away to be cleaned, they found that some items of clothing were kept as souvenirs.
“Typically, the lifespan of an outfit can be up to around 25 years,” Kelly wrote in her book The Other Side Of The Coin: The Queen, The Dresser And The Wardrobe, published in 2019. “Her Majesty is always thrifty and likes her clothes to be adapted and recycled as much as possible…
Traditionally, members of the Royal Family are buried with items close to them, including jewellery and mementos.
The Queen will be laid to rest today wearing only two precious pieces of jewellery. Her Majesty, who will be buried next to her husband Prince Philip later today, will wear only her wedding band and a pair of pearl earrings, despite owning a collection worth millions of pounds.
At her former primary residence, Buckingham Palace, and at her current home, Windsor Castle, the Queen has a staff on hand to take care of most of the chores we non-royals dread: The laundry. Vacuuming. Washing the dishes after a meal.
"Toilet"
If you're looking for a restroom in Buckingham Palace, ask for the loo or the lavatory.
Kate's daily routine: school run, food shop, gym
Regularly dropping the children at school and doing the daily food shopping on nearby Kensington High Street, the duchess also prefers to swap the indoor gym at the Palace for runs in Kensington Gardens.
Not only that, but the 73-year-old even "has his valets squeeze one inch of toothpaste onto his toothbrush every morning." Talk.
What Happens With Queen Elizabeth's Clothes? Queen Elizabeth never wears the same outfit twice at important events. Therefore, the sovereign prefers to either change her outfits and if she gets bored of them, she sends them to her dressers, who are then allowed to either wear them themselves or sell them.
The monarch was reportedly put into a state called 'twilight sleep' during labour, where she was given an anaesthetic and the baby born using forceps. The controversial technique is no longer used today. Indeed, when Her Majesty welcomed her fourth child, Prince Edward, she chose another method of delivery.
The Duchess' clothing is paid for by the Duchy of Cornwall.
She gets dressed without a Royal dresser's assistance — The Queen has three — and prefers to shop for clothes herself. When she's ready, she rounds up the kids and takes them to school.
This Diane von Furstenberg black lace gown has been worn twice by Kate Middleton, once to a Royal Variety performance in November 2014 and again in November 2017. Middleton first wore her red Armani coat in December 2006 (before her marriage to Prince William) and then brought the look back in April 2013.
What Kate called the Queen. While the rest of the world is required to address Queen Elizabeth as Ma'am or your majesty, those closest to her are allowed to refer to her as Mama, according to Ingrid Seward, the editor of Majesty magazine. Sign up to British Heritage Travel's daily newsletter here!
They Leave The Table Discreetly. If a royal must use the restroom during a meal, they don't announce it to the table. Instead, they apparently simply say “Excuse me,” and that's that. (If only your toddler would do the same.)
Mum and Dad
Not so for the royal family. They call their parents Mummy and Daddy even as adults. Isn't it endearing to think of Prince Charles calling Queen Elizabeth Mummy?
The Royal Family has opened its books to show how the Queen receives her money. A taxpayer-funded payment, known as the Sovereign Grant, is paid to the Royal Family each year - but it's not the Queen's only source of income.
While the monarch enjoys her first cup of tea from the comfort of her bed, her maid “will go into the adjoining bathroom to draw the bath”. The bath has to be “exactly the right temperature” - how hot or cold the Queen likes her bath, no one knows.
The queen really does weigh her guests
The tradition of weighing guests at the start of the three-day festivities dates back to the reign of Edward VII, who was king from 1901 to 1910. Edward decided that weight gain during their stay was indicative of how much his guests had enjoyed themselves.
According to royal expert Lisa Levinson, the only jewelry Queen Elizabeth II will be buried with will be the Welsh gold wedding ring she received at her wedding to Prince Philip in 1947 and a pair of pearl earrings.
“The Queen Consort, really, gets first choice of the Queen's jewelry. And after that is Princess of Wales, of course, Kate. The Duchess of Sussex, I'm sure, will come in for some jewelry at some point, but she is much further down the pecking order.”
Why do royals always travel with a black suit? When anyone from the royal family travels, they must take a black ensemble with them in case someone in the family dies.