A life in uniform: The mediated images of Queen Elizabeth II, the Rainbow Queen

Abstract

Queen Elizabeth II spent her life in uniform. This article examines what that uniform looked like, what its significance and function was, and how her uniform acted as a discursive textual reference for the institution of the British monarchy. By contextualizing Elizabeth II’s various public uniform before, her early childhood dressed as a twin with Princess Margaret, and the influence of early designers Norman Hartnell and Hardy Aimes, and her later, streamlined wardrobe she co-designed with Angela Kelly, this article provides a framework within which to understand how the fashion of Elizabeth II contributed to public understanding of her, but more so, of the institution of the British monarchy as represented by mediated images of her and her reign.