Fashioning the Crown: A Story of Power, Conflict, and Couture

The fascinating story of a tumultuous half-century of British history as seen through royal fashion and image-making, taking the reader behind the glamour and mystique of the Crown.

Fashioning the Crown tells the story of a tumultuous half-century of British history through the lens of royal fashion and image-making. Informed by Justine Picardie's entirely original research in the Royal Archives, as well her own interactions with Elizabeth II and her family, it will reveal how, from the outbreak of the First World War to 1960, the soft power of clothing played a crucial role in helping the Royal Family, and the nation, to navigate seismic changes and challenges.

Justine will take us behind the glamor and mystique of the Crown, introducing us afresh to three generations of royals, including the glamorous Queen Mary; the Chanel-wearing young flapper who would become the Queen Mother; and the little Princess Lillibet, already setting fashion trends at the age of three. Justine will reveal the crucial importance of image-making in an era of abdications and assassinations, and amidst the rise of revolutions and fascism. She will also uncover the fascinating, little-known lives of the couturiers behind the clothes.

Figures like Hardy Amies, Edward Molyneux and Norman Hartnell had secrets that they kept in the shadows--from their sexuality, to their work in espionage--even as they dressed some of the most recognizable figures in the world. Fashioning the Crown will present a secretive institution in a captivating new light.

Author: Justine Picardie
Publisher: Pegasus Books
Published: 02/24/2026
Pages: 464
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.60lbs
Size: 9.07h x 6.07w x 1.66d
ISBN: 9798897100132


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 12/08/2025

About the Author
Justine Picardie is the author of several books, including her critically acclaimed memoir, If the Spirit Moves You: Life and Love After Death, and the international bestseller Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life. She is a contributing editor to Harper's Bazaar UK, having previously been its editor-in-chief. She was formerly an investigative journalist for The Sunday Times in London, a columnist for The Telegraph, editor of the Observer magazine, and features director of Vogue. Her most recent book, Miss Dior, was published to extensive critical acclaim. Justine lives in London.