Queen Elizabeth Always Carried an Extra Pair of Gloves After Embarrassing Incident at Prince William and Kate Middleton’s Wedding
Queen Elizabeth II had an unmistakable style. The late monarch wore bright colors often and usually had a matching hat and pair of gloves to go with every outfit. But after an embarrassing incident at Prince William and the Princess of Wales’ (formerly known as Kate Middleton) wedding, she always made sure she had an extra pair of gloves with her.
Here’s what the queen’s former stylist said left her mortified the day of her grandson’s wedding.
Why Queen Elizabeth always wore gloves
Throughout her 70-year reign, Queen Elizabeth almost always wore gloves manufactured by Cornelia James.
The creative director of Cornelia James, Genevieve James, once told Good Housekeeping that the queen always wore gloves because they were part of her style and “the mind’s eye picture of the queen is the white-gloved hand waving.”
James added that it’s not just about style as wearing gloves to royal engagements also served a purpose for the queen explaining: “They’re necessary because if you’re the queen, you’re shaking a lot of hands, so they protect her hands as well.”
What embarrassing incident happened with the queen’s gloves at Will and Kate’s wedding
On April 29, 2011 millions of people around the world tuned in to watch Prince William and Kate say “I do,” while thousands more lined the streets near Westminster Abbey to catch a glimpse of the couple and other members of the royal family. Outside the church, the queen put up her hand to wave to the crowd and noticed a “gaping hole” in one of her gloves.
According to her stylist Bernard Connolly, the queen was not happy at all by what she saw and was equally upset that no one on her styling team had spotted it in advance.
He told the Daily Mail: “How it wasn’t written about at the time, I will never know, the queen went out and waved to the world with a hole in her glove — can you imagine? You don’t do that, you wouldn’t do it in a fashion show, or in a photo shoot, and you certainly wouldn’t do it as monarch. It was not just any engagement, but the future king getting married.”
Connolly said the incident was referred to internally at the Palace as “Holegate,” with staff keen to make sure the mistake didn’t happen again. However, the queen took it upon herself to always make sure she had an extra pair of gloves in her purse just in case.
Other royal ladies paid tribute to the late monarch with gloves on this occasion
Not all woman in the royal family are fans of wearing gloves but just about everyone from Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie to Queen Camilla to Meghan Markle either had them on or carried a pair with them at the queen’s state funeral.
Hello! noted that gloves are not required to be worn at state events, therefore it’s believed the women sported or carried the accessory with them as a nod to the late monarch.
