Whatever you might think of Queen Elizabeth's style, you have to give it to her: the woman knows what she likes.
For nearly her entire reign, the British monarch has continued to flaunt a few handbags, all from the same U.K. designer. Per The Telegraph, the Queen owns over 200 bags from Launer, of which three seem to be her avowed favorites: the black leather Royale, the black patent Traviata, and a third custom handbag.
The royal family's history with Launer dates to the 1950s, when The Queen Mother first purchased one. She subsequently gifted one to her daughter, who's been a devotee ever since—and according to Launer's current CEO, Gerald Bodmer, Queen Elizabeth has even kept her mother's bags from the label.
Before Queen Elizabeth awarded Launer a royal warrant in 1968, the monarch sometimes acquired the brand's accessories through Rayne (a shoe label with an existing royal warrant).
Since then, she's been ordering around five custom bags a year, according to Bodmer. Generally, the Queen will request a few modifications to one of the label's iconic, decades-old styles.
"She likes a slightly longer handle so it doesn’t get caught up in her clothes when she is greeting people," Bodmer told the Daily Mail. "She’s not keen on shoulder straps, zips or partitions... We use a frame in the middle so she can reach deep inside, and she wants a strap that she can easily get her hand through to lift the lock and access the contents."
"But if the Queen doesn’t like what we’ve made her, she won’t wear it," he added. "She definitely knows what she wants." Below, three handbags that the Queen does very much want.
The Custom Bag
Perhaps because it was first acquired through Rayne, which had Launer produce purses to match its shoes, this style doesn't have a name—but it's clearly one of the Queen's all-time favorites. She's worn it to meet two presidents (Nixon and Clinton), and this past year, it was even immortalized in one of her official portraits.
The Royale
The very aptly named Royale is one of Launer's enduring styles, and the Queen is known to like it best in a patent leather finish.
The Triviata
"The style she has been using most in recent years is the Traviata, a simple shape with short handles and the famous Launer silver twisted rope logo used as a clasp on the front," Bodmer told Hello!.
The Traviata looks similar to the Royale, but features squared edges near its clasp. Due in part to the Queen's influence, the Traviata is Launer's best-selling style.
Chloe is a News Writer for Townandcountrymag.com, where she covers royal news, from the latest additions to Meghan Markle’s staff to Queen Elizabeth’s monochrome fashions; she also writes about culture, often dissecting TV shows like The Marvelous Mrs Maisel and Killing Eve.
