Justine-picardie
Justine Picardie

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

Justine Picardie

Wednesday, 25 March 2026

2:00pm

1 hour

Department for Continuing Education: Lecture Theatre

£10 - £18

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Writer and former features director of Vogue Justine Picardie explains how royal women including Queen Elizabeth II and the Queen Mother projected power and perpetuity, diplomacy and even defiance through what they wore during a tumultuous period for the monarchy.

Picardie says royal fashion is a soft power that helped the likes of Queen Mary, the Queen Mother, Elizabeth II and Wallis Simpson navigate a world of abdications and assassinations, revolutions, the rise of fascism and war. She looks at the lives of couturiers behind the clothes, including Hardy Amies, Edward Molyneux and Norman Hartnell. And Picardie looks at the way visual iconography helped to safeguard the monarchy even when it appeared to be hanging by a thread.

Picardie has worked as an investigative journalist for the Sunday Times, columnist for the Telegraph, editor of Observer Magazine and features director of Vogue. She is author of six books including Miss Dior: A Story of Courage and Couture, and Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life.

The Telegraph Festival media partner University of Oxford European Union Bodleian Libraries Festival cultural partner Oxford Martin School Festival ideas partner Oxford Mathematics Spanish Embassy The Spanish Embassy: supporters of the programme of Spanish literature and culture Spain Arts and Culture Blackwell’s Festival on-site and online bookseller Symington Wines of the Douro Valley HM Government of Gibraltar Compassion in World Farming Pasture to Plate Old Bank Hotel Five-star hotel partners of The Oxford Collection Old Parsonage Hotel Five-star hotel partners of The Oxford Collection Oxford Brookes University Oxford International Centre for Publishing Gravita Accountants to the festival Mirabaud Private bank - London Confucius Institute Voltaire Foundation Felicity Bryan Associates Goldmoney Properties Princeton University Press Prestige publishing partner. Celebrating 25 years in Europe in 2024 Oxford University Department for Continuing Education Jewish Book Week Partner of Oxford Literary Festival Pol Roger Duff Cooper Prize Jim Mellon Miles Young Tim and Marion Stevenson Martin and Elise Becket Smith Jason and Heidi Smith David Isaac Other donors Yale University Press London New College New College founded 1379 Exeter College Exeter College: college home of the festival. Founded 1314 Worcester College Worcester College founded 1714 Lincoln College Lincoln College founded 1427 Trinity College Trinity College founded 1555 Magdalen College Magdalen College founded 1458 Reuben College Reuben College founded in 2019 Harris Manchester College Harris Manchester College founded 1893 Pusey House Founded 1884 New Dutch Writing Human Ecology Project MACROVegan Colbenson Festival digital strategy & web design Racalia Olive Oil Olive oil from Sicily Paul Bloomfield Ltd University of Oxford Alumni Office Alumni Office The Sheldonian Theatre Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies Italian Cultural Institute Oxford University Images Oxford University Images CAV Oxford The Litmus Partnership Schoolreaders Science Oxford Windrush Group The Oxford Times BBC Radio Oxford Local radio partner Conference Oxford Ox in a Box OX magazine

The Oxford Literary Festival sponsors, donors & partners

The Telegraph Festival media partner University of Oxford European Union Bodleian Libraries Festival cultural partner Oxford Martin School Festival ideas partner Oxford Mathematics Spanish Embassy The Spanish Embassy: supporters of the programme of Spanish literature and culture Spain Arts and Culture Blackwell’s Festival on-site and online bookseller Symington Wines of the Douro Valley HM Government of Gibraltar Compassion in World Farming Pasture to Plate Old Bank Hotel Five-star hotel partners of The Oxford Collection Old Parsonage Hotel Five-star hotel partners of The Oxford Collection Oxford Brookes University Oxford International Centre for Publishing Gravita Accountants to the festival Mirabaud Private bank - London Confucius Institute Voltaire Foundation Felicity Bryan Associates Goldmoney Properties Princeton University Press Prestige publishing partner. Celebrating 25 years in Europe in 2024 Oxford University Department for Continuing Education Jewish Book Week Partner of Oxford Literary Festival Pol Roger Duff Cooper Prize Jim Mellon Miles Young Tim and Marion Stevenson Martin and Elise Becket Smith Jason and Heidi Smith David Isaac Other donors Yale University Press London New College New College founded 1379 Exeter College Exeter College: college home of the festival. Founded 1314 Worcester College Worcester College founded 1714 Lincoln College Lincoln College founded 1427 Trinity College Trinity College founded 1555 Magdalen College Magdalen College founded 1458 Reuben College Reuben College founded in 2019 Harris Manchester College Harris Manchester College founded 1893 Pusey House Founded 1884 New Dutch Writing Human Ecology Project MACROVegan Colbenson Festival digital strategy & web design Racalia Olive Oil Olive oil from Sicily Paul Bloomfield Ltd University of Oxford Alumni Office Alumni Office The Sheldonian Theatre Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies Italian Cultural Institute Oxford University Images Oxford University Images CAV Oxford The Litmus Partnership Schoolreaders Science Oxford Windrush Group The Oxford Times BBC Radio Oxford Local radio partner Conference Oxford Ox in a Box OX magazine