Holt book on Queen's style goes to Ryland Peters & Small

Ryland Peters & Small has scooped The Queen: 70 years of Majestic Style by Bethan Holt, fashion news and features director at the Daily Telegraph.

The illustrated non-fiction work celebrates the fashion evolution of Elizabeth II as she lives out her Platinum Jubilee year. World rights were acquired by senior commissioning editor Annabel Morgan from Elly James at HHB agency. The book will be published on 19th April 2022. 

Its synopsis explains: "The past 70 years have seen a 25-year-old princess transform into a nonagenarian monarch who is respected and loved the world over. A woman whose views are never heard, Queen Elizabeth II has deployed fashion as a means to communicate and signal her position to the crowds who gather to see her in public and the millions who watch her television broadcasts: ‘I must be seen to be believed,’ she has said. 

"The Queen’s evolving attitude to dress reflects a visual landscape that began as genteel reportage in mostly black and white and has over the years evolved into today’s technicolour 24/7 news cycle, flashed around the world in seconds and driven by social media. Incredibly, in her 70th year as monarch, the Queen feels as relevant as ever before – and she is, undoubtedly, a style icon."

Holt  has appeared on the BBC, Sky, Channel 4, and ITV talking about royal fashion. Her previous book is The Duchess of Cambridge: A Decade of Modern Royal Style was also published by Ryland Peters & Small.

She said of the new book: "It has been so much fun discovering the Queen's incredible fashion journey, from the astounding Norman Hartnell gowns of her youth to the colourful uniform which has made her a global style icon today. As we celebrate the Queen's 70 years on the throne, I hope readers will love discovering the stories behind some of Elizabeth II's most spectacular outfits as much as I have during the course of my research."

Morgan added: "We are thrilled to be publishing this book with Bethan, which takes readers on a highly illustrated journey through the evolution of the Queen’s style over the past seven decades."