This is why royals often carry shawls at evening events
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Royal fashion protocol can sometimes be a tricky thing to navigate, especially when it includes outdated rules, such as wearing gloves in public, or nude tights.
One such rule dictates that the likes of Queen Elizabeth and Kate Middleton shouldn't take their coats off in public, lest it raise some eyebrows. I know, I know.
Apparently this wouldn't be considered very 'ladylike', so they have found some ways around it, which include covering up with shawls when dressed up for an evening do on a cold night.
The Queen used to favour fur stoles for such events, though of course that raises animal cruelty questions, and Her Majesty has since promised not to wear them anymore.
As for Princess Diana and Kate Middleton, especially when wearing strapless evening gowns, they have favoured lighter fabrics such as silk and satin, to add a romantic touch to their outfits while keeping warm.
For daytime events, you'll either see royal women wearing their coats, or with them off, but never in an in-between state. If they do need to take their outerwear off, they'll discreetly retreat to a car or room to do so privately.
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Penny Goldstone is the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, covering everything from catwalk trends to royal fashion and the latest high street and Instagram must-haves.
Penny grew up in France and studied languages and law at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris before moving to the UK for her MA in multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University. She moved to the UK permanently and has never looked back (though she does go back regularly to stock up on cheese and wine).
Although she's always loved fashion - she used to create scrapbooks of her favourite trends and looks, including Sienna Miller and Kate Moss' boho phase - her first job was at MoneySavingExpert.com, sourcing the best deals for everything from restaurants to designer sales.
However she quit after two years to follow her true passion, fashion journalism, and after many years of internships and freelance stints at magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Stylist and Good Housekeeping, landed her dream job as the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK.
Her favourite part of the job is discovering new brands and meeting designers, and travelling the world to attend events and fashion shows. Seeing her first Chanel runway IRL at Paris Fashion Week was a true pinch-me moment.
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