They are the elegant, British-made handbags which have the royal seal of approval.
But behind the Charlotte Elizabeth range lies the moving tale of the young woman who created it.
Charlotte Jones, 30, today has a highly successful brand, which has turned over £1.1 million in its first few years and whose classic designs have been sported by the Queen four times in the past two weeks.
Charlotte was diagnosed with an arrhythmia aged 16, but surgery left her with Pots (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) – which causes a rapid increase of heart rate when standing, leading to fainting or dizziness – and severe post-traumatic stress.
She was ‘virtually bed-bound’.
Charlotte told The Mail on Sunday: ‘The fact that I am here even talking to you, let alone doing what I love and seeing the Queen sporting my designs, is simply unbelievable.
‘At one point I didn’t even know whether I would live to fight another day, or even want to.’
But Charlotte enrolled on a four-day enterprise course with The King’s Trust, then The Prince’s Trust.
‘The charity invited her back to do a pitch and she secured a £3,000 loan.
With that she got 40 handbags made in a Somerset factory using Scottish leather, designed a website from her bed and photographed the products herself.
It went ‘stratospheric’ when the Duchess of Sussex was pictured with a bag in 2018 during an official trip to Ireland.
‘I owe so much to [the King] and the King’s Trust,’ she said.
‘To be quite honest I don’t know if I would still be here, let alone doing this, without him.’
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