With Queen Elizabeth, she liked reliability and routine throughout her life. She ate essentially the same breakfast every morning, loved the same breed of dog (corgi) her whole life, and had an outfit formula that worked for her: colorful clothing and a sturdy, trusty handbag on her arm.
In fact, that handbag sent a myriad of messages to her aides, including when it was time to go. But what did Her late Majesty—who died on September 8, 2022 at 96 years old—keep in those famous Launer handbags she always carried? Rebecca English of The Daily Mail said on the outlet’s Palace Confidential podcast (and per Marie Claire) that “There have been enough little tidbits from staff and people who have sat next to her at dinners over the years who have seen her open it [her purse] to give us a fair idea of what was in it.”
So, what gives? “Mirror, lipstick, and I know somebody who said that after dinner once, she actually got her compact out and touched on her lipstick, and all of them were like, ‘Oh, thank God, we can do the same,’” English continued.
Indeed, author Phil Dampier told Hello! that the Queen kept “a small metal makeup case” in her handbag, given to her by her husband, Prince Philip, as a gift for their wedding on November 20, 1947.
English was also told that the Queen “would sometimes have a little kind of sucker” in her purse, meaning a suction cup, according to Marie Claire. “She didn’t like to put her bag down on the floor, and she would use the sucker to hold it to a table or to a wall or something like that,” English added. Practical!
A guest who attended a dinner with Queen Elizabeth seconded this, telling The Lady, “I watched the Queen open her handbag and remove a white suction cup and discreetly spit into it.” She then “attached the cup to the underside of the table. The cup had a hook on it, and she attached her handbag to it.”
The more you know!
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