Fashioning the Crown

Join bestselling author Justine Picardie in conversation with V&A senior curator Oriole Cullen for a compelling history of the Crown told through the lens of royal fashion.

+44 (0)20 7942 2000
  • Wednesday, 25 February 2026

  • V&A South Kensington

    Cromwell Road
    London, SW7 2RL
  • The Lydia and Manfred Gorvy Lecture Theatre

  • For Members

    This talk sold out to Members during the priority booking period; no general tickets will be released.

  • Tickets cost £15.00 - £20.00

    Includes wine reception.

Sold out
Fashioning the Crown photo
From the birth of the house of Windsor in 1917, its leading women faced the perils of abdication and assassination, revolution and the rise of fascism, the threat of invasion and all-out war. Their sartorial decisions, alongside those of their royal husbands, projected power and perpetuity, diplomacy and defiance. 

Drawing on original research in the Royal Archives and her own experiences at Balmoral, Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace, Justine Picardie’s latest book, Fashioning the Crown (Faber) tells a cinematic story of espionage and exquisite couture. In conversation with the V&A’s Oriole Cullen, Picardie will explore the reinvention of the British monarchy and how royal fashion has long been wielded as a weapon.