It has been revealed that Queen Camilla is following the footsteps of the late monarch, Queen Elizabeth, in a wardrobe shift that charities are hailing as brilliant
The Queen has pledged to buy no new fur products for her wardrobe, an animal rights group has revealed.
Buckingham Palace sent Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) Camilla’s “warmest wishes” as it confirmed her stance in a letter on the issue. This is the first time Queen Camilla has taken an official stance against the fur industry, in which welfare campaigners say animals are caged for life or caught in steel traps, electrocuted or subjected to another form of painful death, and skinned.
Camilla secretly switched to fake fur hats back in 2017 after receiving a barrage of criticism for wearing a Russian-style real fur hat to the Royal Family’s Sandringham Christmas Day church seven years earlier. She had also previously been criticised by Peta in 2009 after she was spotted wearing a rabbit fur stole during a tour to Canada.
The letter, which was dated April 15, typed on Buckingham Palace-headed notepaper and from the head of royal correspondence, read: “In response to your query, I can confirm that Her Majesty will not procure any new fur garments.” It added: “This comes with the Queen’s warmest wishes.”
The Queen’s public statement follows in the footsteps of the late Queen Elizabeth II, who switched to faux fur for new outfits from 2019. Peta founder Ingrid Newkirk said: “Peta is toasting Queen Camilla with a glass of the finest claret for being a true queen by standing with the 95 per cent of British people who also refuse to wear animal fur, as polls show.”
The latest announcement continues the Palace’s move towards becoming environmentally friendly. The Coronation Roll – the official recording of the proceedings – was for the first time in history made from paper. But both the King and Queen wore fur at the coronation, with ermine capes on their robes and historic crowns trimmed in ermine.
Charles opted for his grandfather George VI’s robes, while Camilla wore Elizabeth II’s Robe of State and a newly made Robe of Estate with ermine believed to have been reused from a past robe. Peta had offered to supply Charles with new fur-free robes free of charge ahead of the ceremony.
For two decades, Peta has also been campaigning to compel the Ministry of Defence to end the use of bearskin for the King’s Guard’s caps. A PETA video exposé revealed how bears are baited with food, shot, disembowelled and dismembered by hunters in Canada so that their fur can be sold – possibly to be used for the purely ornamental headgear.
Ms Newkirk added: “It’s right and proper for the monarchy to reflect British values by recognising that fur has no place in our society – and it makes the Ministry of Defence’s use of real bear fur for the royal guard’s caps ever more preposterous and out of touch.”
Wendy Higgins at Humane Society International, said: “We are thrilled that Her Majesty Queen Camilla has followed in the footsteps of the late Queen Elizabeth II by officially confirming her fur-free status. The Queen’s decision to “go faux” reflects the morals and mood of the British public, the majority of whom detest cruel fur. We hope this powerful message from the Queen inspires the government to take decisive action to ban the import of cruel fur from overseas.”
