Back in the day, the Duchess of Cornwall was quite sporty, athletic and aristocratic. She was a good horsewoman, and she spent years going out on hunts with the men. I don’t know what her diet consists of now, but I’m sure she spent much of her life as a meat-eating, leather-and-fur-wearing hunter. But because Camilla is getting older, I guess she worries about appearances a bit more these days. She was apparently heavily criticized for wearing some vintage fur pieces several years ago, so now she only wears fake fur.
The Duchess of Cornwall has secretly switched to wearing fake fur hats after being hit by a barrage of criticism for sporting an ostentatious real fur hat, I can reveal. The Duchess was roundly berated for the real fur Russian-style hat she wore at the Royal Family’s Sandringham Christmas Day church service in 2010. Since then, she has bought SIX bespoke fake fur-trimmed hats from upmarket firm Lock & Co – and was seen proudly wearing one at this year’s Christmas service.
After the 2010 service, the Duchess was blasted here and abroad, including by The Mail on Sunday’s Liz Jones, who wrote: ‘What a slap in the face to the animal-loving British public. The wearing by our Royal Family of a product that’s deemed too cruel to be produced in this country – fur farms were banned here in 2000 – is simply unacceptable.’
The animal rights group Animal Aid described her choice as ‘an ostentatious display of cruelty’ that ‘says something unpleasant about the person wearing it.’
The offending Russian-style hat was apparently made from ‘vintage fur’ that belonged to her grandmother and was upcycled by milliner Philip Treacy – but the criticism stung. Her new fake fur hats are all the same design, but come in a variety of colours including deep pink, black, brown, slate and tweed. A Lock & Co spokeswoman said: ‘Camilla is a customer. The hats are a bespoke order with faux fur trim. The hat sits low on the head and keeps you warm. It’s quite water resistant and good for winter.’ The hat is similar to the company’s ‘Estate’ model but Camilla’s versions do not have a particular name as they are a bespoke order.
The Duchess’s red hat last week matched a bright military style coat by Roy Allen. She has worn the other fake fur hats at the recent Grenfell Tower memorial at St Paul’s Cathedral, an official visit to Denmark, and countryside events. A Buckingham Palace spokesman refused to say whether this meant that Camilla and other Royals have given up fur for good.
I would imagine that Camilla probably has many “vintage” fur pieces in her wardrobe which she will never sell or give away, but she probably won’t wear those pieces in public again either. What’s the responsibility here? If people want to criticize her for wearing recycled fur pieces, so be it, but those critics know she spent years as a hunter, right? And those critics know she still likely owns a ton of fur pieces, right? As for the fake fur hats… they look cute and warm. I wouldn’t mind one of those.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid and WENN.
Good. Fur shaming is a glorious thing.
+1000. I’m guilty of publicly and loudly doing it and will continue doing so. Friends of mine have also got my opinion on it. Don’t care who is sensitive and who is offended. If they can wear this, they can take the words for it.
Yes, harassing strangers who aren’t actually doing anything to you is something you are totally entitled to do. Sigh. I have some fur pieces from my late grandmother that are deeply meaningful to me and clearly I had nothing to do with their production or purchase, so if someone started harassing me, I’d call the police. Just something to keep in mind!
Vintage or not, inherited or not, we have a responsibility not to support the fur trade. I have no doubt she began wearing faux because of the scrutiny, not because it was the selfless thing to do.
Absolutely. Here’s a great suggestion to repurpose fur items.
https://www.thedodo.com/perfect-way-fur-coat-1337061484.html
Oh my god, that’s amazing. That’s a legit genius way to re-purpose.
This just made my heart sing. I’ve never owned any real fur or fur trimmed item and this whole Canada Goose/Woolrich/high quality parkas with fur trend (at least here in nyc) is really heartbreaking.
Don’t care if it is recycled or vintage or whatever – wearing fur normalizes it, and plenty of people look to these morons as inspiration.
Also lets not forget the Wales brothers, who make public statements about conservation etc, but have been repeatedly photographed hunting big game and continue to participate in shoots. It’s vile.
No shade for anyone who gives up fur. ANY reason is a good reason in my book.
Why even wear faux? It still LOOKS like fur, and makes fur seem acceptable.
I don’t really think fake fur looks like fur. I’m no expert, but I have never looked at a fake fur item and been fooled into thinking it’s real. I won’t wear fake fur because I don’t look like the look of it, and I wouldn’t wear real fur with the exception of New Zealand possum (harvested from an invasive pest species that has devastating consequences for our forests and native wildlife, and where the fur is a byproduct of necessary pest control activity).
I wear faux fur and people actually think they’re real. Dennis Basso has some nice faux pieces.
I can never understand why some people enjoy killing so much.
PS: Camilla looks better and better the older she gets.
Agree. She had work done for the Camilla reboot but imo it was subtle and age appropriate.
so people consider abortion murder, others will say it’s a woman’s right to choose. just saying.
Still no criticism for real fur wearing Kate though. Who wore real fur just this Christmas
I wear fur lined gloves and mukluks. My Indigenous family trapped and for generations worked for the Hudson Bay Company in Northern Canada. I will wear fur until I decide to stop wearing fur. The end of the fur trade caused untold devastation to Indigenous communities and plunged them into poverty but your self-righteous attitude towards fur no doubts keep you warm.
IMO, there is a big difference between fur farming (should be banned) and wild harvested fur, particularly sustainable harvest by Indigenous communities as part of their traditional livelihoods.
Gosh..pray tell TrixC..please explain because I am unsure of the difference between my childhood neighbour’s mink ranch and my grand-uncle’s trap line…
Um sorry but as a fellow Canadian I beg to differ. We kill too much. I don’t think the fur restrictions were the cause for the long lasting and deeply historical poverty issue in Indigenous communities. Our wildlife numbers are diminishing while human numbers in all communities are increasing. Something is not matching.
HelenW..it’s good to have conflicting opinions, as someone wise once said “uncomfortable conversations create change” – I have to admit lately I am becoming an angry Indigenous woman..I am exhausted with explaining my existence, why we can’t let go of history when history is today. Why is “Truth” being erased from Truth and Reconciliation. I am angry because I’ve had it to my hairline with Caucasians explaining to me in minute detail how I am to think or to feel about issues that affect me. PETA and the controversy surrounding the fur trade did have a horrible impact on my community. But I suppose you will dispute that statement since I’ve had two people on this site try to explain the difference to me. Now explain what it’s like to have a man explain the obvious to you and I will tell you how it feels to have someone explain the obvious to me.
I don’t think this is the place to argue on your personal views. However, you know nothing about me and have made a number of assumptions while my opinion is simply based on facts that are easily checked: the length and history of poverty in Indigenous communities, with or without fur trade, and the numbers of wild animals vs the ever growing number of humans, including in Indigenous communities. There is zero justification for continuing to kill animals to sell their parts for decoration. It’s cruel and in the current state of this planet, completely unjustified, sorry.
Another (Caucasian) Canadian here. Team Rosalee.
Seriously HelenW? Plenty of people are arguing their opinions here. save it for somebody else.
I totally agree with you, Rosalee! Keep on with tradition, keep it going 🙂
Fellow Canadian Rosalee, wear it with pride.
self-rightneous not !
fur trade is horrible and excruciatingly cruel from fur farms to live-trapping and skinning animals alive, it’s about time this bloody monstrosity has ended
In that scene on the Crown, where they queen stalks and kills a buck, I was truly saddened by the nature of this kind of killing. It strips these animals of something very beautiful.
Recycled fur should be exempt, as it’s recycled and the animal is already dead. But the fake furs nowadays are AMAZING and have more options than real fur, particularly for the shaggy teddy bear coats that are fashionable now. I once saw a swing coat that I could have sworn was leopard print, until I got up close and realized they were Mickey and Minnie Mouse heads, repeated. It was cool and amusing, and I’m sure it was warm as anything.
Good for her. I guess her conscience caught up to her with all of the backlash.
Kate wearing a fur hat today – some how I doubt she’ll get the same criticism in the media that Camilla did