Queen Elizabeth

The Queen Has Been Forced to Fire Her Bra Fitter

June Kenton, who has been the Queen’s “corsetiere” since the early 1980s, lost her royal warrant over her book Storm in a D-Cup.
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By Chris Jackson/Getty Images.

This one will be a fun plot point on The Crown someday. Rigby & Peller, the luxury underwear firm that has supplied lingerie to the Queen since 1960, has lost its royal warrant after the Queen’s bra fitter, June Kenton, published a book in March 2017 that Buckingham Palace did not like, reports the BBC. Kenton, 82, said the book, called Storm in a D-Cup (admittedly masterful employment of bra humor there), did not contain any content “to be upset about” and was saddened by the decision.

“I only ever said I went there, not what happened. I have never, ever spoken about what I do there with her, or the Queen Mother, or Princess Margaret,” Kenton said in a statement, per the BBC. “I think it’s unbelievable. It’s just upsetting at the end of my life, but what can I do. I can’t fight with Buckingham Palace and I wouldn’t want to, but it’s hard.”

Kenton began working for the Queen in the early 1980s as her official “corsetiere”; she also worked for Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother. Kenton bought the lingerie shop in 1982 with her husband; she sold it in 2011 but remains on the board.

Kenton, who was informed of the decision six months ago, is upset, but she’s not alone. Per the Royal Warrant Holders Association’s Web site, companies who have supplied the royal family with goods or services for at least five out of seven years can apply for a warrant. Currently, these companies are granted warrants for up to five years by either the Queen, Prince Philip, or Prince Charles. Warrants come up to review every five years, and, per the BBC, 20 to 40 of the 800 that exist are canceled every year.

Per The Guardian,) posh department store Harrods, for example, lost its royal warrant from Prince Philip in 2000 after “the significant decline in the trading relationship between the [duke’s] household and Harrods over several years.”