Tanya Rose, founder of travel PR firm Mason Rose, has described how Queen Elizabeth put her at ease during a visit to Sandringham nearly 50 years ago. Rose, an old school friend of Prince Edward, shared the memory on Amanda Wakeley's Style DNA podcast.
Rose attended Gordonstoun at the same time as the now Duke of Edinburgh in the 1970s. In 1979, she was invited to the Norfolk estate just after Christmas, while several members of the Royal Family were still enjoying their holidays.
"I was 14, and Edward invited me to Sandringham just after Christmas," she said.
A terrifying first night
Rose stayed at the royal residence for four days, and was the only guest there who was not a member of the Royal Family. Her first evening proved overwhelming, as the men and women separated after dinner.
"That first night, it was terrifying because I was the only non-family member, and the men stayed, and the ladies went into another room," she recalled.
In that room were the Queen, the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret, Princess Anne and Lady Susan Hussey, the Queen's lady-in-waiting. Rose said the Queen knew she was nervous.
"The Queen was so divine because she knew I was nervous. I was absolutely terrified, so she started doing impressions of her groom and just being so sweet to me. She was lovely."
A strict dress code
Rose also spoke about the dress expectations for her four-day stay. When asked about the dress code, she said she needed "four long dresses, four outfits for breakfast, four outfits for tea, shooting things, Barbour, Wellington boots."
