A Royal fashion historian from Falmouth has praised the "incredible style legacy" of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II – and says "subtlety was at the heart of her style".
Dr Kate Strasdin, 48, paid tribute to the Queen and said her style was guided by a "sense of consistency" throughout her reign.
Dr Strasdin, who works as a senior lecturer in cultural studies at Falmouth University, said: "It was a ‘steady-at-the-helm' approach to appearance – which went from her hairstyle down, really.
"There were tweaks and adaptations over time, but actually, her sartorial consistency was part of her appeal.
Falmouth lecturer Dr Kate Strasdin speaks about the Queen's style Picture: Dr Kate Strasdin, Falmouth University/SWNS
"Her identity was rooted in this calm sense of consistency – so while everything else could be tumultuous and the world felt unsteady, you could look at her at any point and she looked herself.
"This became part of her genius in terms of sticking to her style and not changing too much. Consistency became really important.
"When you have tumultuous times in a monarchy and people feel differently about the place of the monarch in society overall – the consistency she provided can’t really be underplayed."
Speaking about the Queen's last public photograph alongside Prime Minister Liz Truss, Dr Kate said the Queen looked "very comfortable and very British".
The Queen waiting in the drawing room before receiving Liz Truss Picture: Jane Barlow/PA
She said: "What I think people found endearing about that picture is there wasn't any regality.
"It was so informal, she looked like everybody's grandma but still recognisably the Queen with the shoes and her handbag.
"There wasn't any matching suits, it was the Queen in her home.
"It is what people have found endearing in a way, it is about the duty of her filling out her role – she looked very comfortable and very British."
Dr Strasdin said that it will be "interesting" to see how the Queen's style legacy plays out for the Royal women who follow her.
She said: "Protocols are mired in expectations and demands about dress – particularly for women.
"It will be interesting to see how this continues with Kate Middleton, for example.”
The Queen wore floral to the Eden Project in Cornwall last year during the G7 Summit Picture: PA
Dr Kate Strasdin – whose research looks at 19th century dress protocols with Royal women in particular – said that the Queen's use of style was a form of subtle communication.
"There was speculation about her brooches – a form of adornment and the way she wore them during key moments," she said.
"There’s brilliant analysis on her choice of brooches, for example when Donald Trump made his State Visit and she – presumably very deliberately – wore a brooch that President Obama had given her a few years before.
"The following night she wore a brooch that the Canadian Premier had given her at a time when Donald Trump had clashed directly with the Canadian Primacy at that point.
"There were a number of occasions where she used her jewellery to communicate.
"It was never very overt but anyone who chooses to look at the origins of the jewellery she chooses would be able to find perhaps some kind of link to her conveying some kind of message – but it was always very subtle.
"Subtlety became at the heart of her style as far as dress was concerned."
The Queen was known to have said "I need to be seen to be believed" and Dr Kate said she did this through her choice of brightly coloured clothing.
The Queen in her multi-coloured evening gown at the 1999 Royal Variety Performance in Birmingham Picture: David Jones/PA
Dr Kate said: "This became a more recent phenomenon – if you look back at what the Queen was wearing in the 50s, 60s and 70s – it wasn’t particularly a theme in her wardrobe.
"She had all sorts of things going on and certainly in the 80s and 90s, people weren’t always very complimentary about her choices.
The Queen at Ascot in 1990 Picture: Adam Butler/PA
"The colour blocking was a more recent phenomenon under the leadership of Angela Kelly, who was taken on as her dresser but also essentially her private secretary in many ways.
"She took on this role along with a team of ten other people.
"Angela Kelly designed and oversaw the creation of what the Queen wore, so the colour blocking did become a feature of the last ten to 15 years."
The Queen had a love of block colours in later years Pictures: PA
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