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Lorde’s 2013 hit song “Royals” could be an explainer for the immense popularity of The Crown. Basically no one is born to the throne, but still almost everyone craves a bit of fantasy and is looking for their king or queen.
Royal mania is real and it is pervasive, extending far beyond the tabloids, to television, film, fashion, and even popular parlance. (“Yass Queen!” was added to the Urban Dictionary in 2020.) One of the most powerful vehicles driving this obsession is the Netflix series. In January 2020 the company reported that more than 73 million households had tuned into the show since its debut in 2016. With season five of The Crown about to drop, interest in all things related to monarchy is trending. To tide you over until the first note of familiar theme music plays, here are the crème de la crème of royal looks on the runways, from Union Jacks to crowns, and a whole lot more in between.
Rule Brittania
The Crown is focused on the British royal family, and the pomp and circumstance the institution has preserved has provided creative fodder for royalists and rebels alike.
Warrior Queens
As “The Tudors” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art reminds us, commander in chief has been one of the responsibilities of royals.
Celestial Rulers
Church and state are united in the person of the king or queen, some of whom have historically claimed to rule by divine right. In Catholicism, Mary is referred to as the Queen of Heaven.
Fairy Tale Regents
Put a crown on it. The appeal of being Queen for a Day never seems to get old.
Punk Princesses
Courtney Love codified this anti-establishment look when she stepped out in a vintage slip dress and dime-store tiara.
King of the Land
Power dressing is not a metaphor but a reality for these fellows.
Prince Charming
He’s not quite the boy next door, but he just might rule your heart.
