Celia Imrie is among the few grand dames of her generation – Imelda Staunton , Helen Mirren , Kristin Scott Thomas – never to have taken on what many consider the ultimate role for a British actress: Queen Elizabeth II. (Call it a case of ancestral meddling; her several-generations-back-great-grandfather William Russell was executed for treason in 1683 after conspiring against King Charles II.) And yet, if the crown ever eluded her on screen, Imrie came within fairly close distance when she arrived at the 2025 Fashion Awards in a velvet cloak – dramatically flicked open to reveal a matching trouser suit beneath – inspired by one the same tailors had created for Elizabeth II as part of her coronation celebrations in 1953.

“Isn’t it stunning?” Imrie says of the Gieves & Hawkes lo

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