There are wardrobes, and then there are wardrobes that define an era. Queen Elizabeth II’s belonged to the latter, a living archive of intention, identity, and impeccable discretion, assembled over ten decades and worn, always, with singular purpose. To mark the centenary of her birth, Burberry has created four new designs in collaboration with Royal Collection Trust, a department of the Royal Household, honouring a relationship between brand and monarch that stretches back to 1955, when the Queen awarded Burberry its Royal Warrant.
It was a natural union. Burberry, forged in the pursuit of protection against Britain’s mercurial skies, spoke the same language as a Queen who found her truest self outdoors, striding across the Highland estates, at ease in the landscape her family has called home for generations. She wore the brand not for ceremony, but for living. And it is that spirit, intimate and elemental, that animates this new capsule.
The centrepiece is a belted car coat, handcrafted in Castleford, Yorkshire, from lightweight cotton gabardine in holly green, a shade that seems to hold the memory of Scottish hillsides within it. Woven with contrasting yarns, the fabric catches the light with a quiet iridescence, its soul as considered as its construction. The lining is pure certified organic silk, carrying a newly conceived colourway of the iconic Burberry House Check, itself a quiet homage to the Old Stewart Tartan, a pattern the Queen wore close to her heart.
That same holly green check moves through the capsule with the ease of a signature: across a Scottish-woven cashmere scarf, and along the border of a silk twill scarf printed with a hand-painted rendering of Balmoral Castle, the Highland retreat where the Royal Family has always sought solace and simplicity. These are not merely accessories. They are mementos, objects imbued with place, memory, and meaning.
There is, too, a gold-plated brooch that offers a moment of warmth amid the elegance: a corgi, rendered in miniature, wearing an enamelled check coat, the Burberry Knight motif set upon a freshwater pearl at its centre. It is the kind of piece that speaks of affection, the sort of detail only those who truly understood the Queen would think to include.
The collaboration arrives ahead of what promises to be a landmark cultural moment. Opening at The King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace on 10 April, “Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style” will be the most extensive exhibition of the Queen’s fashion ever presented, approximately 200 pieces from her personal wardrobe, many stepping into public light for the very first time. Alongside the garments themselves, visitors will encounter design sketches, fabric swatches and handwritten correspondence, materials that illuminate the Queen’s remarkable and often overlooked creative agency in shaping her own image across a historic reign.
Three Burberry pieces will feature in the exhibition: a hooded riding cape from around 2010, an original invoice for a coat ordered in 1966, and a Burberry Check silk scarf from 2013. Taken together, they trace not just a brand relationship, but a philosophy of dressing, purposeful, poised, and deeply, unmistakably British. The exhibition is accompanied by the official centenary publication, “Queen Elizabeth II: Fashion and Style.”
The capsule collection is available from 12 March 2026 at Burberry.com and in selected stores worldwide, as well as through Royal Collection Trust Shops in Edinburgh, London and Windsor, and online at RoyalCollectionShop.co.uk.