A fashionable Queen

King Charles III has visited an exhibition dedicated to his late mother's fashion, the first in a number of events which the British royals will attend to mark what would have been the late Queen Elizabeth's 100th birthday.

Elizabeth II, Britain's longest-reigning and longest-lived monarch, was born on April 21, 1926, going on to spend 70 years on the throne before her death in September 2022 at the age of 96.

Such is her enduring impact that a YouGov survey of British people last week found that 81% of those polled had a positive opinion of her, more than any living member of the royal family.

Queen Elizabeth II at Ascot Racecourse in 2021. Photo: Getty Images
Queen Elizabeth II at Ascot Racecourse in 2021. Photo: Getty Images

"I don't think I've ever seen anybody have a sense of duty like she had," Charles' wife, Queen Camilla, said in a BBC documentary broadcast on Sunday.

"It must have been so difficult, being surrounded by much older men," Camilla said of Elizabeth's accession to the throne in 1952 at the age of 25.

"There weren't women prime ministers or women presidents. She was the only one, so I think she carved her own role."

King Charles and Queen Camilla at the exhibition of Queen Elizabeth II"s fashion at Buckingham...
King Charles and Queen Camilla at the exhibition of Queen Elizabeth II"s fashion at Buckingham Palace. It's the largest and most comprehensive display of her clothing ever mounted. Photo: Getty Images
Robert Hardman, the royal author who this month published a new biography of Elizabeth to mark her centenary, attributed her enduring appeal to her "timelessness."

"There was a real sense that she connected with history, but that she was also in touch with the present and that made her, I think, uniquely appealing to all ages," he told Reuters.

Princess Elizabeth's wedding dress, veil and train, designed by Norman Hartnell, worn for her...
Princess Elizabeth's wedding dress, veil and train, designed by Norman Hartnell, worn for her marriage to Prince Philip at Westminster Abbey in 1947. Photo: Getty Images
To mark the anniversary of her birth, Charles and Camilla visited a new exhibition, "Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style," which is currently being held at Buckingham Palace.

More than 300 items, ranging from the late Queen's wedding dress to the outfit she wore for her cameo appearance at the opening of the London 2012 Olympics, are on display in the largest-ever exhibition of her wardrobe.

Famed for wearing bright colours and matching hats, she once quipped: "I have to be seen to be believed."