Your Royal Highness.....

I don’t know if I would ever be brave enough to wear bold, black and white striped pants, a flowered shirt, a scarf and dark glasses all at the same time, but I really admired this lady for doing so. Considering we’re probably close to the same age, I have to admit I envied her unique fashion sense and bravery. She was quite tall and imposing – very hard to miss. In my imagination I could see her dressed in something the Dowager Empress of Russia would have worn in 1898 – high necked, full skirted, bedecked with lace and dripping with jewels.

I’m really sorry I’m not a brave enough person to have stopped and talked to her. I think I may have missed a golden opportunity there, but she had a very stern look on her face which is what brought the Dowager Empress of Russia image to mind – one of those withering facial expressions the royals of yesteryear were so good at delivering. Although just to be clear, she never looked straight at me and didn’t see the camera. I might not be here to tell the story if she had.