The fashion world’s reigning queen met Queen Elizabeth Friday morning at Buckingham Palace when she was officially created a Dame Commander of the British Empire.
Vogue’s Anna Wintour was honoured by the Queen for her services to journalism and fashion, named on the diplomatic and overseas list.
Wintour attended the ceremony with her daughter, Bee Shaffer.
“She couldn’t find where to put the brooch,” Wintour told reporters afterwards, of The Queen trying to place the brooch on her pale pink Chanel coat.
“I congratulated her on Prince Philip’s service because obviously, that’s so remarkable and such an inspiration to us all.”
Wintour had previously been named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in The Queen’s 2008 Birthday Honours.
“It’s always wonderful to get an award, but this one is extra special,” Wintour said.
“I think everyone in the United States has such admiration for the British Royal Family, and with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge there’s a whole new interest in the younger generation,” Wintour went on to say.
Princess Anne, Diana, Princess of Wales, and the Duchess of Cambridge have all appeared on the cover of Vogue magazine.
Wintour was born in London, the daughter of Charles Wintour, a former editor of the London Evening Standard.
Her own journalist career has been marked by stints at several magazines on both sides of the Atlantic, but she is perhaps best known as the editor-in-chief of Vogue. She started as the editor-in-chief at British Vogue, a position she held from 1985-1987, and then moved to New York City to recuse another magazine.
In 1988, she took over as editor-in-chief of Vogue, rescuing it from a steep decline and turning it into the fashion bible it is today. In 2013, she became the artistic director for Condé Nast while retaining her editorial job at Vogue. She also chairs the annual Met Gala, one of fashion’s biggest events, to raise money for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.
They’re giving these trinkets out to just anybody these days. There’s a reason the Queen was unable to pin the broach. Wintour’s a journalist the same way Prince Charles is a scientist.