Starring national treasure Anne Reid as The Queen, doyen of stage and screen Caroline Quentin as The Dresser, with Olivier award-winning James Dreyfus as The Milliner and Merchant Ivory and Poldark legend James Wilby as The Designer, the new play is written by Daisy Goodwin who created the hit ITV series Victoria and directed by former Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s Globe, Dominic Dromgoole.

By Royal Appointment is a behind the scenes peek into the world of our most popular monarch and the image she presented to the world.

The late Queen Elizabeth II was famous for her discretion. She never said anything in public that could ruffle the lightest of feathers. But she had one way of expressing what she really thought – through her wardrobe.

By Royal Appointment is a funny, poignant and celebratory new play about the kind of power that only a Queen can wield – she charms the world through coats and admonishes her family through a carefully chosen hat.

But the Queen herself is uninterested in fashion, her look is managed by her Designer, her Milliner and, most powerful of all, her Dresser who was a working-class girl who goes from advising the Queen on the colour of her lipsticks to the real power behind the throne. But the Dresser, like all royal favourites is living on borrowed time.

By Royal Appointment is at Leeds Grand Theatre from Tue 24 to Sat 28 June 2025. Book tickets online at leedsheritagetheatres.com or call Box Office on 0113 243 0808.

(Picture by Nobby Clarke)