LORD SNOWDON
public cynicism about the royal fairytale had yet to set in. Home was a grand apartment in Kensington Palace, and they were in the vanguard of all that was new and exciting. Long before Buckingham Palace even dreamt of entertaining them, writers, painters, actors and dancers poured through their front door.
The couple had returned from their honeymoon to a stultifying life at court, carrying out minor public engagements in which the husband had always to walk two paces behind his royal wife. He did his best to fit in, learning to shoot so that he wouldn ' t disgrace himself on the killing fields of Sandringham and Balmoral. In 1961 there was the consolation of ennoblement, as the Earl of Snowdon, in a nod towards his Welsh roots. He was part of the Royal Family, but not royal, routinely ignored by the servants who were resentful of his ambiguous position. His sartorial style was described at the time by one royal watcher as:“ The King’ s Road rubbing shoulders with Savile Row.”
Although he could bespoke with the best for formal and grand occasions – Tailor and Cutter magazine claimed he was a devotee of the Row – he didn ' t think twice about turning up at the palace in hip hugging slacks, a roll necked top, and knee high suede Chelsea boots. He became a customer of the legendary Doug Hayward, of Mount Street, who dressed the stars, such as Michael Caine, Roger Moore, and a galaxy of others. Doug was invited to Mustique, where Margaret and Tony had a holiday home, and crooned Cole Porter songs with her without missing a beat. He beguiled the Princess with his working class charm, and as another guest said:“ His secret was to treat her like a regular bird.”
In 1963 Tony was appointed as Constable of Carnarvon Castle, and six years later he took part in the investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales and, as everyone else seemed to be wearing a uniform, designed himself a distinctive olive green outfit with the Prince of Wales ' s Feathers on the collar of the jacket. He believed it made him look like a 1950s cinema usherette or the panto character Buttons. In a television interview 40 years later he did not disagree when Huw Edwards gently suggested that he had tried to bring a
touch of Carnaby Street to the ceremony.
Tony ' s style went side by side with his photography which contributed spectacular images to the world, and thus influenced popular culture in a lasting way. It was indeed all about image. He moved through the decades sporting the looks of the times with great confidence. His friend, the American fashion designer, Tom Ford, says that he was always stunned by his choice of clothes.“ He was a buttoned up gentleman in tweed; a mod, a macho biker, a groovy photographer striding through an airport in suede and Dolce Vita shades. He was a playboy; his sideburns grew long, as did his hair, and neckerchiefs seemed to work on him as well as a classic black tie. He was a chameleon, able to straddle several worlds simultaneously, and to the end was a man of great style and taste.” Q
Antony Armstrong Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, March 1930-January 2017.
Lord Snowdon in reflective mood in 2008
32 SAVILE ROW STYLE MAGAZINE