In her long reign as the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth has met with various world leaders, including religious leaders like the Pope. But Her Majesty nearly had a potentially damaging royal blunder when she met with Pope John Paul II in the Vatican in 2000.
According to the Queen's royal dresser, Angela Kelly, Her Majesty's entourage was given strict dressing guidelines coming from the Vatican before the said meeting. Kelly detailed in her book, "The Other Side of the Coin, the Queen, the Dressers and the Wardrobe," that the Queen's advisors wanted her to wear her usual and trademark colorful dresses but Kelly apparently knew it would be a grave mistake to go against the Vatican guidelines.
The rule stated that those meeting with his Holiness in the Vatican have to wear dark clothes, usually black, as part of their protocol. Thus, Queen Elizabeth's penchant for wearing bright dresses would not be appropriate for her meeting with Pope John Paul II. Then again, the royals also have a protocol against wearing dark clothes because these are usually reserved for mourning or death.
Kelly said that Queen Elizabeth seemed torn on what to do even as the royal dresser reasoned with Her Majesty's advisors. To be on the safe side, however, Kelly prepared two dark dresses patterned after the Queen's favorite outfits in case the advisors would change their minds.
When they got to Rome three months later, the Queen's Private Secretary were apparently frantic that they didn't ask Kelly to prepare a dark outfit for the Queen's meeting with Pope John Paul II. The high-profile engagement would have outraged the Vatican community and embarrassed the Queen if they went through with their original plan for her dress. Kelly also did not tell the Private Secretary that she prepared the appropriate dress and instead assured everyone that Queen Elizabeth would look dignified when she's with the Pope.
Once she was summoned by Queen Elizabeth, Kelly presented the black dresses. The royal dresser recalled that there was a huge relief on the Queen's face.
Kelly was also the person behind Queen Elizabeth's controversial blue dress and hat with yellow markings. Royal observers said that the whole outfit was similar to the colors of the European flag and it was interpreted as an anti-Brexit sentiment. The royal dresser, however, said that the colors chosen for the dress were just a coincidence, which amused Queen Elizabeth's royal staff, nonetheless.
