During her 70-year reign, Queen Elizabeth II touched many lives. Many times she wore gloves by Cornelia J. Recently, the glove maker's creative Director Genevieve James opened up about her experience working with the monarch.

The Queen's Iconic Accessory

It's difficult to imagine the Queen without her gloves. They were at forefront of every royal wave and, like her handbag and hat, the queen rarely saw them without them. Cornelia James has been making gloves for more than 70 years. Cornelia James, the glove manufacturer, started it after World War II. Now, Cornelia's daughter Genevieve is running it.

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Genevieve spoke out about her experiences with the queen during a recent interview with Hello Magazine. She says that she will always remember the queen sitting in a black Daimler and her white-gloved hand waving at the window. "Seeing her in our gloves made me feel immensely proud. She was at London Fashion Week when she sat beside American Vogue Editor Anna Wintour. They were two Queens, and all of the photos were about her. She was above everyone. She was not trendy.
Over the years, she has been a glovemaker for many famous people. She says that nobody can compare to the Queen. "I think we work with many people--our gloves have been worn by Rihanna and Madonna--but the Queen is what really matters to me. She was exceptional. It was a great honor."

The Women Behind the Gloves

Cornelia James' story about how she became a glovemaker for the Queen is reminiscent of a Netflix mini-series. The founder of the glove company, Cornelia James, fled the Nazi regime in 1938 and arrived in England as a refugee. Cornelia was able to get her big break when Elizabeth, then-princess of Elizabeth, ordered gloves for Phillip Mountbatten's wedding.

Genevieve explains that the Queen first wore our gloves in 1940s, when my mother started it. She has remained loyal to the brand since then." "She must have worn 40 to 50 pairs of our gloves over the years, and always had a spare in her handbag." Sometimes, the Queen would wear older gloves and send them back for repairs.

Genevieve says that working with the queen was more than just business. She recalls that her mother died from cancer, and the queen called to ask how she was doing. I thought that was very thoughtful. Although we were making her gloves, she wanted to see how my mother was doing. She was concerned about others. She was humble and had no pretenses.

The Queen’s White-Glove Treatment

Genevieve expressed a deep sense of loss through her tribute to Queen Elizabeth posted on the Cornelia Jim website.

The second-generation glovemaker wrote, "Pens far finer than mine have described how many of us feel in the wake Queen's passing." She was a fixed point that many of us used to navigate our lives in an uncertain world. We are suddenly lost without a compass, and we lose this fixed point.

The glove maker, like many tributes to the late queen shares her personal experience with the queen. The "chance meeting that was almost magic" took place at a Christmas Fair at Buckingham Palace.

She recalls that there was a rumour about a Royal visit in the afternoon of the second fair day. "I felt a sense of expectation go round the room, and at a certain point, I saw the familiar figure, petite in stature, dressed in emerald, at the end a long aisle. My surprise, she seemed to be heading straight for me.

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She says that she was able to meet Her Majesty in seconds. She "managed only an ineptly executed and clumsy move that was part curtsey part bob", before she introduced herself to the queen.

She recalls saying, "Your Majesty I am your glovemaker." "I know exactly what you are," was the reply.

In an interview with Hello Magazine, the glove maker and gifted storyteller talked about their chance encounter. She says, "I was nothing to them, but she made it seem like I was very important."

She had a knack for it. She was a great person. Talking to her made you feel that you were the only one that matters. There will never be another Queen like her. We all believed she would live forever, I think. She never gave up.

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By: Abby Stutsman
Title: Queen Elizabeth’s Personal Glove Maker Speaks Out Following Her Death: ‘I Feel Quite Sad And Humbled’
Sourced From: www.suggest.com/queen-elizabeth-personal-glove-maker-speaks-following-death/2674511/
Published Date: Wed, 21 Sep 2022 11:00:00 +0000

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