The Real Reason Queen Elizabeth Carries a Purse All the Time

Queen Elizabeth II certainly knows how to accessorize. You’d be hard pressed to find a picture of Her Majesty without one of her signature Launer handbags. She reportedly owns more than 200 of them!

But just as the Queen has a few fascinating secrets about herself, there’s more to these purses than meets the eye. In a fashion that echoes the suave subtlety of James Bond, Queen Elizabeth uses her purse to send secret messages to her staff.

These signals help her get out of conversations at any time she pleases. If the Queen moves her classic handbag from its normal spot on her left arm to her right arm while she’s talking with someone, her handlers know that she wants to wrap it up. Putting her bag on the floor is a sign that she needs to be saved from an uncomfortable encounter ASAP. If she’s at dinner and places it on the table, that means she wants to end the event in the next five minutes.

Let’s just hope Her Majesty doesn’t send any of these signals if we happen to converse with her.

As for what the Queen keeps in her bag, royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith says the items aren’t all that different from what normal women carry with them: a mirror, lipstick, mint lozenges, and reading glasses. That just proves Her Majesty knows how to be practical and fashionable.

Want to pack your purse like the Queen? Here’s what you shouldn’t carry with you and what you should pack to be insanely more productive.