An letter handwritten by the late Queen Elizabeth II has revealed that she loved Chanel’s iconic N°5 fragrance.
The historic piece is on display at the V&A’s new exhibition, ‘Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto’, the first UK exhibition dedicated to the work of French couturière, Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel.
The letter was written by the Queen shortly after her 29th birthday. It was addressed to Frederick ‘Boy’ Browning – a Knight Commander who was also treasurer in the Office of the Duke of Edinburgh – after he gifted her a bottle of Chanel N°5 for her birthday.
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It read: “Dear Boy, As usual, you have discovered just the very thing I particularly wanted, and I want to thank you very much indeed for the birthday present of the Chanel scent. I am already using it and, I hope, smelling all the better for it!!”
Why is Chanel N°5 so significant?
“An olfactory icon, N°5 requires no introduction. Radical to the nth degree, its bottle design broke tradition with its clean lines and rounded corners,” explains Hello! Fashion’s Orin Carlin, “The scent is capped with an emerald-cut stopper – a shape reminiscent of the Place Vendôme, a sight visible from Gabrielle’s Hôtel Ritz Paris suite balcony. Gloriously aldehydic, N°5 has a lovely powdery violet quality to it. Exuding magnetism, it is heady and intoxicating, but with a fresh line of jasmine running through to provide clarity.”
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“Instead, she requested “an artificial fragrance like a dress, something crafted”, a composition that had been carefully designed. “I am a seamstress. I don’t want rose or lily-of-the-valley, I want a composed fragrance,” Coco explained. Painstakingly superstitious, it is said that Gabrielle named the scent after the fifth sample that was presented to her, as she thought of the number 5 as her lucky charm.”
Hello! Fashion attended a private viewing of the exhibition ahead of its opening on Saturday September 16, which features almost 200 Chanel looks as well as accessories, perfumes and jewellery. There is also a dedicated Fragrance & Beauty room which displays an original Chanel N°5 Bottle from 1921 and the letter from the late queen.
The must-see exhibition is available to view at the Victoria and Albert museum until February 25 2024, and trust us when we say ‘don’t walk, run’…
