Written by: Daisy Goodwin
Directed by: Dominic Dromgoole

Cast

James Wilby as The Designer
Anne Reid as Queen Elizabeth II
Caroline Quentin as The Dresser
James Dreyfus as The Milliner

James Wilby is particularly impressive in a darker scene where he reflects bitterly upon his fraught relationship with his father, who never recognised his wartime bravery or accepted his homosexuality.

We can bring you the most fantastic news that James will start alongside Caroline Quentin in ‘By Royal Appointment’ in a play that will going on a UK tour summer.
The late Queen Elizabeth II was famous for her discretion. She never said anything in public that could ruffle the lightest of feathers. But she had one way of expressing what she really thought – through her wardrobe.

By Royal Appointment is a funny, poignant and celebratory new play about the kind of power that only a Queen can wield – she charms the world through coats and admonishes her family through a carefully chosen hat. But the Queen herself is uninterested in fashion, her look is managed by her Designer, her Milliner and most powerful of all, her Dresser who was a working-class girl who goes from advising the Queen on the colour of her lipsticks to the real power behind the throne. But the Dresser, like all royal favourites is living on borrowed time.

James will play The Designer

Book your tickets at one of the venues below

Bath Theatre Royal 5 June 2025 – 14 June 2025

Cheltenham Everyman Theatre 17 June 2025 – 21 June 2025

Leeds Grand Theatre 24 June 2025 – 28 June 2025

Malvern Festival Theatres 1 July 2025 – 5 July 2025

Gallery

On Stage / Promotional Photos / Rehearsal photos

     
   
All photos credit: Jonathan Phang

Click here for the By Royal Appointment the play Gallery

Reviews

The Stage Talk Magazine / Bath Magazine / Malvern Observer

Radio Winchcombe Interview

Click on each of the 4 parts below to hear it