The royals and their quirkiest handbags!

The royal family has bags of style...

25 Jan 2019, 07:31 GMT

Laura SutcliffeFashion and Beauty News Editor

Every woman knows the importance of a good handbag - they are the perfect accessory and can often make an outfit, especially if they are eye-catching and bold. You may just think the royals only rock simple arm candy - nude clutch bags and black totes - but you'll be shocked to know that certain members of the royal family have acquired quite the dazzling bag collection! From The Duchess of Sussex to Princess Beatrice, we've tracked down the quirkiest, royally-approved handbags and some may well surprise you…

The Queen

It would be only right to start with Her Majesty the Queen. The monarch is known for her classic black handbag by Launer London which is always on her arm when she's on royal visits and engagements. But every now and again, she switches it up and carries this magnificent gold handbag that certainly has the Midas touch.

The Duchess of Cambridge

The Duchess of Cambridge often carries a simple nude clutch bag, choosing to keep it consistently classic. However, on a visit to Sweden in 2018, we spied a vintage Chanel bag - an unusual choice for the royal.

The Duchess of Sussex

Pregnant Meghan looked glowing and gorgeous on Christmas Day 2019, teaming her Victoria Beckham outfit with a Powder Box bag, also by VB's label. Although some onlookers compared it to an Apple Watch, we loved the retro design and were delighted to discover it had a secret mirror in the lid.

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The Countess of Wessex

Prince Edward's wife Sophie loves colourful clothes and often wears handbags that reflect her cheerful style. At Ascot in 2018, the royal teamed her Emilia Wickstead dress with a purple, snakeskin bag. We loved the strong envelope shape and snakeskin is a big fashion trend for 2019, so the Countess was ahead of her game with this one...

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Lady Kitty Spencer

Princess Diana's model niece was widely regarded as one of the best-dressed guests at Prince Harry's wedding to Duchess Meghan in May 2018. With her green floral frock by Dolce & Gabbana, Kitty carried the ideal accompanying clutch - in vibrant orange.

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Princess Eugenie

At the wedding of her cousin Prince Harry, Princess Eugenie teamed her retro, 60's style powder blue dress with a cute and quirky, hexagonal shaped bag by Barcelona-based brand M2Malletier.

Princess Beatrice

Eugenie's big sister Beatrice also looked stunning at Harry and Meghan's nuptials - we loved her bubble hemmed, appliqué dress by Roksanda. The royal carried a matching bag in the same striking teal shade and it looked just like a (very stylish) paper lunch bag!

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The Duchess of Sussex

Lets face it, Meghan could have pretty much any designer handbag she wanted. So when we saw her rocking a locally made raffia bag in Fiji, it was quite the shock. Featuring a funky Aztec print, we love the striking design and it went really well with her boho-style dress.

The Countess of Wessex

We've dug through the archives and the Countess of Wessex loves a handbag or two! During an official visit to the Royal Horse Show in 2018, we loved Sophie's zebra print backpack. With animal prints never going out of style, the royal was ahead of the pack!

The Duchess of Cornwall

On a whistle-stop visit to Kapnikarea, Camilla stopped for a traditional coffee in a local café and all eyes were on her choice of clutch bag. The Duchess carried a raffia bag adorned with striking woven cherries. The statement bag certainly packed a punch and raffia is widely regarded as a summer staple.

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The Duchess of Sussex

Meghan loves her gorgeous Gabriela Hearst Nina bag so much that she has it in two colours - tan and racing green. The pricey accessory costs a cool £1695 and is made in an unique sculptural shape, which unfurled at the top, with lengthy straps.

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The Duchess of York

We all know how much The Duchess Of York loves her daughter, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie. And when she carried this personalised Anya Hindmarch bag with their faces emblazoned on the front, we couldn't help but smile. How cute!

Princess Beatrice

Princess Beatrice accompanied her mother, Sarah Ferguson, to Ascot in 2018 and we loved her funky box bag which was from Suki Waterhouse's label Pop & Suki. It had the words 'Be Cool, Be Nice' embroidered on the front in gold, which was a subtle nod to the anti-bullying campaign that the daughter of Prince Andrew helped to champion in 2017.

The Countess of Wessex

You may think Victoria Beckham started the cow print trend but no, Sophie actually wore a cow- print shoulder bag way back in 2005! It had a little bow clasp and looked fabulous with her dove-grey leather jacket.