Queen to Forgo New Suits for Ambassadors
June 24, 2003
Queen Elizabeth II has agreed to allow new British ambassadors to appear before her in ordinary business suits to save the expense of renting traditional morning suits, the government said Tuesday.
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said in the past three years the government has spent almost 4,000 pounds (US $6,400) hiring morning suits for new ambassadors to wear for audiences with the monarch.
Allowing envoys to wear what the British call lounge suits “brings the Foreign and Commonwealth Office into practice with other audiences given by her majesty,”Straw said in a written answer to a lawmaker’s question in Parliament.
Traditionally, the queen presents newly appointed ambassadors with their credentials before they go abroad.