The woman who helped make Meghan Markle's wedding veils claims she will be one of the first to know who Britain's future king will be.
Royal watchers have long mused whether the line of succession could skip Prince Charles in favour of handing the crown to William after the Queen's passing.
While Buckingham Palace does not entertain such speculation, Chloe Savage has explained why if Charles makes the bombshell decision to step aside, royally appointed dressmakers will be among the first to get the inside scoop.
Now the needleworker has revealed the experts' important behind the scenes role in royal coronation regalia preparations will get a clue based on one royal's set of robes in particular.
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Ms Savage was responsible for hand-stitching flowers onto Meghan’s veil, which featured flora from all 53 Commonwealth countries.
She told Business Insider: "When we change monarchs, we will know far in advance who's taking the throne because we'll have to make gowns and everything else in advance — and that's not a quick job."
Ms Savage explained coronation robe-makers will know if William is taking the throne, because they will be called upon to make a special set for his wife, Kate.
"If it's Charles, it's just crowning him," she continued. "But if it's William, it's him and Kate. Camilla can't be crowned because she's a divorcée."
During its influential 146-year history, royally appointed needleworkers have produced all manner of royal gard from Queen Victoria's funeral pall to the Robes of State for the Queen Mother in 1937 and Queen Elizabeth in 1953.
They embroidered slippers for Prince Charles and a monogrammed lace pillow for Princess Diana for their royal wedding.
As part of the RSN, Ms Savage worked with the house of Alexander McQueen on the Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding outfit in 2011, including her blue silk and white lace garter.
She also worked on embroidery on Meghan's dress for her wedding to Prince Harry in 2018.
But the RSN has not had to work on coronation regalia since Queen Elizabeth II took the throne.
The monarch had her father's robes shortened, mindful of the British public's distaste for excess after the struggles of World War II.
But the RSN will have to make new regalia when first-in-line Charles or heir William take the throne, Ms Savage said.
"It's not easy to lengthen anything, and now the robes are too delicate to be reused," she told Business Insider.
The embroiderer has been outspoken during the pandemic, as she revealed she nearly went broke and feared losing home as business dried up during lockdown.
Ahead of Chancellor Rishi Sunak's big Budget unveiling in March, Ms Savage claimed she had received just £1,000 from the Government as she highlighted how lockdowns had left wedding businesses facing ruin.
She said: "I did have a bit of support mostly from outside individuals. A lovely lady set up a crowd funder which paid two months worth of rent, but we are still living on a hand-to-mouth, day-to-day basis."
Senior royals have in recent years been quietly preparing for succession plans.
The Queen, 95, lost her beloved husband Prince Philip, 99, in April, and has weathered a stormy year of palace rifts since Meghan and Harry's sensation split from royal life.
Following the Duke of Edinburgh's death, royal historian Robert Lacey spoke of how he had been 'crucial' in coaching his grandson for the role of King.
Philip spent the final years of his life helping William, who is second in line for the throne after his father Charles, prepare for the role of his lifetime, Mr Lacey said.
"Philip was crucial in helping coach William as a future King," the author of the bestselling biography Battle of Brothers, told People.
"It was Philip's idea to set up the lunches between William and his grandmother.
"When the time came for the Queen to talk business with William, Philip would quietly excuse himself because he didn't feel that the constitutional side of the Queen's job was something he wanted to interfere in."
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