TikTokBunting, trifles and street parties, at the ready it is time to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
In anticipation for this special Bank Holiday, we're meeting Rosie, a historian and author who not only loves all things #RoyalCore but who provides the latest details on historical fashion trends.
Her content is about educating her followers on all things history, fashion and royals in bite sized information. Whether its learning about the Queen's wedding dress or about the weird and wonderful tales of King Charles' wig choice, she's been wowing TikTok with quirky and interesting history facts.
While Rosie's content may focus on the past, she uses every day lingo to make the world of historical fashion accessible to everyone - highlights include why the Georgian girlies are the OG material gworls, and all the tea on royal robes. It's clear to see why she's such a firm favourite in our community!
If that wasn't enough, she also has plans to publish her book titled The Royal Wardrobe in 2023, which focuses on historical fashion in the British Monarchy from Henry VII to present day. We can't wait to read it once it comes out!
With 336.1k followers and 12.8 million likes, it seems like there's a healthy following of royal lovers on TikTok! We sat down with her to learn more about her Jubilee plans and how she was inspired to get started on TikTok.
Are you looking forward to the Queen's Platinum Jubilee?!
Absolutely! I have such fond memories of the last Jubilee celebrations, and can't wait to get involved in the fun again this year. I'm spending the main weekend in Hay-on-Wye with TikTok for Hay Festival, where there'll be so many exciting opportunities to get involved with the Jubilee spirit. I'll definitely be documenting my time on my account! It's also provided me with so much inspiration for videos on the Queen's colourful life and fashion.
Why do you think royal history and fashion is so popular on TikTok?
TikTok is such a visual app, it just lends itself so nicely to the glamour and the vibrancy of royal fashion which immediately captures people's attention! Tiaras to top hats, suits to ballgowns, these pieces are so eye-catching that people (or at least myself and my followers!) can't bring themselves to swipe away. The platform is also perfect for storytelling and explaining rather than just showing, so people know that they're going to come away from the video having learnt something new and hopefully with an interest to learn even more.
What do you love most about TikTok?
It sounds a little bit cheesy, but the community. I love scrolling through the comments on my popular videos and seeing all the conversations taking place. There's fellow fashion historians debating the date of a certain dress, then just below them a comment declaring that Princess Margaret was the 'OG material girl'. It's funny, it's interesting, but I've always found it to be overwhelmingly positive.
What first inspired you to create on TikTok?
Like many people I was drawn to TikTok during the 2020 lockdown period, but at first I had no intention of making public content! That all changed after the statue of the slave trader Edward Colston was torn down in Bristol, and I began seeing a whole hoard of misinformation about who he was and what he had done. As a historian (and a Bristol native!) I decided to step in and make a video setting the record straight. When I saw how well the video did, I realised that TikTok was this untapped resource for the heritage world, which at that time needed all the help it could get, and I began to explore more fully the ways I could use the app in that capacity.
What is your favourite recent challenge or trend on TikTok?
Some crazy genius has created a filter where it looks like the Queen is dancing in the sky. I sometimes wonder what the thought process was behind that, but then I stop myself, because some art doesn't need an explanation.
What is your goal on TikTok?
Teaching and exploring! My content obviously aims to help people learn about fashion history, both in a general sense and in relation to the royal family. In my opinion, clothes and personal objects are one of the best ways to introduce yourself to historical figures and time periods, so I want to keep making people aware of how they can learn through that method too. I also want to keep exploring the different ways that the heritage world at large can get involved on the platform. I've worked with various different museums to make content for them and given them advice on making their own content, and want to keep developing these relationships in the future!
What else or who else is on your TikTok For You feed?!
I, of course, follow lots of similar content creators, and try to keep up with a variety of different opinions on the royals and their history, but my FYP is 99% completely different content! I'm really into Formula 1, and I follow a lot of great female creators looking to make the sport more accessible to female fans, and they tend to dominate my FYP during race weeks! I'm also a big Marvel fan, and Moon Knight has taken up permanent residence on my feed. It's a mix of superheroes and history - literally a match made in heaven for me.
What is your favourite TikTok you have made to date and why?
Last November I was invited to spend some time filming in the Victoria and Albert museum while it was closed to the public, it was honestly a dream come true for a history fan like myself. Whilst there I made a TikTok on the lover's eye miniatures in their collection, and how they were made popular by the scandalous King George IV and his secret bride Maria Fitzherbert. It's one of my favourite and most romantic history stories, and getting to film the video inside the beautiful V&A was the cherry on top. I'm also partial to my recent book announcement video, which I had to film about 100 times, as I was so excited to tell people about my new project that I kept messing up the words!
New to TikTok and keen to learn more about historical fashion content? It couldn't be easier, simply download the app for free via the Apple App Store, Google Play or Amazon!
