THE Shoalhaven has lost a link with the Royal family with the death of 77-year-old Norma Ryan on April 29.
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Ms Ryan was at one stage the courtier to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
In 1947 when Queen Elizabeth married Prince Phillip, Ms Ryan was a pattern cutter and designer for Norman Hartnell, best known for designing Queen Elizabeth’s wedding dress.
During the 1960s Hartnell appointed Ms Ryan as the official fitter for two trouser suits designed for the Queen to wear on an official trip to Canada.
“London in the 1960s was a remarkable place and it was an extraordinary era,” Ms Ryan recalled during a 2011 story in the lead up to the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
“I worked at Australia House for a while until I received a letter one morning advising that Norman Hartnell needed me,” she said.
“I worked as a pattern cutter and the name Norma means pattern so Norman referred to me as a lovely pattern of a girl.”
Ms Ryan’s area of expertise stretched beyond pattern cutting and it was not long before her skills as a fitter were recognised.
A privileged opportunity to work with the Queen was offered and she excitedly accepted.
“The Queen’s trouser suits she wore to Canada were designed by Norman Hartnell but I did all the pattern cutting, making and the fitting. I was in charge of everything,” she said.
Her love of fashion, her years of service with Hartnell and her association with the royal family began her passion as a royal observer.
Ms Ryan was buried in a private funeral.
