THE world of silk and lace was exchanged for velvet and ermine as Michelle Georgina Mone entered the British Establishment as Baroness Mone of Mayfair.
Up in the public gallery to watch the creation of Peer No 787 was a gaggle of blonde, elegantly-dressed women, leading to speculation that this was the Mone fan club come to witness the ennoblement of their glamorous chum; they left once the ceremony was over.
Lady M, founder of the Ultimo underwear empire, was second up on a conveyor belt that will, over the coming weeks, see dozens more of the great and the good enter the gilded arena of the House of Lords.
Earlier, just ahead of the ceremony in God’s Waiting Room, a minor kerfuffle occurred when, sadly, one peer was carried out by his colleagues, apparently unwell.
A nod from the bewigged clerk and the chattering in the second chamber suddenly stopped. First in was Black Rod, in his black coat-tails, tights and buckled shoes, followed by the Garter King of Arms in his quartered heraldic tunic carrying his wand. The only thing missing was a pantomime star at the end of it.
Then came Britain’s latest peer in her long crimson fur-lined robe. It was noticeable how Lady M was walking very carefully, conscience no doubt that any stumble would create headlines. She was supported by fellow Tory peers Lord Freud, the Work and Pensions Minister, and Baroness Morris of Bolton, the Deputy Lords Speaker.
The clerk read out the stilted proclamation on behalf of HMQ to “advance, create and confer our trustee and well-beloved Michelle Georgina Mone, officer of our most excellent Order of the British Empire to the state, degree, style, dignity, title and honour of Baroness Mone of Mayfair in our City of Westminster…for life”.
Of course, not only had the lingerie tycoon swapped silk and lace for velvet and ermine but she also swapped Glasgow’s West End for the high end of Mayfair, having complained about those nasty cybernats berating her for supporting the Union.
The proclamation making her a peer also noted how the 44-year-old businesswoman, who is David Cameron’s business start-up czar, could now “enjoy and use all the rights, privileges, pre-eminencies, immunities and advantages” of being a member of the red-bench club.
In front of the gilded throne and with the stone angels looking down, the new member stepped forward and took the oath, promising to be faithful and to bear true allegiance to QEII. It took barely a minute.
Lady M and her supporters then stood before the Lords Speaker and bowed. Before leaving the chamber Peer No 787 shook Baroness D'Souza's hand, which was followed by a clipped grunt of approval from the chamber.
As the well-beloved baroness, once dubbed “Scotland’s bra queen”, carefully processed past her new friends on the red leather benches to the exit and lunch, looking on were the likes of fellow Tory peers Norman Tebbit, Michael Forsyth and Nigel Lawson. Not a raised eyebrow in sight.
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