She was Royal hairdresser for 35 years and the model of discretion during that time. But Denise McAdam has let slip some gossip titbits about the Royal family in an interview with Radio Times.
The Duchess of Cambridge is “maybe a little overdone”, Princess Anne “was the scary one” and Fergie “always wanted to put bloody flags in her hair” the stylist said, bringing an unceremonious end to “35 years of keeping my mouth shut”.
She went on to tease that with some of the information Princes William and Harry shared while sitting in the barber chair she could write “a brilliant book”.
Her career of tending to high society began in 1976 when Princess Grace of Monaco went to the Edinburgh salon where McAdam worked. Although McAdam had no idea she was tending to a Princess, she left enough of an impression for Princess Grace to return.
“The next day my boss said, ‘Well, obviously the princess was happy because she’s coming back for a blow dry’. I said, ‘What? A princess? A superstar as big as Marilyn Monroe?’
“After that I ended up dedicating most of my career to royal women and their hair.”
About Kate Middleton McAdam said, “I’m a good friend of the Duchess of Cambridge. I think her hair is wonderful, maybe a little overdone at times. But she always looks lovely.”
She wasn’t so warm about the Princess Royal, saying “Princess Anne was the scary one, particularly when I was young.
“It was a simple up-do, so I just used to go in, close my eyes and do it as quickly as possible.”
The highlight of her Royals career was styling the Duchess of York’s hair for her wedding in 1986. Describing the Duchess as a “great friend” she boasted about their relationship in the early days.
“I knew the Palace better than her so I used to show her the important places like the carpenter’s where you go to have your wardrobes built.
“Then one day I was walking up by Bond Street when this red apparition came running towards me. I said, ‘Oh my God, you’re marrying him aren’t you?’ and she said, ‘Yes and you’re doing the hair.'”
Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson
McAdam has signed up for a new BBC show, Hair, which is a contest for hairdressers.
McAdam will be a judge alongside David Beckham’s hair stylist, Alain Pichon. Pichon, who has also worked with Kylie Minogue and Claudia Schiffer, is giving away his own fair share of secrets.
“With someone like David, you have to have a strategy because his hair is so important to his status. The evolution between his styles has to work.
“I never go against his wishes. Saying that, a few years ago he wanted to keep his hair long, but I told him to cut it short.
“Then he tried to grow it again and I said, ‘This isn’t happening. We’ll end up with another ponytail and we’ve done that’…we worked something out.”
