Harpers and Queen

   Two long-established women’s magazines, The Queen (begun in 1861) and Harper’s Bazaar (1929), merged in 1970 to become Harpers and Queen. The hybrid is a monthly publication which specializes in fashion and articles covering the social calendar of the British upper classes. Most well-known of its columns has been ‘Jennifer’s Diary’, a regular society review piece written by Betty Kenward for forty-seven years (to 1991) about parties and entertaining (the column had previously appeared in the Tatler). Other main subjects are property, education, antiques, the environment, travel, health and beauty. The magazine’s subscription advertisements declare that ‘Harpers and Queen is the smartest, most elegant, and up-to-date magazine for the discerning reader.’ Recent contributors have included Lloyd Grossman and Auberon Waugh. Harpers and Queen targets a wealthy upper-class female audience, and deals with haute couture, expensive travel and property. Its circulation has declined from 98,900 (1987) to 73,546 (1995), but advertising rates are sufficiently high to keep it viable.

   See also: women’s press

   MIKE STORRY