My father is a geologist and he really thinks that scientists are going to save the world, so he wanted me to be one.

Working in a museum has given me a connection to people - to the rest of humanity - that I never had before.

Lots of items that survive from the past are high-status, valuable things that people have treasured.

In big museums, the role of the curator has shrunk in recent years as different branches of curatorial work - such as interpretation, or learning, or conservation - have split off and become professions of their own.

Curating isn't just a matter of taste. It involves building up real knowledge of the items in your care. As the world gets quicker, and shallower, and bite-sized, retaining our ability to take a deep dive into history is more and more important.

I like to wear clothes that have some kind of relationship with the past.

I've always being interested in clothes - and I'm also the curator of a significant dress collection with 12,000 objects in it - the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection at Kensington Palace.

I have many pairs of long gloves because my wrists get cold as I also like coats with short sleeves - what Jackie O would have called bracelet-length sleeves.

I might once have had a pair of jeans briefly in my teenage years before I realised they weren't for me. I don't love my legs but, hey, they're mine, so I accept them.

As I am straight up and down, I make a good flapper. One of the highlights of my life was dancing the Charleston with Len Goodman in a nightclub in a cream, Twenties-style dress; it was the nearest I'll ever get to appearing on 'Strictly'.