Byline: By Hannah Thomas-Peter

Cluttered hoarder or sleek organiser? The contents of your trusty handbag apparently say an awful lot about you. Hannah Thomas-Peter puts the theory to the test

For such a small, sleek-looking bag, it was truly astounding (and slightly bizarre) what 47-year-old business administrator Trish Young, from Newcastle, had squashed in it.

We had a receipt for a toilet seat, unfilled prescriptions, a large make-up bag, a purse, an umbrella, a pair of glasses and glasses case, tissues, random bits of paper, the dimensions of her daughter's bathroom, a mirror, business cards and a mobile phone. It barely seemed possible. But women all over the country do this as a matter of course, so why the interest now? It's all to do with our favourite monarch.

So we've seen the photo. A sneaky paparazzi peek at the mystery of the Queen's handbag. It would have been exciting, had it contained a brick, as Eddie Izzard once suggested, or an anti-terrorist device (perhaps a flick knife masquerading as a nail file), or a collection of lighters and a packet of B&H. But no, It was empty, apart from an oddly battered-looking purse that one would guess serves no purpose, since she famously carries no money.

What, may we ask, does this imply about our bag-content-free head of state? Why the inexplicable red-herring?

Well, the debate has raged long and hard. Some have suggested that Her Majesty carries it as a low-tech signalling device. On the left arm: she wants to carry on talking with a loyal subject. On the right: get me away from this weirdo. Simple. Or is it? She has been seen carrying it around while George Bush visited her in her own house (take a guess which arm it was on), which is, quite frankly, odd.

So, on the back of this hoo-ha and general confusion, we have decided to consult the experts on what the contents of your handbag say about you. Why do so many of us have our worlds in our bags? And why don't men have an equivalent?

According to Didier Colin's `Dictionary of Dreams', dreaming about your own bag means you worry too much what other people think about you. If you see yourself delving in the bottom of your bag, then you will apparently discover a secret, or, more worryingly, will be caught in the act and have to own up.

It is clear we place an awful lot of importance on the vital pouch of leather swinging from one shoulder.

An impromptu survey of journalists' bags revealed an alarming collection of bric-a-brac including a used cheque book, six lip glosses (in the same bag), a torch, a pair of tights, a pair of shoes and a solitary Malteser.

Indeed, project worker Kirstin Demangeot, 29, from the East End of Newcastle, admitted her bag was more of a bin than an accessory: "I even cleaned it out this morning. It had piles of birthday cards, a sandwich and a bottle of water in it."

Looking at her modest grey shoulder bag, it's difficult to believe her newly-streamlined carry-all contains letters to be posted, a large filofax, a car stereo front, a purse, pens, a folding hair brush, car keys, a stone (don't ask), a lipstick and a compact. She laughs and says: "This is so empty, I have a child so it's usually full of all his stuff too."

Jim Goudie, a consumer psychologist at the University of Northumbria, has a lot to say about what it all means: "Although there has been no specific scientific research on

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