The Queen has a very particular sense of style. She loves a good hat; her black, top-handled handbags usually match her sensible shoes; and she often wears gloves to her various engagements. But most notably, the British monarch is almost always dressed in bright colors.
Yes, every once in a while she’ll choose a dark ensemble for a somber occasion, or an olive gray jacket for a horseback ride on the grounds of Windsor Castle. But for public events, her typical color palette is decidedly vivid.
Take Royal Ascot in June, for example. For the five days of races, the majority of the Queen's looks were quite vibrant. But the aesthetic choice isn’t simply a personal preference. There’s a very good reason why Elizabeth II has such a colorful wardrobe.
In the documentary The Queen at 90, Sophie, Countess of Wessex explained her mother-in-law's penchant for rainbow shades. "She needs to stand out for people to be able to say 'I saw the Queen,'" she said.
"Don't forget that when she turns up somewhere, the crowds are two, three, four, ten, 15 deep, and someone wants to be able to say they saw a bit of the Queen's hat as she went past."
Robert Hardman, the Queen's biographer, even quoted her once as saying, "I can never wear beige because nobody will know who I am."
It’s something her granddaughter-in-law Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge has already started to mimic. On the royal tour of Canada in 2016, for example, Kate was spotted wearing wearing bright red several times, again, because she wanted the crowds to be able to see her.
But Meghan Markle has yet to learn to learn this style tactic. At each of her royal events in the month following her May 19 wedding to Prince Harry, Meghan chose to wear a neutral, or pastel outfit. A white ensemble at ascot, a blush look at Trooping the Colour, and a beige Givenchy dress on her day of events with the Queen.
Perhaps in that last appearance, she was indicating that this was the Queen's day, and she was only there to support her, but Meghan would be wise to learn from her grandmother-in-law. Enthusiasm for the newly named Duchess of Sussex is high, and the crowds that come to see her at appearances are most certainly trying to get a once-in-a-lifetime look at the most recent addition to the royal family.
As the digital director for Town & Country, Caroline Hallemann covers culture, entertainment, and a range of other subjects
