As the world mourns the death of Queen Elizabeth, many are remembering their favorite things about the monarch. For many, that includes her brightly colored clothing. Did you know there was a very practical reason the queen frequently wore eye-catching colors?
Why The Queen Favored Brightly Colored Clothes And Accessories
Throughout her years in the spotlight, Queen Elizabeth was seen wearing every shade of the rainbow, typically matching her hats and bags to whatever bright color she wore that day. While some just assumed the queen liked colorful clothing, royal expert Daisy McAndrew maintains that the monarch had a reason for her fashion statements.
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“She’s quite small—so sometimes just quite difficult to spot—so her dressers … decided some years ago that it would be helpful if she was brightly colored so that people could spot her easily,” she explained. McAndrew even shared the queen’s fashion motto: “You have to be seen to be believed.”
McAndrew continued, “In other words, now, that’s more about getting out there and doing the job, but it does also lend itself to being seen literally by wearing bright clothes,” she said. “And I think, finally, that it’s just a personal preference … she likes all the matching hats and all the rest of it.”
Royal Expert: ‘The Queen Has Always Been Aware That She Needs To Stand Out’
Queen Elizabeth was aware that when people lined up to catch a glimpse of her, they wanted to really see her. Sophie, Countess of Wessex, explained it further in the documentary The Queen at 90.
“She needs to stand out for people to be able to say ‘I saw the Queen’,” she shared. “Don’t forget that when she turns up somewhere, the crowds are two, three, four, 10, 15 deep, and someone wants to be able to say they saw a bit of the Queen’s hat as she went past.”
Caroline de Guitaut, a curator for the Royal Collection Trust, agreed with the Countess of Wessex’s statement, saying, “The Queen has always been aware that she needs to stand out from the crowd, and it is for this reason that millinery has always played an important role in her wardrobe.”
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With her son, King Charles III, on the throne now, it’s fair to assume that the days of a monarch in brightly colored clothes are over, but royal fans are fondly remembering Queen Elizabeth’s fashion choices as they mourn her passing.
