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The sweet secret reason The Queen always wears bright colours… and 12 other fashion rules the royal family always follow
WHEN the royal family step out for public engagements often all eyes are on their striking fashion choices.
But the likes of the Queen and Kate Middleton can’t just wear whatever they want - here are 13 rules they follow, and some of them may surprise you…
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The Queen wears colourful clothes for a reason
From bright coats in every shade to hats in every hue of the rainbow, the Queen often selects extremely colourful outfits when she’s out in public.
And there is a good reason for this choice - and it's not just that she doesn’t like bland colours.
, she was quoted as saying: "I can never wear beige because nobody will know who I am."
By wearing colour, she can stand out for the crowd and people can say, “I saw the Queen”.
The royal family always travel with a black outfit packed
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While the Queen may love colour, all royals are required to bring a black outfit when they travel.
This is in case a member of the royal family passes away during their trip.
Back in 1952 when the Queen was Princess Elizabeth, she was forced to wait inside a plane landing back in the UK from Kenya when her dad passed away.
The black outfit means they are dressed appropriately for the occasion.
Fur is banned
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King Edward III banned all royals from wearing fur in the 14th century, although this rule has been broken.
Kate and William suffered a backlash in 2016 when they wore traditional scarves trimmed with otter fur in Canada last year.
Royal women wear weights in their dress hems
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To avoid dresses blowing up in the wind, women in the royal family put weights in their dress hems.
Stewart Parvin, one of the Queen's couturiers, "Surprisingly, it is nothing fancy.
"I use curtain weights, lead weights, from Peter Jones’s curtain department. We call them penny weights."
Clutch bags cover cleavage
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The royal family always dress appropriately and avoid any skimpy or revealing outfits.
But on the odd occasion when they are stepping out of cars, bags can play a big role in maintaining modesty.
Princess Diana was said to be a fan of using clutch bags to cover her chest and her bag designer Anya Hindmarch even called them her “cleavage bags.”
Clutches also prevent hand shaking
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Etiquette expert Myka Meier told that Kate Middleton will often hold a clutch bag with two hands in front of her.
This is to prevent any situations where hand shaking could be awkward.
Meghan Markle has been pictured recently sporting shoulder straps or handbags with top handles, but Meier reckons this might change over time.
Myka said: “As we see Meghan attending more formal events we are likely to see her accessorising with more clutches."
Colourful nail varnish is banned
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For her public duties, the Duchess of Cambridge is always pictured with nude nails, and there is strict reason for this.
According to , coloured nail varnish and fake nails are not part of the royal etiquette, and are typically considered to be “vulgar”.
On the rare occasion that her nails do have a slick of polish on them, she opts for a nude shade, similar to the Queen’s personal favourite.
Queen Elizabeth is said to have worn since 1989.
You can’t wear a tiara if you aren’t married
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Single women and children never wear tiaras and it is usually strictly reserved for married women.
Etiquette expert Grant Harrold, known as The Royal Butler, told the BBC: "The old rule is that hats are never worn indoors after 6pm, because that is when the ladies changed into evening dress, and tiaras and the family jewels would come out.”
Kate Middleton wore the Cartier halo tiara on her wedding day, which belonged to the Queen Mother, so royal experts are speculating whether Meghan could walk down the aisle with one of Princess Diana’s favourites instead.
The Cambridge Lover’s Knot tiara has been worn a few times by Kate Middleton, but was apparently a firm favourite of Princess Diana’s, who received it as a wedding present from Queen Elizabeth II in 1981.
Handbags give secret signals
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The Queen has secret signals to let her staff know when she is ready to stop talking to someone, it has been revealed.
According to royal historian Hugo Vickers, if the Queen is at an event and she wants to end a chat, she will shift her bag from her usual left side on to the right.
He says her eagle-eyed aides will then notice and usher the Queen away in a polite fashion.
She also uses her bag as a symbol she is ready to leave an event, as when she places it on a table, it gives her ladies-in-waiting their five-minute warning that she will soon be off.
The Queen nearly always wears hats and gloves
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Diana Mather from The English Manner etiquette consultancy told : “Up until the 1950s, ladies were very seldom seen without a hat as it was not considered 'the thing' for ladies to show their hair in public.
"But all that has changed, and hats are now reserved for more formal occasions.”
The Queen is rarely seen without her gloves, which are often Michael Jackson-esque white or a dark-toned leather to match her handbag.
The monarch wears these for practical reasons during the daytime as she is frequently required to shake hands with hundreds of people.
This fashion item helps stop germs being spread from person to person.
Prince George always wears shorts
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William Hanson claims that shorts on young boys are a silent British class marker and trousers are deemed “suburban” – something no self-respecting royal would want to be considered.
He told The Sun Online: “Not only does The Duchess of Cambridge have to worry about dressing herself but she has to dress her own children appropriately.
"She has to find a balance between royal tradition, heritage and more proletariat customs, such as the ‘suburban’ habit of making young boys wear trousers."
William said the dress code harks back to historic traditions that state "shorts are for little boys, trousers are for men".
It is likely that George will start wearing trousers at around "seven or eight years old".
The Queen gets someone to break in her shoes
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When carrying out her duties she has to be as comfortable as possible, especially as she still has a busy diary to keep up with at the age of 90.
And to make sure that when she wears new shoes, she doesn't run the risk of sore feet or blisters she employs a special trick - she gets a member of her staff to break in her footwear for her.
Her Majesty nearly always wears a black pair of simple shoes by shoemaker Anello & Davide that are known as her "work" shoes that cost £1,000.
Even though they are made to fit the Queen's size four feet perfectly, when a new box of the shoes arrives they are given to a junior member of Buckingham Palace staff who take the same size.
It is believed that the staff member also wears a pair of beige cotton ankle socks when breaking in the shoes and is only allowed to walk on carpet.
They get one trial run outside to make sure they have decent grip before they grace the Queen's feet.
The trick was revealed by designer Stewart Parvin, who has been a long-time dressmaker for Her Majesty.
Tights are required
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It was recently revealed by royal insider Victoria Arbiter that it is required of the women in the family to wear tights during public occasions.
She said to : “You never see a royal without their nude stockings. Meghan, from what I can see from the engagement photographs, it doesn't look like she was wearing tights or stockings.
"I would say that's really the only hard, steadfast rule in terms of what the Queen requires."
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