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September 9, 2022

The Queen Sure Did Love to Color-Coordinate

By Emilia Petrarca

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The queen wearing neon green in 2021. Photo: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

Yesterday, Queen Elizabeth II died at the age of 96. She was known for many things: her love of the Commonwealth, corgis, and martinis, and her rotation of really, really bright, colorful monochrome outfits. In fact, she was called the “rainbow queen.”

Compared to other members of the royal family, like Princess Margaret, Princess Diana, and now Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton, the queen’s style was not a hot topic of conversation in her 70-year reign. This was by design. As the first celebrity ruler in the age of modern media, she was keenly aware of her image and the public’s hunger to have an opinion about every inch of it. Sticking to a modest, coordinated uniform forced her — and by extension, her subjects — to remain largely focused on her royal duties. Her wardrobe, which she often repeated, projected a sense of stability and composure in an ever-changing world. You could always count on her hats to match her skirt suits. And her love of color gave off an upbeat tone as well, even inspiring the hashtag #neonat90. It’s a no-fuss style strategy that countless celebrities and politicians have adopted in her tenure.

The queen clearly took pleasure in dressing, though. She attended fashion week not long ago, sitting front row with Anna Wintour to see the work of Richard Quinn — a British designer and fellow fan of head-to-toe colors and prints. She also seemed most like herself at Balmoral, where she could often be found in a casual outfit of a Barbour jacket with a scarf tied around her head and Wellies — a look that is just as iconic, if not more, than her color-coordinated hats, matching sets, and purses.

Much like Anna Wintour’s sunglasses or Karl Lagerfeld’s starched white collars and black ties, the queen’s signature look allowed her to transcend the crown to become a pop-culture icon. (When your style can be easily replicated for a Halloween costume, you know you’re onto something.) As a Brit pointed out to me yesterday, wearing such bright colors in a crowd was also, in a way, another small act of service: It maximized the number of people who could say, “I saw the queen!”

Below, a look back at the monochromatic monarch’s long reign.

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1 / 16 Photos
The queen arriving at a polo match in 1973 wearing a hat by milliner Simone Mirman. Photo: Tim Graham/Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images
The queen attending the Royal Windsor Horse Show in 1980. Photo: Tim Graham/Getty Images
The queen attending the Out-Sourcing Inc. Royal Windsor Cup polo match in 2021. Photo: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
The queen attending a Thanksgiving service at Westminster Abbey in 2022. Photo: WPA Pool/Getty Images
The queen arrives at Aberdeen Airport with her corgis to start her holidays in Balmoral, Scotland, in 1974. Photo: Anwar Hussein/Getty Images
The queen visiting the Isle of Wight in 1965. Photo: Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
The queen visiting the Red Cross headquarters in Switzerland in 1980. Photo: Tim Graham/Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images
The queen attending a Christmas Day church service in 2017. Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Commonwealth Games Federation
The queen's Silver Jubilee tour in 1977. Photo: Serge Lemoine/Getty Images
The queen walking past Princess Diana at the unveiling of the Canada Memorial Foundation Monument in Green Park, London, in 1994. Photo: Pool/Tim Grah... The queen walking past Princess Diana at the unveiling of the Canada Memorial Foundation Monument in Green Park, London, in 1994. Photo: Pool/Tim Graham Picture Library/Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images
The queen attending a Christmas Day service at Sandringham Church in 2014. Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images
The queen attending a royal garden party at Buckingham Palace in 2019. Photo: WPA Pool/Getty Images
The queen attending the Elizabeth line's official opening at Paddington Station in 2022. Photo: WPA Pool/Getty Images
The queen attending the Royal Ascot in 2017. Photo: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images
The queen visiting St. Macartin's Cathedral in 2012. Photo: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
The queen attending Trooping the Colour, the queen's birthday ceremony, at Windsor Castle in 2020. Photo: Pool/Samir Hussein/WireImage
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