What It Means If The Royal Family Wears Certain Colors

The members of the royal family are among the most famous in the world, but they rarely sit down for personal interviews. Aside from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, few Windsors have shared intimate details of their lives with the general public. Instead, they've been known to send messages in other ways, notably through what they wear.

"A tremendous amount of effort goes into planning their wardrobes," Elizabeth Holmes, author of "HRH: So Many Thoughts on Royal Style," told HuffPost. "They're not just wearing it because they think it's pretty, they're wearing it to serve a purpose, to support their job and, many times, to send a message."

However, not everything the royals wear has an underlying message — some choices simply look good or were made by a beloved designer. But oftentimes, especially if more than one royal is wearing the same color at the same time, the shade they choose to don has a particular meaning behind it.

If the Windsor clan is wearing black, it most likely means they're in mourning. For hundreds of years, Europeans have worn certain apparel to signify grief, but after the death of Queen Victoria's husband, the monarch's black mourning apparel became the norm, and royals still follow it today. "When her beloved husband died in 1861 she abandoned the colourful clothes of her married life and, with the rest of the royal court, adopted black clothing as an outward sign of grief. Her subjects duly followed suit, causing a rush on suppliers of mourning fabric up and down the country," royal curator Matthew Storey told The Telegraph of the tradition's origins.

This tradition is so important to the royal family that members now travel with mourning clothes in case someone they know dies while they're away. This practice began in 1952 after Queen Elizabeth II's father, George VI, died while she was on a trip to Kenya. When her plane landed in the U.K., Elizabeth, who had just become queen, had to wait while royal handlers brought her a black ensemble to wear as she didn't have anything packed in that color. 

Not every royal has reserved black for mourning, though. In 1981, Princess Diana wore a black dress to a concert at the Royal Opera House, her first public appearance after becoming engaged to King Charles III. According to Diana, Charles was not pleased with her outfit choice as she wasn't actively in mourning.

Not many families have a particular color in which they often dress, but the royals are not a typical family. Prince William and Princess Catherine have long opted to wear blue for both important events and in everyday life. Not only does Princess Catherine's engagement ring include a blue sapphire center stone, but after Prince George's birth, both William and Catherine stepped out in blue to introduce the new royal to the world. 

As author Rosie Harte wrote in "The Royal Wardrobe," the royal couple chose to wear the color because "blue is a more palatable alternative to the colours traditionally associated with royalty, being far less aggressive than red and significantly more conservative than purple."

William and Catherine aren't the only members of their family who don the color. Now, their children are often seen wearing blue on formal occasions such as Easter service in 2023 and more casual events like a military air show in July that same year. "The 'Wales blue' marks the five young royals out as a distinct unit within a wider familial network, emphasizing their unity and suggesting a commonality of values," Harte said of the royals' choice to dress their children in blue.

While Prince William and Princess Catherine have become known for wearing blue, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have taken a different sartorial route. The Sussex couple is known for their verdant shades, with Meghan Markle wearing notable outfits such as an emerald green dress on Commonwealth Day in 2020 and a viridian blouse and pine green leather skirt she wore during a public appearance in 2018.

According to Rosie Harte, author of "The Royal Wardrobe," Harry and Meghan's color of choice reflects a cause that's important to them. "Practically, it fits very nicely with the other symbolic aspects they've chosen to align themselves with," Harte told the Daily Mail. "The Duke and Duchess like to pose for official portraits outside: it's far less alienating than a grand palace interior might be and neatly complements their personal interests in environmental causes, something that both Prince Harry and Prince William take incredibly seriously."

Harry and Meghan have been dedicated to environmental causes for much of their marriage, and in November 2021, they announced that their company, the Archewell Foundation, aims to become net zero in carbon emissions by 2030. The couple plans to reduce their carbon footprint by monitoring their transportation, diet, and the companies they support.

The year 2024 did not get off to an auspicious start for the royal family. King Charles III shared that he had been diagnosed with cancer and Princess Catherine was part of a massive media frenzy with conspiracy theories of her whereabouts until she too shared that she had been diagnosed with cancer.

On Easter that year, Camilla, Queen Consort, Princess Anne, and Sarah, Duchess of York, all attended an Easter Sunday church service wearing green, and onlookers wondered if the royal family was making a statement with the color. 

"It evokes feelings of hopefulness. Green is also associated with renewal and hope," personal stylist Francesca Cairns told Express of the royals' sartorial selection. "I have noticed that the royals do match colours at certain events when they come together and want to make a statement," Cairns added, with royal expert Afua Hagan concurring that the royal women were likely dressing in green in honor of Charles and Catherine's diagnoses.

On a typical day, whatever color a royal is wearing might have a deeper meaning, but it also might not. On a special occasion, however, it's almost guaranteed that the family is using their fashion choices to subtly communicate a message. At King Charles III's coronation in May 2023, many of the women in the royal family, namely Camilla, Queen Consort, Princess Catherine, and Princess Charlotte, wore white. As royal fashion expert Miranda Holder told Hello!, the choice was steeped in tradition.

"The Queen and her maids of honour would wear white 'court dresses' to symbolise the purity and divinity of the Monarch — who was, after all, believed to be appointed by God," Holder explained. "This is classic colour psychology." Coronation onlookers also noticed that most non-royal guests weren't wearing white, but as Holder said, it likely was coincidental.

"Although many guests at the ceremony avoided wearing this colour it is unlikely that they were specifically told to avoid wearing white," Holder supposed. "We know from various leaks in the build-up to the big day that the invitations specified day dress or national dress, with no reference to specific colours." It seems that while the royal family pays close attention to which colors they wear, they don't always care what others have on.

Members of the royal family frequently wear red, especially during formal events that call for red military uniforms. However, the women of the family, especially those who have married into the monarchy, rarely or never wear military attire. Nevertheless, they are often spotted wearing red as well. For example, Princess Catherine has donned red on many occasions such as at a dinner reception in Canada in 2016 and during a ceremonial welcome of the South Korean president in 2023.

"While opting for red aligns behaviourally with royal standards, Kate uses the colour to express character in a way not dissimilar to how Princess Diana used fashion in an iconic way," color psychologist Lee Chambers told Yahoo! "It gives an intense energy and promotes social behaviour, while giving an internal feeling of power, health, and courage."

The royal family has worn red at interesting times in recent history. In 2023, just after Prince Harry's memoir "Spare" was published, Princess Catherine and Camilla, Queen Consort, were both seen in red ensembles. "Kate and Camilla sporting red this week was not only a clever indication that they want us to view the royal family as being on solid ground, but also a fabulous way to make their royal work a topic of conversation," royal expert Amanda Matta told the New York Post of the ladies' color choice amid a shaky time for the Windsors.