There’s plenty of etiquette that comes with being a royal – and lots of these fall in the fashion bracket. There’s the custom of wearing tights all year round and big regulations about wearing black (more on that later!)
But one fashion step that is normally adhered to, is the hemline rule. Mini skirts are a no-no and it’s recommended that royal ladies opt for no higher than four inches above the knee.
Of course, sometimes this can’t be helped if a fit of a dress perhaps shows a little more than expected, which is why we were surprised at this unearthed picture we found from 2011, when the Duchess of Edinburgh and Princess Beatrice were walking to the Easter Matins at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.
Alongside Princess Eugenie, the royal ladies headed to the annual service which is of course, a formal royal engagement. As you can see, Sophie, who is married to Prince Edward, is rocking a delightful navy blue dress, which is a little shorter than usual, and redhead royal Princess Betarice rocked an on-trend-at-the-time peplum dress which was even higher!
Eugenie meanwhile, stuck to the rule in her white ensemble, which was of the regular, expected length.
Royals wearing black
Of course, some of these rules have become more relaxed over the years. One in particular, is wearing black, which is a colour that essentially should be reserved for mourning in the royal world.
The late Princess Diana was often seen as a rebellious dresser and regularly defied this rule.
In 1981, when she was engaged to the then Prince Charles, Diana wore a show-stopping black gown by David and Elizabeth Emanuel, to a fundraising concert. It caused quite the stir! Many years later, Diana was interviewed for her biography in 1991, and reportedly said that when Charles saw her in the dress, he remarked: “Only people in mourning wear black!”
The Duchess of Sussex has often taken a leaf out of her late mother-in-law’s book when it comes to clothes, and during her time as a working royal, she largely stuck to an all-black wardrobe ever since her fairytale royal wedding to Prince Harry in 2018.