Why at 94, the Queen's rainbow wardrobe is more important than ever

What does Queen Elizabeth II, who turns 94 today, wear to ‘WFH’? It’s a question we learned the answer to this month, when Her Majesty video-messaged the nation to lift our spirits and let us know that ‘better days will return’.

She did so not a grey tracksuit, or in a smart-but-stoic navy pinstriped suit. She chose a vivid ‘scrubs green’ shift dress for the virtual occasion, matched to perfection with Queen Mary’s 1893 diamond and turquoise brooch. The colour, she will have known, is associated with feelings of calm, wisdom, care and healing. 

The sight of the Queen is always as important as the sound, and the vital messages of hope and stability she delivers when she speaks. Over her 68-year reign, the dose of unmissable, bold colour which she offers via her made-to-measure outfits has come to define her as a visual icon. 

“I have to be seen to be believed,” she once famously said of her need to be spotted in crowds. It’s a sartorial strategy which has served her well since she locked onto it in the 1960s, making her instantly recognisable to audiences around the world, arguably more so than any other world leader.

No one wears colour like Her Majesty does. Sunshine yellow, famously, is her favourite hue, but she can pull off Cadbury purple one day and Fanta orange the next - many wouldn’t even dare to test whether such a variety of shades all worked with their complexion, let alone keep it up well into their 90s. 

The hashtag ‘neon at ninety’ started trending on Twitter back in June 2016 when Her Majesty wore bright green to celebrate her 90th birthday and a historic Trooping the Colour. At Royal Ascot each year, thousands of pounds are staked on which hue she might choose to wear - only Angela Kelly, her personal advisor and dresser, gets to know what it will be in advance, to prevent details being leaked to bookmakers. There is also diplomatic meaning to be gleaned from her choices - she has worn yellow gold, for example, on every royal tour of Australia, because it is a national colour. 

Colour-tracking her outfits is a sport which has been documented seriously by Vogue and in books (Sali Hughes’s Our Rainbow Queen has an excellent edit of photographs) as well as not-so-seriously via countless digital memes (blogger @FreddieMade loves to Photoshop her into bold catwalk outfits). In short, our colour-loving Queen is a source of entertainment and public interest, as well as an emblem of leadership. 

In times of a crisis, that considered use of colour is even more apparent and important than usual. Her Majesty becomes a symbol of comfort, or hope - her image takes on new meaning.  

“I can never wear beige because nobody will know who I am,” she once said, according to royal biographer Robert Hardman. I’m sure we would still recognise her if she did, but I’m glad she has kept up with the joy-bringing colours for all these years. We need to see a rainbow - now more than ever.