Her Majesty chose bright hues for almost all of her outings: you could probably arrange photos of her in bright single-colour outfits into an endless rainbow. But did the Queen always stick to this bright palette of monochrome colours?
One might suspect there was a system or even some philosophy behind the colours the Queen chose for her public appearances. But there was nothing of the kind. And it wasn't even a matter of personal preference. Take a closer look at what Queen Elizabeth II wore for various occasions.
You will see a relatively simple pattern: she would usually choose the brightest looks for public events while going for more subdued pastel colours for private gatherings with a small number of attendees.
Darker hues were always an exception as, according to royal etiquette, they were only to be worn in mourning.
Queen Elizabeth II used a straightforward algorithm. Her closest aides and the Queen herself confirmed that the job of these bright colours was to make the Queen stand out from the crowd. Someone wearing fuchsia, orange or navy blue can be seen far away, even in a large throng of people. And the big public events the Queen appeared at were often attended by thousands and even tens of thousands.
And everybody had to be able to see Her Majesty because that was what they all turned up for.
Royal biographer Robert Hardman once quoted Queen Elizabeth II as saying that she could never afford to wear beige as nobody would know who they were looking at.
Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Forfar, makes the same point in the Elizabeth at 90: a Family Tribute documentary, saying that the Queen always had to stand out from the crowd so that people in attendance could later say they had seen the Queen, seeing how the crowds could be as large as 15,000, and everyone would be eager to at least catch a glimpse of the Queen's hat as she passed buy.
The same method has been used by practically every female politician and first lady: think about Kamala Harris and Jill Biden at Joe Biden's inauguration.
Kate Middleton also seems to have taken the royal playbook to heart and started replacing her muted pastel outfits with more vibrant colours such as her favourite bright red hue.