Being a part of the Royal family is a privilege very few enjoy. One thing is for sure, however: it’s not a walk in the park. A certain level of decorum and public image is required. To attain and maintain this, there is an unwritten rule book that every member of the royal family has to follow. This includes a style guide full of dos and don’ts, with the Queen calling most of the shots.
These protocols have enabled the royals to always look proper in public and avoid any sort of embarrassment or wardrobe malfunction. Decency and tradition all come into play, with a dash of the Queen’s personal preferences which she expects every female member of the family to adhere to. Below are some of the rashion rules the royal family follows to the letter.
1. The women in the family should always keep their hats on in public
You might think it’s a coincidence, or perhaps just a personal quirk, that the Queen is always wearing a hat whenever she makes an appearance or attends a function. But even the other female members of the family, including Kate Middleton, always have a hat on whenever on official duty and at royal functions. This is a tradition that the Queen has kept alive from her younger days, when keeping a hat on was a ladylike thing to do. The women of the house can only abandon their hats after six in the evening, after which time they’re considered inappropriate. They’re replaced by other sets of headpieces, such as tiaras or head scarfs.
2. The coat must always stay on
Yes, royals do not have the luxury of getting rid of their outermost pieces of clothing once they break a sweat or when the weather gets too hot. Removing it is not only considered unbecoming, but also unladylike. That’s why you will always see the Duchess of Cambridge in a coat wherever she is, no matter the weather conditions.
3. Only shorts, no pants for young princes
Prince George is the young prince and future king, and the only pair of legwear he has ever been spotted in are shorts. The royal family keeps the British tradition that shorts are for boys and only men get to wear trousers. As such, Prince George will have to endure exposed legs in the cold weather until he’s around eight years old, which is considered to be the perfect age for boys to graduate into trousers.
4. A royal must always keep a black outfit on hand while traveling
This might sound a little extreme, but it’s actually practical. Royals do a lot of traveling quite frequently, and they’re required to always pack a black outfit with them that befits mourning. In case a death or tragedy occurs in the family, they can then jet back into the country appropriately dressed for the situation. Queen Elizabeth learned the importance of this the hard way, when she had to stay in the plane until a black outfit was delivered to her when she jetted back into the country after her father’s death.
5. Tiaras aren’t for everyone
Apparently, tiaras aren’t something you can just take out of your wardrobe and put on your head just because you’re a princess. Not with the british royal family, anyway. Here, tiaras are the privilege of married ladies. Royal ladies wear their family tiara for the first time as a bride, and after that they can wear tiaras for official engagements and glamorous royal engagements.
