10 fashion protocols for British royal women: Queen Elizabeth always wears gloves and Kate Middleton sticks to natural make-up – but how did Princess Diana and Meghan Markle bend the rules?

Jul 28 , 2021

So how closely do Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle, Queen Elizabeth and Princess Anne follow royal protocol for women’s fashion? Photos: AFP, AP, @anneprincessroyal/ Instagram

Royal rebel Princess Diana broke all the rules – but the queen’s cousin, Princess Alexandra, also caused a stir by wearing jeans to a tennis match back in 1954

Princess Anne rocked miniskirts and bell-bottomed jeans in the 1970s, but when do royal women switch out the hats for tiaras, and what about diplomatic visits?

Royal women are expected to dress conservatively, respecting well-established dress codes for both formal and daywear.

Modern princesses, however, have thrown out the typical playbook to dress more practically. From Queen Elizabeth and Princess Anne to Princess Diana and Kate Middleton, we look at the British royal dress codes that are still followed – and those that are not.

Princess Diana. Photo: @diana.princess.wales/Instagram

Royal protocol for women’s fashion includes no revealing cuts, no wearing black outside of funerals, no bare knees and no heavy make-up – a more natural look is preferable. And yes, Princess Diana broke all these rules.

Many would presume that Princess Diana was the first royal rebel to break the staunch royal dress codes, but she was not. In 1954, Queen Elizabeth’s cousin, Princess Alexandra of Kent, shockingly wore jeans for a casual tennis match. This got many an upper-crust tongue wagging, but it also opened the floodgates for other royal women to follow suit.

Queen Elizabeth’s only daughter, 70-year-old Princess Anne, was known for her fashionable looks in the 1970s. From her miniskirts and bell-bottomed jeans, she embraced the fashions of the day. Her career as an athlete has also seen her style lean towards sporty looks whether dressed up or casual.

But we are not sure if Princess Anne has ever worn wedges, as her mother the queen hates the look of them – and so royal women are expected to not wear that style when she is around.

“She really doesn’t like them, and it’s well-known among the women in the family,” a source once told Vanity Fair. Kate Middleton has worn wedges multiple times, but only at events where the queen is not in attendance.

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