Queen Elizabeth II, who died Sept. 8 at 96, was in the public eye her entire life and wanted to make sure her subjects saw her — literally.
That’s partly why she long wore festive, bright colors for her public appearances, according to royal expert Daisy McAndrew.
“She’s quite small — so sometimes just quite difficult to spot — so her dressers … decided some years ago that it would be helpful if she was brightly colored so that people could spot her easily,” she said earlier this year.
But also, the queen had a famous motto: “You have to be seen to be believed,” McAndrew said.
“In other words, now, that’s more about getting out there and doing the job, but it does also lend itself to being seen literally by wearing bright clothes,” she said. “And I think, finally, that it’s just a personal preference … she likes all the matching hats and all the rest of it.”
A look back at photos of the royal’s style throughout her life attests to her affinity for colorful clothes. As a head of state, Elizabeth visited all corners of the Earth — and typically with flair.
