Queen Elizabeth II’s beauty ‘tradition’ royal women couldn’t help but break as tradition 'laid bare'
Do you agree with the tradition?
It is well known that the royal family follows a set of traditions – but there’s one tradition that Queen Elizabeth II started with her appearance.
Royal women are reportedly expected to uphold a series of rules when it comes to their attire or beauty choices.
Amongst the rules are apparent guidelines explaining skirts should never ride above the knee and coats must stay on in public.
However, one royal preference demonstrated by Queen Elizabeth II seems to be ignored quite often…
Queen Elizabeth II’s royal beauty tradition ‘explained’
The time-honoured tradition of sporting only neutral nail polish, like Queen Elizabeth II’s reported favourite colour – Ballet Slippers by Essie, a barely there nude shade – has often been thrown out by members of the royal fold.
It seems a string of royal women including Princess Kate and Princess Eugenie aren’t too fond of the expectation.
While this doesn’t break any royal rule as such, it has been reported that the late Queen Elizabeth II found stand-out nail colours to be “vulgar”.
Etiquette expert William Hanson explained to The Sun: “It needs to be skin coloured. So, hot red and bright pink, for example, are not correct, especially for official occasions and particularly during mourning.”
Reports claim the late queen favoured “translucent or dusky pink,” tones, like her beloved Ballet Slippers which was said to be “the only colour Her Majesty would wear”.
Princess Kate and Meghan Markle both adhered to the late queen’s preference on their wedding days.
Kate opted to use the queen’s favourite brand in their sheer white colour, Allure, and Meghan wore a classic, nude pink manicure.
Although, it seems on other occasions several members of The Firm have favoured more bold and supposedly “vulgar” options…
Princess Kate ‘stands out’ with ‘first time’ she wore coloured nail polish
Whilst attending Easter mass at Windsor Castle on April 9, 2023, Princess Kate was accused of breaking royal protocol, when she paired a striking red manicure with an electric blue ensemble – a stark contrast to the pale pink shade she sported on her wedding day in 2011.
At the time, royal observers on social media claimed that this was the “first time we’ve seen her wear coloured nail varnish”.
Meghan Markle ‘breaks royal protocol’
In 2018, Meghan Markle chose to buck the trend by choosing a dark, sultry shade.
Whilst attending the 2018 British Fashion Awards at the Royal Albert Hall, Meghan was seen wearing an asymmetrical Givenchy gown that accentuated her blooming baby bump.
The duchess complimented her chic outfit with a dark, burgundy nail polish.
At the time, Meghan was accused of “breaking royal protocol”, however, this wasn’t the case.
Royal correspondent Omid Scobie told Harper’s Bazaar: “There’s no actual protocol about dark nail polish. It’s simply about being appropriate – we’d never see this at a royal engagement.
“[The British Fashion Awards ceremony] is a celebration of fashion and there’s a lot more flexibility on what one can wear.”
Elsewhere, Meghan has stuck to wearing a more neutral tone.
For example, in November 2017 when her engagement to Prince Harry was revealed and a close-up shot of her manicure was on the front of most newspapers where she showed off the 3.8 carat diamond ring gifted to her by the now Duke of Sussex.
When Harry and Meghan tied the knot, the Duchess of Sussex sported an understated, nude pink manicure, expertly painted by salon DryBy London.
According to British Vogue, Meghan wore a mix of CND Shellac’s Unmasked and Negligee for an opalescent, pink effect.
Duchess Sophie pairs her nail polish with her outfits
Kate and Meghan aren’t the only ones to ignore the beauty ‘rule’ on occasions. In fact, a string of royal family members have opted to go bold.
Duchess Sophie rocked a chocolate brown manicure whilst visiting Shooting Star Children’s Hospices in Hampton on February 2020, where she was fittingly snapped decorated biscuits with blue icing.
On other occasions she has also worn pinks and plums, to tie in with the colour palette of her outfits.
For her 60th birthday portrait in January of this year, Sophie wore for a dark brown shade to “compliment both her blackberry-purple turtleneck and the more earthy tones of her green trousers and brown top pairing,” according to the Woman and Home.
Beauty writer Naomi Jamieson detailed: “In doing so, it creates a sense of cohesion and timelessness, whilst remaining very subtle.”
Zara Tindall’s statement nails
Meanwhile, Zara Tindall has also opted for some bold nail looks.
The former Olympian rocked a vampy manicure alongside an all black ensemble at a movie premiere in 2015.
She wore a very similar, if not the same, dark colour when attending the Cheltenham Festival in 2019. This year, she is also rocking a dark manicure whilst attending Cheltenham Festival.
Princess Diana’s ‘revenge’ manicure
Princess Diana was said to have the habit of biting her nails, but after she kicked the habit, she was said to be proud to rock more bold manicures.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Diana’s hairstylist Sam McKnight talked abut her cover shoot for Vogue in 1991, where she rocked a sophisticated French manicure.
McKnight said: “She had just stopped biting her nails and was so proud of how they looked!”
Probably most memorably, when stepping out wearing her iconic Christina Stambolian black “revenge dress” in 1994, Princess Diana paired the eye-catching outfit with a bright red manicure.
A huge fashion statement, considering that same evening the then Prince Charles had admitted his infidelity on national television.
Stambolian later reflected on Diana’s iconic look. The designer said, according to Tina Brown’s 2007 book The Diana Chronicles: “She was clearly angry… She wore bright red nail enamel, which we had never seen her do before. She was saying: ‘Let’s be wicked tonight.'”
Princess Eugenie’s very patriotic nail art
Princess Eugenie has previously thrown out the rule book when it comes to her manicures.
During her grandmother’s Platinum Jubilee Pageant in 2022, the princess could be seen holding her son, August, in the royal box. It was here she was snapped rocking a red-tipped manicure.
Princess Eugenie has also previously been seen sporting an all red polish.
On another occasion, Eugenie wore unmissable Union Jack nail art at the Investec Derby Festival in 2012. This was likely a nod to the London Summer Olympics which were taking place at the time.
Which royal rocks the best nail look?
So, which do you prefer? Subtle or bold nails? Should the royals follow rules when it comes to manicures? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @RoyalInsiderOfficial and let us know.
