13 fashion rules UK royal family has to follow

The UK royals making a public appearance always makes for a spectacle. However, the likes of the Queen and Kate Middleton can’t just wear whatever they want - here are 13 rules they follow, and some of them may surprise you…

Queen wears colourful clothes: From bright coats in every shade to hats in every hue of the rainbow, the Queen often selects extremely colourful outfits when she’s out in public. According to the Queen’s biographer, Robert Hardman, she was quoted as saying: "I can never wear beige because nobody will know who I am."

By wearing colour, the Queen can stand out for the crowd and people can say, “I saw the Queen”.

Royal family always travel with a black outfit packed: All royals are required to bring a black outfit when they travel. This is in case a member of the royal family passes away during their trip.

Fur is banned: King Edward III banned all royals from wearing fur in the 14th century, although this rule has been broken. However, Kate and William suffered a backlash in 2016 when they wore traditional scarves trimmed with otter fur in Canada last year.

Royal women wear weights in their dress hems: To avoid dresses blowing up in the wind, women in the royal family put weights in their dress hems.

Clutch bags cover cleavage: The royal family always dress appropriately and avoid any skimpy or revealing outfits. However, on occasions, when they need to step out of cars, bags can play a big role in maintaining modesty.

Princess Diana was said to be a fan of using clutch bags to cover her chest and her bag designer Anya Hindmarch even called them her “cleavage bags.”

Clutches also prevent hand shaking: Kate Middleton will often hold a clutch bag with two hands in front of her. This is to prevent any situations where hand shaking could be awkward.

Colourful nail varnish is banned: For her public duties, the Duchess of Cambridge is always pictured with nude nails, and there is strict reason for this. According to OK! magazine, coloured nail varnish and fake nails are not part of the royal etiquette, and are typically considered to be “vulgar”.

No tiara if you aren’t married: Single women and children never wear tiaras and it is usually strictly reserved for married women.

According to etiquette expert Grant Harrold, who spoke to the BBC, the old rule is that hats are never worn indoors after 6pm, because that is when the ladies changed into evening dress, and tiaras and the family jewels would come out.

Handbags give secret signals: The Queen has secret signals to let her staff know when she is ready to stop talking to someone, it has been revealed.

According to royal historian Hugo Vickers, if the Queen is at an event and she wants to end a chat, she will shift her bag from her usual left side on to the right.

Her aides will then notice and usher the Queen away in a polite fashion.

She also uses her bag as a symbol she is ready to leave an event, as when she places it on a table, it gives her ladies-in-waiting their five-minute warning that she will soon be off.

UK Queen nearly always wears hats and gloves: Diana Mather from The English Manner etiquette consultancy told BBC that up until the 1950s, ladies were very seldom seen without a hat as it was not considered 'the thing' for ladies to show their hair in public.

The Queen is rarely seen without her gloves, which are often Michael Jackson-esque white or a dark-toned leather to match her handbag. She wears these for practical reasons during the daytime as she is frequently required to shake hands with hundreds of people and does not want germs being spread from person to person.

Prince George always wears shorts: William Hanson claims that shorts on young boys are a silent British class marker and trousers are deemed “suburban” – something no self-respecting royal would want to be considered.

The Queen gets someone to break in her shoes: To make sure that when she wears new shoes, she doesn't run the risk of sore feet or blisters the Queen employs a special trick - she gets a member of her staff to break in her footwear for her.

Queen Elizabeth nearly always wears a black pair of simple shoes by shoemaker Anello & Davide that are known as her "work" shoes that cost £1,000.

When a new box of the shoes arrives they are given to a junior member of Buckingham Palace staff who take the same size. It is believed that the staff member also wears a pair of beige cotton ankle socks when breaking in the shoes and is only allowed to walk on carpet.

They get one trial run outside to make sure they have decent grip before they grace the Queen's feet.

Tights are required: It was recently revealed by royal insider Victoria Arbiter that it is required of the women in the family to wear tights during public occasions.