Why the Queen often wears lime green on special occasions

queen elizabeth
(Image credit: Getty)

Yesterday, Queen Elizabeth II made a surprise public appearance to attend a service to mark the Centenary of the Royal Australian Air Force at the CWGC Air Forces Memorial, in Runnymede in Surrey. It was the first time she's been seen IRL since December.

During the socially-distanced engagement, she chatted to members of the Air Force, and had a wreath laid on her behalf. In a sea of navy uniforms, she stood out in her signature lime green outfit.

It is one of Her Majesty's favourite colours, one which she wears on important occasions, such as her 90th birthday in 2016, or her first official solo outing with Meghan Markle in 2018.

queen elizabeth

(Image credit: Getty)

The Queen often wears bright colours to stand out from the crowd, but it's also thought she loves green for its association with hope and good luck. It's an apt choice as we slowly come out of lockdown.

HRH also wore one of her beloved hats, adorned with tulips and white flowers, a symbol of Spring and new beginnings.

She's also a big fan of brooches, and the one she wore yesterday was a tribute to Australia. Called the Wattle brooch, it was made by Melbourne company William Drummond & Co and gifted to her on her first visit to the continent in.

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, covering everything from catwalk trends to royal fashion and the latest high street and Instagram must-haves.

Penny grew up in France and studied languages and law at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris before moving to the UK for her MA in multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University. She moved to the UK permanently and has never looked back (though she does go back regularly to stock up on cheese and wine).

Although she's always loved fashion - she used to create scrapbooks of her favourite trends and looks, including Sienna Miller and Kate Moss' boho phase - her first job was at MoneySavingExpert.com, sourcing the best deals for everything from restaurants to designer sales.

However she quit after two years to follow her true passion, fashion journalism, and after many years of internships and freelance stints at magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Stylist and Good Housekeeping, landed her dream job as the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK.

Her favourite part of the job is discovering new brands and meeting designers, and travelling the world to attend events and fashion shows. Seeing her first Chanel runway IRL at Paris Fashion Week was a true pinch-me moment.