See Queen Elizabeth II’s Most Colorful Fashion Moments Over the Years

Queen Elizabeth II, the beloved monarch, passed away on Sept. 8, 2022 at the age of 96. The messages of love and condolences for the royal family poured from across the world. Not only was Queen Elizabeth II the longest-reigning British monarch in history, but she ruled for those 70 years with wisdom, grace, and serious style — including one of the best, most colorful hat collections we’ve ever seen.

She was known for her style, especially at events like the Trooping the Colour parade, where she showed off spectacular royal family fashions. Queen Elizabeth II (and her many hats) are known for dressing to stand out, and the royal was once quoted by biographer Robert Hardman as saying “I can never wear beige because nobody will know who I am.”

Queen Elizabeth II didn’t just sport a hat in every color of the rainbow because she knew it looked fabulous — she wanted to make herself easily visible in a crowd and stand out for the people who were there to see her. And stand out she did, as anyone with an eye for the monarch’s fashion can attest. From neon green to sunshine yellow, the Queen wore a rainbow of festive shades. Any color you can think of the Queen had a hat for that.

To be clear: the Queen would be a legend no matter what she wore. But her playful, bright sense of fashion made us love her all the more.

Today, two years ago, Elizabeth passed away. To honor her colorful fashion sense, here are some of our favorite brightly-colored outfit toppers over the years, complete with matching overcoats.

A version of this article was originally published in April 2020.