While most of the royal women wore shades of cream and green, the Duchess of Edinburgh sported a particularly poignant shade of green at Saturday’s Trooping the Colour: Edinburgh Green.
The Duchess of Edinburgh’s particular colour choice has dual meaning because it can be seen as a tribute to the duchy her husband, Prince Edward, was granted on his 59th birthday in 2023; but it’s also a special colour that was instated by her late father-in-law, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, as his official colour.
Edinburgh Green is a deep shade of green that the late Prince Philip had his personal livery wear for decades. He also owned cars in this shade, and the Land Rover that carried his body to his funeral in 2021 was also a shade of Edinburgh Green.
To mark Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee in 2002 the Royal Family released 50 facts about Prince Philip and included Edinburgh Green as one of its missives, noting that even Prince Philip’s page at his wife’s coronation in 1952 had worn the shade with silver.
At a remembrance service for Prince Philip in 2022, when pandemic restrictions were loosened and large crowds could gather again, many royal ladies chose to wear Edinburgh Green in honour of their patriarch.
Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Camilla (then Duchess of Cornwall) and Princess Anne all wore dresses in the shade. Queen Letizia and Princess Beatrix also chose to wear the shade.
Sophie chose a bespoke Beluah London dress for Trooping the Colour and paired it with a Jane Taylor hat in matching Edinburgh Green. Her dress matched her husband’s uniform.
As Colonel of the Scots Guard, the Duke of Edinburgh had sprigs of green in his uniform. He wore the Full Ceremonial Guard Order of the Scots Guard paired with the Order of the Thistle’s star and sash.
