Prince Philip had his very own shade of green and no one outside the Royal Family was really aware of it until after he had died.
The colour, called Edinburgh Green, made headlines when Queen Elizabeth II wore it for a memorial service in honour of her husband, held several months after his death.
As royalty from around the world arrived at Westminster Abbey for the service, held on March 29 2022, many were in black, the traditional colour of mourning. However, a noticeable number were in a dark green shade and that’s when Philip’s own colours became common knowledge.
The late Queen Elizabeth II was dressed in a deep green coat with matching hat. Her daughter in law, now Queen Camilla, also wore the shade as did Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s daughter, Princess Anne.
The shade is also known as ‘Edinburgh Green’. Prince Philip’s official livery was dark green and his page at the Coronation wore the shade. Dark green is also one of the colours of half mourning and, as was the case at his memorial, it is trimmed with black to denote grief.
The Royal Family’s official website notes that ‘Edinburgh Green’ is a dark shade and was used on private liveries for the Duke.
Queen Elizabeth II chose a dark green coat and hat, both trimmed with black, for this special Service of Thanksgiving which took place just days ahead of the first anniversary of Prince Philip’s death. The prince passed away on April 9 2021 at Windsor Castle at the age of 99. His funeral was held at a time of social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic and only thirty people could attend. The memorial service allowed many more to pay tribute.
(Casa de S.M. el Rey)
Among them were royalty from around the world. Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands, who reigned as queen from 1980 until 2013, also wore Edinburgh green trimmed with black. Queen Letizia of Spain, whose husband King Felipe was related to Prince Philip through their shared Greek royal ancestry, also wore Edinburgh green to the service.
There was another special nod to Prince Philip in the outfit worn at this memorial service by Queen Camilla. Her outfit was the one she wore when she took over as Colonel-in-Chief of the Rifles from Prince Philip in what would be his final public engagement. Queen Camilla also wore her Rifles brooch as a tribute.
Other members of the Royal Family wore shades traditionally associated with mourning or half mourning clothes at the memorial. Kate, now Princess of Wales, chose a black dress with white spots and a black hat with white trim, again keeping to mourning protocols.
The shade of Edinburgh green is now much better known and one royal who has worn it often in the years since is Philip’s daughter in law, Sophie. She had adopted the shade much more often since her husband, Prince Edward, became Duke of Edinburgh.
