How Princess Charlotte's Bright Pink Manicure Deviates From Royal Tradition

Prince William and Princess Kate Middleton brought their eldest children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, to Wimbledon — and all eyes were on the 10-year-old’s manicure.

Charlotte, who wore a white sundress with navy trim, coordinated her look with a bright pink nail polish that appears to break from long-held yet unofficial tradition.

Most of the British royals paint their nails in neutral or dusky pink hues, colors which were famously favored by the late Queen Elizabeth II, to blend in and not ostentatiously stand out. Kate, 43, has also been known to use a bright red color on occasion, too.

“There’s no actual protocol about dark nail polish,” royal expert Omid Scobie told Harper’s Bazaar in December 2018. “It’s simply about being appropriate. We’d never see [a darker tone] at a royal engagement.”

According to Scobie, there is more flexibility when members of the royal family attend less restrictive events.

Charlotte’s aunt Meghan Markle has also been candid about the expectations of wearing colors during official engagements.

“Most of the time that I was in the U.K. I rarely wore color,” Meghan, 43, said on a 2022 episode of her Harry & Meghan docuseries on Netflix. “There was thought in that. To my understanding, you can’t ever wear the same color as Her Majesty if there’s a group event. But then, you also should never be wearing the same color as one of the other more senior members of the family.”

She continued, “So, I was like, ‘Well, what’s a color that they’ll probably never wear? Camel? Beige? White?’ I wore a lot of muted tones, but it was also so I could just blend in. I’m not trying to stand out here. So, there’s no version of me joining this family and trying to not do everything I could to fit in. I don’t want to embarrass the family.”

Meghan married William’s brother, Prince Harry, in 2018. They stepped down from their duties as senior working royals two years later and settled in Montecito, California, with their two children.