Queen Camilla and Kate Middleton’s royal battle over blue sparked palace tension: expert

Blue may be a royal favorite, but behind palace walls, it has reportedly sparked quiet battles over who gets to wear it.

Royal commentator Amanda Matta told Fox News Digital that Queen Camilla’s go-to shade isn’t just a fashion statement — it may be her way of signaling authority behind palace doors.

“Protecting Camilla’s use of blue would have enforced a visual hierarchy for royal events,” Matta explained.

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“Let’s not forget that Camilla entered palace life amid significant public skepticism, and she has spent the last two decades meticulously rewriting her story,” Matta shared. “Her preference for a saturated, commanding royal blue has been central to that project in recent years. Her preferred shade is literally ‘royal blue.’”

Matta also said in a recent TikTok video that the color is beloved among royal wives and allegedly caused tension over who gets to wear it.

“Never forget Camilla claiming blue and telling other royals, namely Kate [Middleton], they could not wear it,” she claimed on the platform.

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A source previously told the U.K.’s Express that the color blue was “problematic” for royal dressers because it was said to be a favorite of both Camilla and the Princess of Wales. But because Camilla is the most senior woman in the royal family, she had first dibs on wearing the beloved hue.

“The queen is now able to choose her outfits before all the other women in the royal family,” a source told the outlet. “It’s part of the royal pecking order, and that includes the clothes and color. Her Majesty’s favorite color is blue, and so is Kate’s. Sophie [Duchess of Edinburgh] is also quite fond of it.”

“There was a time when [royal dresser] Jacqui [Meakin] was a bit apprehensive to allow blue to be worn at the same time as the queen, but she’s relaxed that now, as long as the blues are very different shades,” said the insider.

Fox News Digital reached out to Buckingham Palace for comment.

“The fact that Meakin eventually relaxed the rule, allowing different shades to be used simultaneously, could suggest that the initial enforcement created enough friction that a diplomatic solution became necessary,” said Matta. “The royals love their blue. It could also signal that Camilla feels secure enough in her role as queen to cede some territory, sartorially speaking.”

“There’s likely no written rule about blue, but what there is involves a web of informal understandings maintained by the people closest to each principal royal,” Matta shared. “The only thing unusual about Meakin acting as a color gatekeeper is that it became public knowledge. Past dressers like Angela Kelly also ruled over visuals with an iron fist.”

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It was Meghan Markle who publicly spoke about royal dressing protocol in her 2022 Netflix docuseries, “Harry & Meghan.” The American actress became the Duchess of Sussex when she married Britain’s Prince Harry in 2018.

“Most of the time I was in the U.K., I rarely wore color,” she said. “To my understanding, you can’t ever wear the same color as Her Majesty (Queen Elizabeth) if there’s a group event, but then you shouldn’t be wearing the same color as one of the other more senior members of the family.”

The Express previously reported that, according to sources, Meakin “ruffled a few feathers” at Buckingham Palace by being “too strict over outfit color choices, most notably the color blue.”

“Those reports of Jacqui Meakin ‘ruffling feathers’ over blue aren’t surprising if you know how royal dressers operate,” said Matta. “Whoever controls the queen’s wardrobe can also come to feel that they hold real institutional power.”

British broadcaster and photographer Helena Chard told Fox News Digital that while royal fashion hierarchy protocol has become “fairly relaxed” in recent years, there is still a reported “order of precedence” that dressers follow.

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“The queen gets first dibs at her outfit choice,” said Chard. “Her preference overrides others. It is well documented that Queen Camilla, Princess Catherine, and indeed Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, love wearing the color blue. There was talk of stepping on royal toes when it comes to blue outfits. However, I think you’ll find it was the dressers kicking up a royal fuss!”

“In the royal family, fashion is a carefully curated statement,” said Chard. “No accidental color clashes are allowed! But occasionally, we have seen a display of planned family unity with an outfit color.

“But to avoid any possible stepping on royal toes, the rules have relaxed around the regal color blue, allowing royal women to wear different shades of blue. This allows the message of calm stability to shine through.”

British royals expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital that while the most senior woman in the royal family can choose her outfits before others, she doubted a so-called “battle over blue.”

“All royal households have always been intensely hierarchical,” she said. “Dress code is just one of the main ways to visually depict such. It’s more procedural than personal and quite regular. The only out-of-order issue at hand is the queen consort’s dresser becoming so involved with some sort of enforcement.”

“Princess Catherine and others have been seen so many times in blue, it seems rather dubious a claim,” she argued. “I haven’t heard anything about any such tension.”

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The Express reported that Queen Elizabeth II’s dresser, Angela Kelly, was once “one of the most powerful women in Buckingham Palace,” raising questions about how much authority a dresser has.

But Matta noted that blue, as a royal signature, has deep roots.

“Queen Elizabeth liked it because it matched her eyes, though I believe it was Norman Hartnell who first dressed her in blue for that reason,” Matta explained.

“Blue communicates loyalty, stability and trustworthiness,” she said. “For a monarchy positioning the Waleses as the steady future of the institution, it’s ideal visual shorthand that also creates cohesive imagery. Notably, we’ve seen Kate favor pastel shades of blue much more than a commanding royal blue. Only since becoming Princess of Wales has she really started to make use of more saturated tones.”

Whether intentional or not, the message behind the monarchy’s carefully coordinated outfits is clear: In royal circles, even a color choice can signal who holds power.