The best royal hair colour swaps over the years


The daring hair colour changes we've seen over the years...


camilla hair
January 21, 2019
Two photos of Sarah, Duchess of York, showing her with short red hair and long blonde hair.

The Duchess of Sussex with highlights, the Duchess of Cornwall a brunette, and Sarah Ferguson not a red head? Sometimes we all need to change up our look and hit the hair dye – and the Royals are no different.

Sarah Ferguson


Sarah Ferguson’s red hair is one of her defining features so surely she’s never messed around with it? Wrong. The Duchess of York flirted with the bottle in 2004, dying her hair much blonder. Fortunately, it wasn’t for long and her gorgeous red hair made a return.

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Two photos of a woman with long blonde hair, wearing different outfits and smiling.

Princess Beatrice


Like her mother, Princess Beatrice isn’t afraid to play around with her trademark red hair. The princess’ brassy locks of 2012 are worlds away from this 2018 hair colour which is darker, more toned-down and plays more on her natural hue.

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Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, in two photos: one smiling in a black blazer, another waving in a beige coat.

The Duchess of Sussex


It’s difficult to imagine Meghan without dark, glossy hair these days but this hasn’t always been the case. For a short time in 2012, the actress added some subtle light brown highlights to her hair, giving her locks a sun-kissed feel that’s definitely more LA than London. 


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Two women in formal attire, one in white and one in black, both smiling.

Queen Letizia


Queen Letizia of Spain was a fan of highlighting circa 2014, colouring her hair to give it a subtle caramel hue. More recently however, she’s gone much, much darker, getting rid of the highlights altogether to create a sleek, business-like look.

Sophie, Countess of Wessex, smiling in two different outfits: a green suit and a white dress.

The Countess of Wessex


The Countess of Wessex had brown hair with the odd highlight, when she was newly married to Prince Edward in 2000. Fast-forward 14 years and Sophie’s gone all-out blonde.

Two photos of Camilla, Queen Consort. Left: smiling with short blonde hair. Right: smiling in a white blouse with a red poppy pin.

The Duchess of Cornwall


In 1991, Camilla had the odd highlight, but she was essentially still a brunette. By 2001, that had all changed, with Prince Charles’ wife sporting a full head of blonde. 


Two images of Charlene, Princess of Monaco, showing different hairstyles and outfits.

Princess Charlene


This 2011 up ‘do shows Princess Charlene of Monaco with light brown hair but the royal also had lightened up tresses with an all-over golden blonde look.


Two photos of Diana, Princess of Wales. Left: Green sweater, white collar. Right: Blue dress, large pearl necklace.

Princess Diana


When Princess Diana first came to public attention, her hair was its natural light brown shade. Over the years, her time in the spotlight allowed the princess to experiment with hair colour and this platinum blonde hue from 1997 was her most dramatic transformation.

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Queen Máxima of the Netherlands in two different outfits: one with a floral top and green earrings, the other in a red dress with a large brooch.

Queen Maxima


When Queen Maxima first joined the Dutch royal family, she was definitely a fun-loving bleach blonde. As she’s matured, so has her hair colour and she’s now a darker, more muted shade. 


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Lady Kitty Spencer in two different outfits: one in a gold dress and another in a red and white striped top.

Lady Kitty Spencer


It’s 2009 and there’s no mistaking Lady Kitty Spencer with her white-blonde curls. Cut to 2016 though and the royal socialite looks unrecognisable with a chocolate-coloured, poker-straight ponytail. She obviously didn’t like life as a brunette as it wasn’t long before she was back to blonde. 


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