Duchess Sophie crowned Queen of Bobs by HELLO! readers - but why did she really cut her hair?

Duchess Sophie delighted royal watchers this week when she debuted a new, shorter hairstyle.

Gone were her trademark collarbone skimming lengths, with a short, swishy bob in their place – and the Duchess of Edinburgh's new hair was a hit with HELLO! readers, with 81% voting that Prince Edward's wife's new hair frames her face beautifully.

While Sophie has worn her hair in a short bob before, we think there could be more to her chop this time. The royal is undergoing quite a transition phase at the moment, which could have prompted her new haircut.

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Duchess Sophie's transition period

Not only has her daughter, Lady Louise, just finished university, with plans to take a gap year, working, volunteering, and travelling, but Duchess Sophie's son, James, Earl of Wessex, is 18 now and likely to begin university in September – leaving Sophie and Edward an empty nest.

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There's, of course, the potential that Sophie simply opted to cut her hair because it's more manageable in the summer, or the ends were in need of a trim, but there's often more to a haircut than we might think, including a decision to defy stereotypes.

Defying hair – and royal – stereotypes

In fairytales, royal ladies tend to have long, flowing hair. Cascading curls are synonymous with femininity, something we spoke to life coach Mhairi Todd about.

"There's a long cultural history around hair and womanhood," Mhairi begins. "Hair has always been shorthand for how society values women. Long hair has often equalled youthful and desirable, while short hair has been coded as practical or neutral.

"Underneath that are the generational layers. For baby boomers and older generations, long hair was part of the 'ideal woman' package, because women were prized primarily for appearance and compliance," she adds.

Mhairi continues that this notion is being rejected by women of all ages – in particular millennials and Gen X – a category Duchess Sophie sits in, at 61. "That message collides with a totally different reality," she laments. "We're expected to do it all; build careers, raise children, stay attractive, age well, and hold everything together. I think many women cut their hair, but because they're tired of performing to beauty standards they didn't consciously sign up for in the first place."

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On the wave of women rejecting society's expectations, Mhairi adds: "I believe what we're slowly seeing is a shift from hair as an object of external validation to hair as a vehicle for self-definition."

Opting for the bob

Choosing to forgo long hair in favour of a shorter style is something HELLO!'s Fashion and Beauty News Editor Laura Sutcliffe also recently decided to try.

"As someone who's had long hair pretty much her whole life, I was so nervous about cutting my hair into a bob, which finishes just past my ears.

"But I have to say, I really don't think I'll ever go back to lengthy locks. The overall look of the bob is sleeker, more modern, and gives you much more of a "style", opposed to long hair, which does have the tendency to just to hang there."

Laura adds that she was more self-conscious before the chop, too. "When I had long hair, I was constantly obsessed with the thickness of it. I didn't want it to ever look ratty and thin, which does inevitably happen as the hair grows.

"With bobbed hair, especially when it's all cut at the same length, it looks so much thicker and much tidier, so you never have to worry about those pesky split ends."

What do you think? Did Sophie simply cut her hair because she was after a fresh start, or did the new beginnings facing the royal encourage her to make a change?