Royal Grooming Rules: Gloves, Nail Polish and Meeting Etiquette
The late Queen wore the same ten-dollar nail polish for over thirty years. Here is the small print behind royal gloves, grooming and greeting etiquette.
Some of the smallest, least glamorous details of royal presentation turn out to be the most consistently followed, quietly repeated across decades and generations for entirely practical reasons.
A clutch bag, held in the left hand
Royal women are frequently seen carrying a small clutch bag rather than a shoulder bag, and specifically in the left hand, a habit with a practical purpose: it keeps the right hand free and ready for the many handshakes a working royal gets through in a single engagement, without needing to juggle a bag first.
Nail polish: subtle, almost without exception
Senior royal women stick overwhelmingly to clear, natural or pale pink nail polish, avoiding bright or dark shades at official engagements. Queen Elizabeth II’s own preference became genuinely famous: Essie’s Ballet Slippers, a soft pale pink she reportedly requested directly from the brand’s founder in 1989 and continued wearing for more than three decades afterward, an unusually long and specific personal loyalty for a detail most people would never think twice about.
Gloves: elegance with a practical purpose
Queen Elizabeth II’s habit of wearing gloves during public engagements served a genuinely practical function alongside its polished appearance: protecting her hands from dirt and bacteria across the hundreds of handshakes a single tour or walkabout could involve, a hygiene consideration dressed up, quite literally, as elegance.
Beards: historically discouraged, now more flexible
For much of the modern monarchy’s history, a clean-shaven look was the expected standard for royal men, particularly in the military context many of them serve in. That expectation has loosened somewhat in recent years; Prince Harry, for instance, was reportedly granted specific permission to keep his beard for his 2018 wedding, a notable departure from stricter historical convention.
Removing sunglasses to greet people
When directly greeting members of the public or dignitaries, royals are generally expected to remove sunglasses, prioritising visible eye contact as part of respectful, attentive greeting, even if the glasses go back on moments later for practical protection from bright weather.
Hats indoors: a rule that only applies to men
By long-standing etiquette, women may keep a formal day hat on indoors before around 6pm, while men are expected to remove theirs, a small but consistent asymmetry that survives from a much older set of general hat-wearing conventions.
Small habits, decades of consistency
None of these grooming and greeting details are formally legislated anywhere, yet they have persisted with remarkable consistency across royal generations, proof that some of the most enduring “rules” in royal life are really just habits so widely observed for so long that breaking one would look instantly out of place.
Browse more of our Royal Style & Fashion stories for more of the small, consistent details behind royal presentation.
Frequently asked questions
Why do royal women carry their clutch in the left hand?
To keep the right hand free and ready for handshakes, a practical habit rather than a purely stylistic one.
What nail polish did Queen Elizabeth II wear?
Essie’s Ballet Slippers, a pale pink shade she reportedly began wearing in 1989 and continued for more than three decades.
Why did Queen Elizabeth II always wear gloves?
Primarily for hygiene, protecting her hands from dirt and bacteria across the many handshakes involved in public engagements, alongside the polished look they gave her outfits.
Are royal men allowed to have beards?
Historically a clean-shaven look was expected, particularly in military contexts, though the convention has loosened; Prince Harry was reportedly given specific permission to keep his beard for his 2018 wedding.
Should the public remove sunglasses when meeting a royal?
Generally, yes, when directly greeting someone, since visible eye contact is considered part of respectful etiquette.
Can women keep their hats on indoors when meeting a royal?
Yes, by convention, before around 6pm, while men are expected to remove theirs.
Etiquette and grooming details are drawn from standard royal-style reporting, including Queen Elizabeth II’s long-documented nail polish preference; correct as of 2026.
