Royal rouge: Queen Elizabeth's red outfits most popular with style fans

The monarch's choice of colour is associated with pride, confidence and courage

Dressed in a red suit with black accessories, Queen Elizabeth II visits Lord Roberts' workshops in London's Kensington on November 10, 1960. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II, wearing a red coat and co-ordinated hat, during a royal visit to the Isle of Wight on July 26, 1965. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II, wearing a red coat dress and co-ordinated hat, greets the public as she attends the Maundy Service at Hereford Cathedral on April 15, 1976. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II, wearing a red dress with gold detail, at a Big Top Show in Home Park, Windsor, to celebrate her silver jubilee on May 29, 1977. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II, wearing a red and white coat, and Prince Philip arriving in Kiribati during their tour of the South Pacific on October 23, 1982. Getty Images

Prince Philip, Marianne von Weizsacker, Queen Elizabeth II, wearing a red coat and white gloves, and former German president Richard von Weizsacker at Castle Bellevue in Berlin on May 27, 1987. AP

Queen Elizabeth II, wearing a red coat with white gloves and a white hat, arrives at the Perth Government House on April 21, 1988. AFP

Queen Elizabeth II, wearing a red coat and co-ordinated hat, visiting St Anne's Church in Kew, London on April 14, 1989. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II, wearing a red coat and matching hat, having tea with a family in Glasgow on July 7, 1999. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II, wearing a red silk-embossed chiffon dress by Karl Ludwig, attending a reception at King's House, Jamaica on February 18, 2002. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II, wearing a red gown with crystal detailing, attends the Royal Variety Performance in Cardiff, Wales on November 21, 2005. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II, wearing a deep red dress and matching hat, attends the Cheltenham Festival on March 13, 2009. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II, wearing a red dress and her Canadian Maple Leaf Royal Brooch, arrives for Canada Day celebrations in Ottawa, Canada on July 1, 2010. AFP

Queen Elizabeth II, wearing a red coat and matching hat, arrives to greet the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani to her Windsor residence on October 26, 2010. WPA

Queen Elizabeth II, wearing a red and white checked coat, during a visit to Essex on October 28, 2010. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II, wearing a red coat and matching hat, during a visit to RAF Valley in Holyhead on April 1, 2011. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II, wearing her mantle of the Order of The British Empire designed by Marion Foale, attends a service at St Paul's Cathedral in London, on March 7, 2012. AFP

Queen Elizabeth II, wearing a red coat, leaves hospital on March 4, 2013 in London, England. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II, wearing a co-ordinated red dress, hat and coat, attends the Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, Norfolk, on December 25, 2019. AFP

Queen Elizabeth II, wearing a red coat and hat, with a red and white scarf, in Windsor on December 8, 2020, waits to thank local volunteers and key workers for their efforts during the coronavirus pandemic. AFP

Queen Elizabeth II, wearing a red hat and coat with black details, visits aircraft carrier 'HMS Queen Elizabeth' in Portsmouth, England, on May 22, 2021. AFP

Queen Elizabeth II is a quiet style icon. The British monarch, who is celebrating her platinum jubilee this week, is known for her colourful outfits, with a commitment to one shade from head-to-toe.

But which colour is most popular?

According to recent Pinterest data, fans are most drawn to her red looks. The queen's scarlet, ruby and vermilion outfits are the most frequently pinned, and have been shared nearly 10,000 times.

Scroll through the gallery above to see a chronology of the queen in red, with outfits dating back throughout her reign.

The sartorial choice of vibrant red is no accident. The queen has worn cherry hues to attend Canada Day celebrations in Ottawa and mirrored the Qatari flag by wearing a carmine coat to welcome country's Emir to Windsor Castle in 2010. It is also a festive favourite, often chosen for walks to attend the Christmas Day church service.

Significantly, red also the national colour of both England and Wales, and one of the three British national colours, alongside white and blue. It is the colour of roses, England's national flower, and a shade synonymous with London, thanks to the city's vibrant red double-decker buses, traditional telephone boxes and pillar-box red post boxes — although the latter two are found across the UK.

There are also military associations with the colour red. The red coat, or scarlet tunic, has been used by the British Army since the 17th century; and it is a powerful colour, associated with pride, confidence and courage.

When the queen steps out for official engagements, there is an element of dressing for a service job, says British historian Robert Lacey.

Lacey explained why she frequently chooses to wear hats, saying: "Very few modern women wear a hat as part of their work uniform, aside from perhaps members of the armed forces ... It's a reminder that the queen is indentured to a service, to a job."

There is also a practical reason why the monarch always chooses vibrant colours and matching hats for engagements — they ensure members of the public can spot her in a crowd says her daughter-in-law, Sophie, Countess of Wessex.

“She needs to stand out for people to be able to say, ‘I saw the queen’,” the countess said in the 2016 documentary The Queen at 90.

“Don’t forget that when she turns up somewhere, the crowds are two, three, four, 10, 15 deep, and someone wants to be able to say they saw a bit of the queen’s hat as she went past.”

Look back at Queen Elizabeth II's rainbow wardrobe, with her best colour-blocked looks: