Everyone in the Royal Family is required to abide by certain rules of dress code when they appear in public. If you’ve ever seen Kate Middleton or Queen Elizabeth out and about, you’ll notice that they never show any cleavage. That’s because they aren’t allowed to.

The women are also required to wear a hat to all formal events, although that hat can be replaced by a tiara during evening hours. Members of the Royal Family are required to pack a black outfit anytime they travel in the event that a relative dies they can show proper respect.

While the rules are many and control everything from how a person sits to what they wear, each of the women in the Royal Family have still managed to acquire their own sense of style, and the Queen is no exception.

Princess Diana was known for her classy, functional outfits. Kate Middleton is known for mixing patterns and textures, and Queen Elizabeth is known for her bright ensembles, but it might not be for the reason you think.

While many people believe that the Queen favors bright, vivid colors because her wardrobe is colorful, that’s not the case. The Queen’s daughter-in-law, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, recently revealed the actual reason for the Queen’s wardrobe choices.

Queen Elizabeth chooses her bright outfits so that when she appears in public she can be easily seen in a crowd. Understand that when the Queen is out and about, people pile in to see her with crowds sometimes up to 15 people deep.

Always having the people’s best interests at heart, the Queen dons the bright colors so when she passes by, people can say they saw the Queen, even if it was the top of her brightly colored hat which always matches the rest of her outfit perfectly.