My theory is that every woman has a “superficial thing” that they’re really invested in. Some women are really into shoes or purses. Some women are really into makeup or buying the best skincare products or paying top dollar on hair stylists. Maybe your thing is a particular label or style. But the overwhelming majority of women have that one thing. The Duchess of Edinburgh really doesn’t though. I never look at poor Sophie and think “oh, she’s a shoe girl” or “she really invests in skincare.” Like, Princess Kate is really into buttons and hairpieces, Princess Anne adores a particular hat style, Camilla loves jewelry. It’s not that Sophie is unkempt, she’s just never looked like she knows what she’s doing at any level of presentation. Boring dishwater blonde (for which she probably pays a lot), frumpy but expensive clothes, forgettable shoes and purses. Well, Sophie is trying to change it up! She had an event on Wednesday at the Groundswell Festival and she debuted a new bob. It honestly looks like she had her husband cut her hair with some gardening shears.
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, debuted a fresh look for the summer season on Wednesday, as she arrived at the Groundswell Festival sporting a brand new bob.
Known as the ‘Glastonbury of Farming’, the festival attracts the great and the good of the countryside set to Hertfordshire, with a series of sessions and speaker panels providing a forum for farmers and food production experts to discuss regenerative agriculture.
The diligent Duchess, who attended the event last year, certainly dressed the part this July, sporting head-to-toe Penelope Chilvers. From her silk blouse to her brand new denim skirt and gold-embroidered cowboy boots, Sophie turned to the royal favourite designer for the majority of her outfit. She paired the ensemble with a pair of sunglasses from Sting Eyewear, her treasured Giulia Barela hoop earrings and Asprey oak leaf bracelet, and a glitzy watch from Loewe.
But it was her new haircut that truly caught the eye of royal watchers. Over the past few years, fans of the Duchess of Edinburgh have seen her wear her blonde hair in ponytails or updos, but now, the royal has gone short, opting for the style recently dubbed ‘the Princess bob’ by Tatler.
Beloved by the likes of Princess Olympia of Greece, Bridgerton star Phoebe Dynevor, Lady Amelia Windsor, and Sofia Richie Grainge, the bob is the ultimate display of it girl chic – and it suits the Duchess of Edinburgh to a T.
It’s not that drastic a change – previously, her hair sort of fell just below her shoulders, not that she ever styled it beyond a vaguely twisty updo. Now it’s just a sort of lukewarm bob. It would be more striking if she went for a more severe cut, and maybe flat-ironed it super-straight. I’m not saying that would suit her, but it would be a much bigger change. But whatever – as I said, I don’t think Sophie is a hair person, a shoe person, a clotheshorse or a makeup girl.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
