Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh Goes Even Blonder Than Before One Month After Turning 60

New decade, new hair transformation!

Rachel Burchfield
·2 min read
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh just turned 60 years old last month—and she’s kicking off a new decade of life with a blonder, shorter hairstyle.

The royal debuted the new look while visiting Chelmsford, Essex on February 27, wearing a black floral midi skirt and a black blazer while visiting Mothers’ Union’s English for Women project. Hello! reported that Sophie—who has been married to Queen Elizabeth’s youngest child, Prince Edward, since 1999—took over the patronage of Mothers’ Union from the late Queen herself. (Queen Elizabeth and Sophie were famously close before the Queen’s death at age 96 on September 8, 2022.)

For the occasion Thursday, Sophie debuted “sunkissed” blonde highlights that looked “brighter and more ashy, replacing her natural light brunette hair that was previously peppered with beautiful silver and grey strands,” according to Hello!. Sophie also chopped off the ends of her hair, and on Thursday wore her hair styled into short curls that rested at her collarbone.

Like her sister-in-law Princess Anne, Sophie typically adopts a no-fuss approach to hair when on royal engagements, often sweeping her hair into a ponytail or chignon. That wasn’t the case Thursday, as Sophie showed off the new color and cut, which framed her face more than in the past.

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh on January 21, 2025
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh on January 21, 2025

Though she did debut a haircut this week, her current hairstyle remains longer than when she married into the royal family in 1999, two years after the death of Princess Diana in an August 31, 1997 car accident. (Diana was just 36 years old.) In the 1990s, the two women’s similar short, blonde hairstyles led them to be compared to one another, with many believing that a late 1990s Sophie strikingly resembled the former Princess of Wales.

Sophie on January 7, 1999
Sophie on January 7, 1999
Princess Diana in 1996
Princess Diana in 1996

In addition to turning 60 on January 20, Sophie was joined by Edward and their son James, Earl of Wessex recently for a ski holiday at the Swiss resort of St. Moritz during James’ half-term break from school this month. (Prince William, Kate Middleton, and their kids Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis also took a half-term break vacation, though instead of skiing—which they’d done as a family around the New Year in the Alps—the Wales family of five went tropical, visiting the Caribbean island of Mustique.)

Getty Images James, Earl of Wessex, Prince Edward, Duchess Sophie, and Lady Louise Windsor at the 2022 Commonwealth Games

Getty Images

James, Earl of Wessex, Prince Edward, Duchess Sophie, and Lady Louise Windsor at the 2022 Commonwealth Games

Edward and Sophie’s daughter, Lady Louise Windsor, didn’t join her parents and sibling for the ski vacation, as she’s currently in her third year at the University of St. Andrews, which also has a William and Kate tie—that’s where the Prince and Princess of Wales met and fell in love over two decades ago.

Read the original article on InStyle

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