The 3 Biggest Fashion Flops At Trooping The Colour 2026

Trooping the Colour is one of the biggest royal events of the year. Celebrating the current reigning monarch's birthday, the over-the-top military parade is host to the most influential members of the royal family. Fittingly, the annual event sees some of the best (and worst) outfits that the elites have to offer. Unfortunately, not even Queen Camilla herself could escape the worst-dressed list this year.

Like Trooping the Colour 2025, the 2026 ceremony, held on Saturday, June 13, was attended by fewer guests than we'd expected. While the absence of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, whose 2018 Trooping the Colour outfit was labeled inappropriate by royal standards, isn't much of a surprise, we'd hoped that the rest of the guest list would be a bit more fleshed out this year. 

Nevertheless, those who did participate in the festivities tried their best to abide by the rigid royal dress code. Kate Middleton provided a chic update to an iconic '80s Princess Diana look with her fabulous blue-and-white structured coat dress, and Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, wore a stunning cream-colored fascinator that screamed elegance. But, while there weren't any outright inappropriate looks this year, there were certainly a few poor showings. The most unfashionable royals at Trooping the Colour 2025 opted for garish colors, poorly styled ensembles, and low-effort styling, and in 2026, we similarly saw several lackluster looks. From tacky collars to boring dresses, let's dive into the biggest fashion flops at Trooping the Colour 2026.

Birgitte, the Duchess of Gloucester, was one of the few royals to snag an invitation to the scaled-down Trooping the Colour ceremony this year. As such, you'd think that she would put a bit more thought into her look. Spoiler alert: She didn't. Birgitte wore a navy-and-white polka-dot coat with oversized buttons and a cartoonishly large collar that closely resembled a traditional ruff. Ruff collars were incredibly popular between the 16th and 17th centuries, particularly among the elite (including English royals). However, in 2026, ruffs are not in-demand beyond costume parties — something Birgitte chose to ignore for this garish look. 

In addition to the clown-like ruff collar, the duchess' polka-dot coat featured large buttons that stood out against the rest of the garment as looking particularly cheap. Unlike her over-the-top coat, Birgitte wore comparatively modest accessories; perhaps to try and offset the dramatic look, she donned a simple string of pearls and a classic pillbox hat with a mesh veil. But unfortunately, there was no saving this ensemble. 

Queen Camilla has worn some of the best Trooping the Colour outfits over the years. However, her look for the 2026 ceremony leaves much to be desired. The queen appeared to re-wear the same silk crepe Grenadier Guards uniform-inspired coat dress she donned for the 2023 Trooping the Colour ceremony, which was the first of her husband's reign. While we enjoyed this coat at the time for its thoughtful homage to her then-new title of Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, wearing it a second time at the same event has greatly diminished its impact.

Camilla switched up the look slightly with a new hat, this time including a small white feather attached to the top with a gold cap badge. She also wore a Grenadier Guards brooch previously belonging to Queen Elizabeth II, who'd worn it when she was just 16 and also the Colonel of the Grenadier Guards. We generally love to see royals re-purposing items from their wardrobes, but this particular 'fit is so distinctive that once was more than enough. 

Victoria Starmer attended Trooping the Colour 2026 alongside husband and British prime minister Keir Starmer, looking quite like she'd rather be anywhere else. Victoria opted for a long pale-pink dress for the occasion, and honestly? While an inoffensive choice, its shapeless structure and thin, loosely tied belt made the occupational health worker appear as though she couldn't care less about the event in question. 

Not every dress has to be cinched at the waist to be stylish; in fact, many women can benefit from a loose shift dress — it all depends on what the right dress shape for your body type is. However, Victoria's gown wasn't purposefully dowdy, but it seemed to just be lazy, ill-tailored, and the wrong size. The lifeless look was marginally improved by Victoria's beautifully constructed white hat, which featured a large collection of flower-like ruffles on the top. If there's one thing the British elite knows how to do right, it's a dramatic hat. But, no matter how pretty the fascinator was, it just couldn't salvage this disaster of an outfit.