The royals are, obviously, big on tradition. For years, this dedication to sameness has extended to the Queen's personal style, which has been quite consistent for, well, roughly forever.

It looks like we've reached the end of an era in royal style, however, because Queen Elizabeth appears to be sporting a new haircut. As People points out, the monarch's hair looks shorter than usual in pictures released from meetings she had earlier this week at Windsor castle with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the Governor of New South Wales, Margaret Beazley.

The Queen's hair was still its familiar style and length earlier this month when she was photographed during her Platinum Jubilee celebration. Here she is on June 2, watchving the Trooping the Colour parade from the balcony at Buckingham Palace:

london, england june 02 queen elizabeth ii watches from the balcony of buckingham palace during the trooping the colour parade the trooping the colour parade on june 2, 2022 in london, england trooping the colour, also known as the queens birthday parade, is a military ceremony performed by regiments of the british army that has taken place since the mid 17th century it marks the official birthday of the british sovereign this year, from june 2 to june 5, 2022, there is the added celebration of the platinum jubilee of elizabeth ii in the uk and commonwealth to mark the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne on 6 february 1952 photo by jonathan brady wpa poolgetty images
WPA Pool//Getty Images

And here's a look at her hair later that day, sans hat, as she stepped out for the Platinum Jubilee's Beacon Lighting Ceremony:

windsor, england june 02 britains queen elizabeth ii prepares to touch the commonwealth nations globe to start the lighting of the principal beacon outside of buckingham palace in london, from the quadrangle at windsor castle in windsor, west of london, as part of platinum jubilee celebrations on june 2, 2022 in windsor, england more than 2,800 beacons are lit at buckingham palace and across the uk, including atop the four highest peaks, as well as on the channel islands, the isle of man, and british overseas territories flaming tributes will be seen in 54 commonwealth capitals across five continents, from tonga and samoa in the south pacific to belize in the caribbean the platinum jubilee of elizabeth ii is being celebrated from june 2 to june 5, 2022, in the uk and commonwealth to mark the 70th anniversary of the accession of queen elizabeth ii on 6 february 1952 photo by steve parsons poolgetty images
Pool//Getty Images

Now, for comparison, here she is, showing off her new ~lewk~ for the first time during her meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury on Tuesday:

windsor, england june 21 queen elizabeth ii receives the archbishop of canterbury justin welby at windsor castle, where he presented her with a special 'canterbury cross' for her 'unstinting' service to the church of england over seventy years and a citation for the cross, which was presented as a framed piece of calligraphy on june 21, 2022 in windsor, england photo by andrew matthews wpa poolgetty images
WPA Pool//Getty Images

And on Wednesday, during her reception with the Governor of New South Wales:

queen hair
Getty Images
queen hair
Getty Images

As you can see, the Queen's hair looks shorter in the newer pics, and, according to people who have personally worked with the Queen on her hair, any change to her look is a pretty big deal. In her book The Other Side Of The Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe, the Queen's aide Angela Kelly writes about her experiences being in charge of cutting and styling Elizabeth's hair, which sounds exactly as stressful as you might imagine cutting and styling literal royalty's hair to be.

According to quotes from the book shared by People, Kelly took over the Queen's hair maintenance duties (which includes weekly washing, setting, and styling and even trimming the monarch's hair whenever needed) in March 2020.

"As I grew in confidence I'm sure The Queen thought I was a professional and started shouting at me, 'Don't do that, do it this way. That's right, you've got it, don't change it.' I was thinking, goodness me, I need a gin and tonic," Kelly explained. "So while The Queen was under the dryer I said to her, 'I'm off for a stiff drink because this is so stressful, getting it just right for you.'"

From: Cosmopolitan US
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Kayleigh Roberts
Kayleigh Roberts is the weekend editor at Cosmo, focused on celebrity news and royals. She’s a Ravenclaw who would do great things in Slytherin. To learn more about her, google “Leslie Knope eating salad GIF.”