Queen Elizabeth II got a shorter haircut for Hot Girl Summer: love it or hate it?

I got a haircut yesterday. I am bad at remembering to get haircuts every other month. It’s usually once every three or four months for me, and my split ends make my hair puffy and gross. So, I was in need of a good cut and the lady took way too much off. I now have sort of a blunt bob sitting at my shoulders. Ah, well, it will grow out.

Queen Elizabeth also got a haircut this week. QEII has been seen a few times in carefully managed photo-ops at Windsor Castle since the Jubbly, but you can tell that her handful of public appearances took a toll on her. Maybe it’s a relief – she got through it, this thing that her advisors forced her to do. Now she can relax and put her feet up and get a summer pixie cut. Or whatever this is!

I remember years ago, people talking about how the Queen doesn’t actually wear wigs or hairpieces. Her white hair is her own and it’s meticulously set and styled by her hairdresser. I imagine that’s a pain in the ass, especially for a woman who seems to be in a great deal of discomfort while standing or sitting for any length of time. Maybe this is a genuine haircut and she really wanted it shorter and easier to style. I would also imagine that she has lost some hair in recent years? Especially given her noticeable weight loss too.

Photos courtesy of Instar.

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80 Responses to “Queen Elizabeth II got a shorter haircut for Hot Girl Summer: love it or hate it?”

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  1. Summer says:

    This headline practically made me spit my coffee out. LMAO.

    • Barbie1 says:

      So funny. Whatever makes the Queen happy. Those beautiful pearls! Hoping she can gain some weight and thrive for years to come.

      • Charm says:

        Um…….she’s 96.

      • Barbie1 says:

        Hoping she makes it to 101 like her mother did

      • Chrissy says:

        I work in a nursing home. The haircut is pretty typical for 96 I would say. It looks quite thick ! We have a stylist come in a style and set and basically and this is basically the outcome. I love her dress !

      • Feeshalori says:

        I’d always arrange for a hair stylist to come to my elderly mom’s house to cut her hair short when she was no longer mobile. She had thick beautiful white hair too and keeping it shorter helped with managing it better with no fuss. So I can understand why the queen got a shorter cut, but I wonder how she would’ve looked in bangs to soften the style.

    • Honey says:

      Same! Rotfl 😂 😂

  2. prissa says:

    I LOVE it! I’m sure at this point in her life, anything she (or her aides) can do to make grooming easier helps.

    After watching a few YouTube videos, I recently cut my shoulder length hair, by myself in my bathroom mirror. It came out a bit lopsided, but since I wear my hair curly, you can barely notice. I hate feeling hair near my ears or on my shoulders, especially during hot, humid summers. I’m even thinking of cutting more off.

    • Soapboxpudding says:

      Well done! I also have curly hair and can’t stand it on my face or shoulders. I have been cutting it myself for over 2 decades and can confidently say that you will bet better at it. I’ve tried going to a salon a few times but am never happy with their cut, I just know my curls better now than they do. And thankfully curls are pretty forgiving and easily hide any misplaced snips.

      • GR says:

        Same with me – unless my hair is really short it feels like it’s smothering me.
        It’s straight, so it’s easier to see the mistakes, but I started cutting it at home during covid and I love it.

  3. s808 says:

    Time for Harry to do a wellness check.

    • Selene says:

      hahaha this is hilarious! I hate her hair now, in all capitals. HATE.

      • Charm says:

        @Selene
        Thats kinda harsh.

        “From the moment we’re born we begin to die” and the longer we live, the closer we get to death. So just as we would not ridicule or pass judgement on a baby, I believe we owe the same respect to seniors, for many of the same reasons.

        (Dang! You got me here defending betty, for whom I have great contempt as a leader and as a mother & grandmother.)

        Anyhooo, my point is, i doubt she had very much say in the outcome of this cut. It is obvious that the hair has not been cut in a particular style. (And btw, it looks like it was done carelessly.) Its just been cut shorter for convenience because she obviously cant sit (or stand) for any significant period of time, so sitting for hair-and-make-up, for example, is just not viable anymore.

        Its kinda sad and undignified, I believe, for those men-n-grey to keep trotting out this woman in the dubious name of “duty” so the world can watch her degenerate.

  4. Pinkosaurus says:

    I like it! Reminds me of my own gma and also my gma’s little poodle (no shade – the poodle is glamorous), and the color is lovely.

  5. Maeve says:

    No walking stick in these, so maybe it’s literally taken some weight off her!
    She’s got gorgeous hair, I love the silver. Princess Margaret once remarked “my sister is the only person I know who can put on a tiara while coming downstairs” – it’s so thick she could just plonk the tiara on and it would stay put.

    • windyriver says:

      Suspect endurance may be the significant issue, for various reasons (back pain, deconditioning during pandemic, etc). May use a cane for balance security when out, doesn’t need it in home surroundings. My dad is like this. The video clip opening the subway line shows her walking is pretty good, and note she doesn’t use a quad cane or one with a similar bottom attachment.

    • Becks1 says:

      I feel like I saw the walking stick/cane in other pictures from this (placed against the chair or something) or maybe those were different pics from a different event. But in some Windsor pics it is definitely visible.

      • windyriver says:

        The cane/walking stick is likely around, if needed. Maybe she’d use it to walk into another room. But again, if she’s comfortable in her surroundings, she may forgo it for periods of time, especially if there’s seating around. Can’t remember ever seeing my dad use one inside his house, even with his bad back, though he has a couple hanging around on door knobs…

    • Penguin says:

      My grandmother was a similar age to her when she would use a cane for walking anywhere outside, but wouldn’t need it inside the house. It was more a security thing rather than an aid as she would get dizzy and tired very quickly.

  6. Jan90067 says:

    Looks like a frizzed up George Washington wiglet to me 😄

  7. SpankyB says:

    I wonder if she’d more bed-bound and this is more comfortable for her while laying down? It looks cute. She’s always had really good hair, a bit old fashioned but it always looked thick and healthy.

    I just chopped about 8″ off my hair myself, it’s just long enough to pull back into a ponytail. I didn’t do too badly. I mostly wear it in a ponytail so you can’t tell how lopsided it is. It feels so much better without all that weight.

  8. K says:

    Well my Hot Girl summer is brought to me courtesy of my 50 yr old hormones but I too got a haircut yesterday. I will say Queen Liz looks summer ready.

  9. Erica says:

    This is the universal cut they give to women in nursing homes so that no one has to do too much grooming. I have already warned my children that I will have a clause in my will cutting out anyone who gives me the “old lady cut.”

    • Gabby says:

      A lot of times, they bring the cosmetology schools in to nursing homes to give the students practice.

    • Rebecca says:

      Agreed. I thought of my MIL’s cut when I saw QEII’s latest curt. Her last year alive was in memory care, she couldn’t even stay awake during a cut or set/style session. This is the cut she had for that last year, and it was a little easier for us or her caregiver to manage given her condition and age (91 years old).

  10. Dorcas says:

    Is that spongebobs face on the dress

  11. 809Matriarch says:

    She looks awful. Just awful.

    • yvrjanice says:

      And how did your grandparents look at 96? Like supermodels?

      • Becks1 says:

        Her hair looked better 2 weeks ago, so I think saying she looks awful is fair.

        That said, I agree with others that I think this is about making grooming/prepping for events easier.

      • 809Matriarch says:

        My grandparents didn’t live that long. I’m not saying she is unattractive. I’m saying that hairdo is just not as nice looking as her hair has been in the recent past.

    • Gabby says:

      The corner of her forehead looks more gray than the rest of her face. What is going on there?

    • Renae says:

      I thought it was only me that felt she looked terrible.
      That dress! Ugh! I’ve seen better looking dusters!
      Her hair? She’s 96 so that’s the least of her worries.

    • Dutch says:

      It’s tough to judge because she’s worn a hat at most of her more recent public appearances. Her hair was a little longer on the sides in the recent Garter Day pic, but not a ton different.

  12. JennaMaroney says:

    This reminds me of my grandma’s hair towards the end of her life. She lost a lot of it as she aged and while she didn’t like that fact, I always said “better your hair than your mind!” and she would laugh. She stayed sharp til the end! 🙂

  13. Babz says:

    It’s not bad, but the sides need to be trimmed and shaped to balance the back. They remind me of bedraggled pom-poms. Surely her hairdresser can do better than this. Or maybe AK47 got her revenge for Betty supposedly “shouting “ at her during lockdown and cut it this way herself!

  14. girl_ninja says:

    I like it and she looks really nice in these photos. Maybe KKKate will see this as an example and toss those ratty old wiglets. It’s time Keen!

  15. Cachina says:

    She looks like she has a black eye. Why does she look like she is covered with bruises?

    • girl_ninja says:

      The elderly get easily bruised and on someone so fair it’s bound to show up more.

    • Lady D says:

      Both her shins are especially bruised.

    • Beana says:

      I’m guessing that the bruising is from blood thinners. My grandfather was on them at the end of his life – a very light tap on something would create a mass of purple bruises up his hands and arms. And his skin was paper-thin, so if he grazed something it would bleed excessively. The poor man always looked like he’d been in a fight!

      • windyriver says:

        Agree re blood thinners, have seen that with family members. And if she’s developed cardiac issues, her diet may have changed, possibly contributing to weight loss. Didn’t we hear last fall she was cutting out drinking or something? That could account for a lot of calories!

      • Feeshalori says:

        Blood thinners, my mother was on them and she was riddled with bruises.

    • Margaret says:

      Yeah her left eye is looking puffy, does she have a vascular, or bleeding disorder?. No wonder she wears gloves. She does look awful, and dollar to a donut, there is some dementia present. Just a certain look she shares with most dementia patients, imho as a nurse, and daughter of a patient with the disorder.

      • Seraphina says:

        Maybe that’s what it is, @Margaret. Something looks off with Liz lately and it’s unsettling.

      • Carty says:

        Notice a hearing aide in her ear too. Both my folks use em. They make them now so you hardly notice.

      • Nina says:

        Imagine being so bitter that you have to say that a 96 year old woman looks awful

  16. Seraphina says:

    I’m sorry but these pictures – all they do is drive home how frail she is. It’s quite sad. Like when you visit an aunt, whom you haven’t seen in years and are shocked at the steep decline. And pair that with the idea she is still QoE, just wow. Time to let it go—–
    On a sidenote, my hot girl summer hairstyle is embracing the waves and working with them – even though they work against me.

    • Melissa says:

      That’s it. It’s shocking to see her looking so frail, because I haven’t seen a recent photo before this. It’s like she got officially old overnight.

  17. Chaine says:

    It looks terrible but she is 96, hard to make hair look nice at that age. I guess she should just consider herself lucky that she still has any. Noticed she doesn’t hardly ever seem to look at the camera or smile any more even when the photos are meant to be face on. Instead she is gazing off to the side with an odd expression. This reminds me of what happened to a family member with dementia. At a certain point in the timeline of family photos you can see where she stopped looking at the camera and always seemed to have an off kilter facial expression.

  18. tamsin says:

    Just got a kick out of seeing Trumpe’st and Granny’s pictures side by side at the moment on the site.

  19. Amy Bee says:

    Are we sure that’s not a wig the Queen’s wearing?

  20. VegasSchmegas says:

    She looks like she’s wearing a barrister wig.

  21. Brassy Rebel says:

    Not sure it’s easier to style since it still requires curling or setting. But, for 96, she has a damn good head of hair. Her ears should be covered though. Charles didn’t just get his ears from Philip. It was clearly a joint venture.

  22. AA says:

    It makes me sad how frail she looks just since Philip died. I hope she’s not suffering. She’s 96, she can do whatever she wants to her hair. My grandma had hair like that (snow white) and wore it similarly. (I actually think she and my grandma are the same age but my grandma’s been gone a while now.)

  23. Cee says:

    I also got a haircut yesterday. My curls now sit just below my shoulders and I feel weird.
    I got so used to TQ’s hair that not it just looks like a Civil War cosplay.

  24. olliesmom says:

    My first thought is that the shorter hair is/will be easier for her caretakers to manage when they have to wash it for her in a basin.

  25. JanetDR says:

    I don’t like it. It’s too poufy to be that short. I think short pixie cuts can look great on elderly women but you need an excellent cut if your hair isn’t straight. My mom really rocked her pixie after she went shorter in her late 80s (she passed at 92).

    • Saucy&Sassy says:

      JanetDR, I think the mistake they made was keeping the front as much like the old style as possible. Doesn’t really work here. I would love to see TQ with a pixie.

  26. Emmitt says:

    The Queen may have experience hair loss after Covid. It’s a common side effect.

  27. Laura D says:

    Sorry but, I think she looks terrible. Even taking on board that the haircut will be easier for her to manage, that dress doesn’t hang right on her. I’m surprised her dresser didn’t carry out a few discrete tucks before letting her wear it.

    Also, Covid has not gone away (in fact it’s on the rise); yet there she is shaking hands without gloves. I hope there was plenty of hand gel around so she could protect herself. It doesn’t matter that she is TQ I would be this cautious about any 96 year old woman who has recently recovered from a bout of Covid.

    • NotSoSocialB says:

      Shaking hands in the era of covid isn’t the issue… it’s being in close proximity without a proper mask that is.

    • Laura D says:

      Sorry folks just to be clear I don’t mean she looks terrible in a fashion sense as far as I’m concerned she’s dressed “age appropriate”. I meant she looks ill. It’s her eyes, even allowing for her age they don’t look clear and bright but, totally washed out.

      I do agree with all the posters who say that at her age she shouldn’t have to worry about fashion but, I stand by what I said about her dress. This is TQ and someone could have made sure the dress was tailored to fit in the right places.

  28. Lisa says:

    sometimes I think people have unreasonable expectations of what 96 is. my mom is 90 and I have aunts in their 100s. I think she looks really good esp compared to the ladies I see in my mom’s and aunts’ care homes.

    • Dara says:

      Same. My mom’s dementia finally got the best of her late last year, when she was 88. She hadn’t looked as good (physically and mentally) as ol’ Liz does here for several years prior to her death.

  29. KBeth says:

    I think she looks nice.

    • Julia K says:

      Ditto. She looks good in bright colors . My , she is starting to resemble Princess Margaret. ( being sisters probably explains it).

  30. tuille says:

    I don’t like the new ‘do & that dress is a bad color on her. Who’s the style maven next to her? Probably the one who picked that bright yellow, thinking a cheery “sunshine” color is flattering on everyone. Wrong.

  31. LRob says:

    the styling on this day is not great but the shorter hair is fine.

  32. Mrs. CP says:

    I think she looks amazing, she is 96!

    • KBeth says:

      Seriously!
      People criticizing the appearance of a 96 year old woman…absurd.

      • SuzeQ says:

        She’s not an average 96-year-old; it’s not like the commenters here are discussing Betty Smith at the local nursing home. She’s a pampered monarch in pearls.
        I love short hair but that’s just not a good cut. That said, no one her age should have to deal with having her hair set so whatevs.

  33. pocket litter says:

    Oh dear. Looks like she was stuck with the newest girl at Great Clips. Absolute disaster of a haircut. I feel for her.

  34. TuxedoGeorge says:

    Honestly this looks like a body double to me. Something looks so off.

  35. Petal says:

    You guys! She’s literally back in the saddle which has always been her happy place, and has ditched the walking stick! I hope this means she decided to quit doctor’s orders to quit the booze. THAT is when she really went downhill. Now, if only she can gain some weight and get the royal rack back. She always had big boobs and the lack of them is a huge contributor to her looking frail.

    Maybe the photo of her haircut was actually a case of scarf hair?

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10948075/Queen-riding-horse-ditching-walking-stick-despite-mobility-problems.html

  36. Margaret says:

    She is definitely looking her age. My guess is she is no longer having a perm and has had a cut, and what is left is less curly and harder to set and style without having the perm. Maybe she was in pain during the last appointment and couldn’t take a long session in curlers under the dryer.

  37. yellowy says:

    It seems uneven somehow but it’s a less heavy cut. I’m all things considers it’s not bad.