Sophie Duchess of Edinburgh, 61, gets incredible bob hair transformation – and it chops years off

Prepare your best curtsy because the bob has received royal approval! Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, has just unveiled the season’s most surprising hair transformation, swapping her flowing blonde hair for a much sharper and shorter cut. At 61, she looks incredible with her modern makeover, which lops off years as well as length.

The popular royal has chopped a good four inches off the style she’s had since 2011 – and it’s fair to say she’s trimmed a decade off her look. The fashionable new style bounces up beautifully from her shoulders, adding a real modern edge and energy.

Sophie’s style also showcases the real joy of the bob for mature women: its volume-boosting, anti-ageing magic. By losing the drag-down effect of longer lengths, Sophie’s bob adds immediate youthful fullness to her naturally fine hair.

Mark Cuthbert

Sophie looked sensational with her bob makeover

Mark Cuthbert

The new hair adds instant volume

The soft, bevelled shape also skims around her jawbone for an immediate contouring effect, which is so flattering on Sophie in her 60s. Her hair also appeared subtly lighter and brighter, too, adding to her general luminosity.

The Duchess debuted her new look today at the Groundswell Regenerative Agriculture Festival at Lannock Farm, in a real ‘pinch, punch, first day of the month’ moment.

She paired the chic new style with a silk blouse, scooped at the back to really show off her new look. Her makeup was kept minimal, leaving her hair to take all the glory. Quite right, too.

Mark Cuthbert

The Duchess paired her bob with neutral, glowy makeup

Mark Cuthbert

The bob was part of an laid-back but elegant look

While we can’t pretend we saw this makeover coming, perhaps it’s not quite as surprising as it seems on the face of it. We’ve already noted the Duchess embracing current beauty trends, from deconstructed updos to blurred-out skin. And like everyone else, Sophie can’t have failed to notice the hordes of famous older women looking astonishingly refreshed after joining the bob brigade.

Mark Cuthbert

Sophie previoiusly had a bob back in 2011

Everyone from Pamela Anderson and Katie Holmes to Sophie Ellis Bextor and (briefly!) Demi Moore has been complimented on their looks after getting a bob – and we’d bet that a couple of them were on Sophie’s moodboard ahead of her salon appointment.

Whatever next – the Princess of Wales getting a Scandi bob? Kate, we’re here for it all.