Royal blue is both a bright shade and a dark shade of azure blue. It is said to have been created by millers in Rode, Somerset, a consortium of which won a competition to make a dress for Queen Charlotte, consort of King George III.
Traditionally, dictionaries define royal blue as a deep to dark blue, often with a purple or faint reddish tinge. Oxford English Dictionary defines it as "deep vivid blue".
By the 1950s, many people began to think of royal blue as a brighter color, and it is this brighter color that was chosen as the web color "royal blue" (the web colors when they were formulated in 1987 were originally known as the X11 colors). The World Wide Web Consortium designated the keyword "royalblue" to be this much brighter color, rather than the traditional darker version of royal blue.
Queen blue is a medium tone of royal blue.
The first recorded use of queen blue as a color name in English was in 1926. Before that, since 1661, this color had been called queen’s blue.
Auto racing
In auto racing, royal blue (called "imperial blue") is the traditional color of Ford and Carroll Shelby, and for 2012, the primary livery for Hendrick Motorsports' #48 sponsored by Lowe's.
Flags
Royal blue is an official color used in the flags of American Samoa, Cayman Islands, the European Union, Galicia, Georgia, Israel, New Zealand, Philippines, Texas, Tuvalu, and the United Kingdom.
The flag of the Philippines use royal blue on the top of the scarlet and white part.
Ink
Royal blue is a traditional color of writing ink, employed by many fountain pens, ballpoint pens and ink cartridges.
Music
"Royal Blue" is the title of a song by the Cold War Kids.
"Royal Blue" is the title of a song by Rudy Currence.
Politics
Traditional royal blue was the color of the federal Canadian Progressive Conservative Party (no longer in existence).
School colors
Royal blue is one of two school colors (the other being white) of the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
Royal blue is one of two school colors (the other being white) of Phillips Academy Andover.
Royal blue is one of three colors used by Santugon sa Tawag ng Panahon, in De La Salle University, which represents Marian devotion.
Royal blue is one of two colors used by Christopher Newport University.
Royal blue is one of two colors used in the logo of Paco Catholic School.
Royal blue is one of two colors (the other being gold) of Kilwinning Academy, Scotland, UK.
Royal blue is the main color of Dulwich College in London, UK.
Royal blue is the traditional school color of Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea.
Royal blue is the main color of the University of Delaware Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team.
Royal blue is one of the colors of three National Pan-Hellenic Council organizations: Phi Beta Sigma, its sister sorority Zeta Phi Beta and Sigma Gamma Rho; the Asian American interest fraternity, Lambda Phi Epsilon; the Latin sorority Hermandad de Sigma Iota Alpha; the multicultural sorority Lambda Tau Omega; and the national service fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega.
The Royal Blues are the marching band of Rocky Hill High School in Rocky Hill, Connecticut.
Royal blue is one of two colors used by Claret School of Quezon Citywith fiery red.
Royal blue is one of the two colors of Woodleigh School, North Yorkshire.
Royal blue is one of the three colors of Mbarara University of Science and Technology in Uganda.
Royal blue is the color of the Science Agriculture and Engineering faculty of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Royal blue is the main color of Oyster River High School, New Hampshire, USA.
Royal blue is one of three school colors for Wells International School in Bangkok, Thailand.
Royal blue is one of two school colors for Kelso High School in Kelso, Washington.
Royal blue is one of two school colors for Atwater High School in Atwater, California.
Royal blue is one of three school colors for Mashpee High School in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Royal blue is the main school color of Hatton High School, Town Creek, Alabama.
Royal blue is one of two school colors for Brewer High School in Fort Worth, Texas.
Royal blue and silver are the colors of Taft High School in Chicago.
Royal blue and white are the colors of River East Collegiate in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Royal blue and white are the colors of Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, the oldest historically black institution of higher education in America.
Sports
In baseball, royal blue is the dominant color for the Kansas City Royals and the Chicago Cubs.
In association football, royal blue is the traditional shirt color or main club color of the Italy national football team, Birmingham City F.C., Leicester City F.C., Lugarno FC, Chelsea F.C., Everton F.C., Seattle Reign FC, Portsmouth F.C., Reading F.C. (Nicknamed "The Royals"), Wealdstone F.C. (also nicknamed "The Royals") and Rangers F.C. Die Königsblauen ("The Royal Blues") is the nickname of German football team Schalke 04. It is also the traditional color kit of Universidad de Chile.
Royal blue and white are the colors of the North Melbourne AFL team, and have been used by the club since their inception in 1869.
In American football, The National Football League's Buffalo Bills and New York Giants have royal blue and red as their colors, while royal blue and white are the listed colors of the Indianapolis Colts.
In hockey, royal blue is the main color of the National Hockey League's New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs and St. Louis Blues; royal blue, orange and white are the team colors of the Edmonton Oilers.
In basketball, the National Basketball Association's Dallas Mavericks debuted with royal blue road jerseys at the start of the 2010–11 season. They went on to win their first ever NBA Championship in 2011. Royal blue is one of the team's primary colors.
Computers
All versions of Microsoft Windows from Windows 3.1 through Windows 8 featured royal blue as the background color for the Blue Screen of Death.
Transport
The Royal Blue was the name of a Baltimore and Ohio Railroad train.
Royal Blue was the name of a major operator of coach services in the south and west of England from 1880 to 1986.
Uniforms
When, in 2008, the United States Transportation Security Administration changed the color of airport screener uniforms from white to royal blue, they found that it made the work of the airport screeners easier because airline passengers became more compliant, apparently because by wearing blue, the airport screeners came to be perceived more as authority figures.
Royal blue is the facing color of the mess dress for Le Régiment de Hull. It also appears as one of the three regimental colors, along with argent and or.
