Royal blue

Royal blue describes both a bright shade and a dark range of blue. It is said to have been invented by millers in Rode, Somerset, a consortium of which won a competition to make a dress for the British queen, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Traditionally, dictionaries define royal blue as a deep to dark blue, often with a purple or faint reddish tinge.

By the mid-20th century, with the availability of brighter dyes, most people, especially in the United States, began to think of royal blue as a brighter color, and it was this brighter color that was chosen as the web color royal blue. The World Wide Web Consortium has designated the keyword "royalblue" to be this much brighter color, rather than the traditional darker variant that is often regarded as royal blue by older residents of the United Kingdom.

Royal blue in culture

Religion

• Royal blue is the color of royalty to welcome the coming of a king. In Christian art, royal blue can also symbolize the night sky in which the star appeared to the Three Wise Men to announce the birth of Jesus. This shade of blue is primarily used during the season of Advent in most Anglican and Lutheran denominations.

Schools

• Royal Blue is one of two colors used by Christopher Newport University
• Royal blue is one of two colors used by Hempfield Area High School.
• Royal blue is one of three colors used by McKinley Senior High School
• Royal blue is one of two colors used by Christopher Columbus High School (Miami, Florida).
• 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.»Yonsei University
• Royal blue is the main color of the University of Delaware Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team. »Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens Information
• Royal blue is one of the colors of three National Pan-Hellenic Council organizations: Phi Beta Sigma,»Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity its sister sorority Zeta Phi Beta» Zeta Phi Beta Fraternity and Sigma Gamma Rho;»Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority the Asian American interest fraternity, Lambda Phi Epsilon;»Lambda Phi Epsilon Fraternity the Latin sorority Hermandad de Sigma Iota Alpha; and the multicultural sorority Lambda Tau Omega.»Hermandad de Sigma Iota Alpha Sorority
• The Royal Blues are the marching band of Rocky Hill High School in Rocky Hill, Connecticut.»The Rocky Hill Royal Blues

Sports

• In baseball, royal blue is the dominant color for the Kansas City Royals.»Kansas City Royals Kit
• In football (soccer), royal blue is the traditional shirt color and/or main club color of Birmingham City F.C.»Birmingham City F.C. Home, Chelsea F.C., Everton F.C.»Everton F.C. News Story Stating "Royal Blue, Portsmouth F.C.»Portsmouth F.C., Rangers F.C.[http://www.rangers.premiumtv.co.uk/page/TheShirt/0,,5,00.html Rangers Kit Through The Years] Royal blue and white are the traditional colors of the North Melbourne AFL team.»North Melbourne FC Information "Die Königsblauen" ("The Royal Blues") is the nickname of German football team Schalke 04.»FC Schalke Shirt Information
• In American football, The National Football League's New York Giants have royal blue and red as their colors, while royal blue and white are the listed colors of the Indianapolis Colts.»Indianapolis Colts
• In hockey, royal blue is the main color of the National Hockey League's Toronto Maple Leafs and St. Louis Blues; royal blue, orange and white are the team colors of the Edmonton Oilers.

Transport

• The Royal Blue was the name of a Baltimore and Ohio Railroad train.»The Royal Blue Express» Picture of American Flyer model train--a royal blue colored art deco streamlined 1930's Royal Blue Express B & O steam locomotive:
• Royal Blue was the name of a major operator of coach services in the south and west of England from 1880 to 1986.»Royal Blue Gallery

Vexillology

• Royal blue is the official color used in the flags of the United States of America, American Samoa, Australia, Cayman Islands, Confederate, Georgia, Hawaii, Israel, New Zealand,»Description of the New Zealand Flag - Ministry for Culture and Heritage Norway, Philippines, Texas, Tuvalu and the United Kingdom.
• The background of the flag of the European Union is a medium shade of royal blue.

See also

• List of colors
• Tyrian purple

References