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The queen of Spain joins growing trend of women embracing their gray hair

Queen Letizia of Spain showed off her gray roots during a visit to Stockholm.
Day 1 - Spanish Royals Visit Sweden
The queen is joining a growing number of women who have begun to embrace their gray hair during the pandemic. Michael Campanella / Getty Images
/ Source: TODAY

Even royals are relaxing their hair-coloring routine.

Throughout the pandemic, many women have been inspired to embrace their natural roots as they spent more time at home. Now, Queen Letizia of Spain seems to be getting in on the growing movement.

During the royal's recent state visit in Stockholm, eagle-eyed onlookers spotted that she was letting her natural gray grow out, and it was certainly a refreshing sight.

Day 1 - Spanish Royals Visit Sweden
Gray hair on a royal? So refreshing!Michael Campanella / Getty Images

It wasn't immediately obvious that the queen was sporting a new look since she started the day wearing a vibrant red headband with feathered detailing.

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The royal opted for some warm and toasty outerwear.Duygu Getrien / TT News Agency / AFP via Getty Images

The stylish royal coordinated her ensemble with a matching tan coat and heels.

Day 1 - Spanish Royals Visit Sweden
The queen's matching game is strong.Michael Campanella / Getty Images

Underneath the coat, the 49-year-old donned a striking red midi dress with voluminous sleeves.

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Those sleeves are everything.Claudio Bresciani / TT News Agency / AFP via Getty Images

While leaving a local museum, the queen ditched her bold headband and showed off a few subtle strands of gray.

Day 1 - Spanish Royals Visit Sweden
Queen Letizia of Spain looked stunning during the royal visit. Michael Campanella / Getty Images

Queen Letizia isn't the first royal to show off her gray roots. In 2018, a stray gray hair on Meghan Markle's head went viral as the then-36-year-old was preparing to wed Prince Harry.

Most people had a "so what?" reaction and that seems to be the attitude with more and more women realizing that gray hair can be beautiful.

We've seen plenty of celebrities publicly embrace their natural roots over the past year, including Andie MacDowell, who called herself a "silver fox" during a February appearance on "The Drew Barrymore Show."

The 63-year-old actor said her daughters inspired her to ditch the dye when they said her roots "looked badass."

"So I went for it, and I'm loving it," she said.

The star also said she likes to think of the color as a sexy silver instead of gray.

"It’s not that I’m letting myself go. I don’t think of it that way," she said.

In February, "Mom" star Allison Janney described her new gray strands as her "most authentic" look yet during an interview with Ellen DeGeneres.

"I was in Ohio for most of 2020," she said. "I started ... a big, healthy few inches of gray roots came in and I just decided I wanted to be free from hair color and hair extensions."

In April 2020, Tia and Tamera Mowry both showed off hints of gray in their makeup-free quarantine selfies. Tia even revealed that she thinks of aging as a "blessing.

"Grey hairs are signs of wisdom," she wrote in her post. "Wrinkles are signs that you've laughed."

Guys have also embraced the trend over the past year, including Johnny Knoxville and Kevin Hart, who said he was taking advantage of a break from work to give his hair color routine a rest.

"Gray hair in the beard? Gray hair up top, on the sides? ... Giving you full ‘distinguished gentleman’ out here, man. Embrace it, don’t run from it!" he said on Instagram in March 2020.