BigPurplePhone - Purples Origin as a Royal Colour

October 29, 2026

Purple Dye Murex
(Bolinus brandaris)
from inaturalist.org

The origins of purple as a royal colour trace back to ancient times, particularly the production of Tyrian purple, a dye made from the mucus of the edible Bolinus brandaris sea snail. This dye was extremely rare and costly, making it a symbol of wealth and status. Although their secretion is originally colourless, it turns into a powerful and lasting purple dye when exposed to air.

Tyrian purple was first produced in ancient Phoenicia (modern coastal Lebanon) around 3,500 years ago and was used by various cultures, including the Persians, Romans, and Byzantines (a Mediterranean coastal Eastern Roman Empire from 5 ^th to 15 ^th Century AD), who wore it to signify their nobility and authority.

The dye's production involved extensive labour, with only a few snails yielding enough dye for a small amount of fabric, reinforcing its exclusivity and association with royalty. It took 10,000 snails to make 1gram of dye and hence it was much more valuable than gold.

Egyptians prized purple as a colour embodying divine power and the afterlife. There are traces of purple in tomb decorations and royal garments, signifying eternal life and spiritual authority. Mesopotamian (roughly modern Iraq) rulers wore purple to represent their link to the gods and cosmic order, showing you how colour reinforced their sacred right to rule. The difficulty of producing purple dye, from shellfish or minerals, made it a symbol of rarity and mystical energy, qualities that rulers wanted to project. Over time, purple became a colour reserved for the elite, with laws regulating its use, such as the Roman law that prohibited commoners from wearing purple clothing.

British State Robe from Coronation Dress Code

The British monarchy uses rich purple velvet in coronation robe (as worn by King George VI, Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles) and other state garments, linking monarchs to an ancient lineage of rulers. Today, purple is often associated with luxury and prestige, reflecting its long-standing history as a royal colour. The British monarchy uses rich purple velvet in coronation robe (as worn by King George VI, Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles) and other state garments, linking monarchs to an ancient lineage of rulers. Today, purple is often associated with luxury and prestige, reflecting its long-standing history as a royal colour.

BigPurplePhone Talk&Text

BigPurplePhone SilverFox

In the case of BigPurplePhone, we hold your Loved Ones is high regard and adopted purple as exemplifying luxury and power. A BigPurplePhone delivers control into the hands of their users – simply and comfortably.

By the way, although purple is nature’s rarest colour, several purple animals do exist.