Prince's purple is now an official colour called Love Symbol #2

Prince's shade of purple has been recognised as an official colour in a tribute to the late American singer.

The international Pantone Institute has teamed up with the star's estate to "pay tribute to his indelible mark on music, art, fashion and culture", and celebrate the unique shade of purple of his famous Yamaha piano.

The new colour will be called Love Symbol #2 - a reference to the musician's famous love symbol which he invented, trademarked and even changed his name to.

In 1993, Prince was embroiled in a feud with his record label Warner Bros, and decided to change his name to break the contract.

He changed it to the symbol which had been the title of his previous album, and he then became known to the media as "the artist formerly known as Prince".

By then, the colour purple had already become a distinguishable mark of the singer, after his 1984 album Purple Rain won him an Academy Award, seven Grammys and a Golden Globe.

"The colour purple was synonymous with who Prince was and will always be," his estate said.

"This is an incredible way for his legacy to live on forever."

Known to many as the "purple one", Prince was offered a purple piano by Yamaha for him to play on his tour just before he died, in April 2016.
The new shade of purple has been replicated from the colour of the piano, and will be from now on used in all Prince-related material published by his estate.

"We are honoured to have worked on the development of Love Symbol #2, a distinctive new purple shade created in memory of Prince, the purple one," the Pantone colour institute said in a statement.

It added: "A musical icon known for his artistic brilliance, Love Symbol #2 is emblematic of Prince's distinctive style.

"Long associated with the purple family, Love Symbol #2 enables Prince's unique purple shade to be consistently replicated and maintain the same iconic status as the man himself."