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Some royal fans were disappointed to see Prince William swerving the traditional Order of the Garter garb when he attended the Diplomatic Corps reception in the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace this week. His father, King Charles, went with the full “knee socks and embroidered garter” Court Dress, but William cut a slightly more modern figure.
On the Palace Confidential podcast this week, the Daily Mail’s royal expert Richard Eden explained: “William was at the event but he opted for white tie and just regular trousers – so a bit of a disappointment really. It would be great to see him in those silk stockings and breeches.”
While the Prince of Wales has been seen in the traditional knee-britches in the past, Richard says, he looked distinctly “uncomfortable,” and this latest outing could be a sign that he’s ready to dispense with that particular part of royal tradition.
(Image: Getty Images)
According to Richard, the “dressing-up is an essential part of royalty,” and he claims that Kate Middleton loves it too.
The expert added: “You can always see her sort of teasing and giggling at him – particularly when it’s the Order of the Garter ceremony where he has to wear all the velvet robes and the feathers, that’s always fun.”
He added that the costume was “essential” to the tradition of royalty: “I think it needs to be made clear to him that you know if he is going to be king he’s he’s got to get those breeches on.”
However, Richard’s colleague Charlotte Griffiths pointed out that while William wore the archaic costume as a concession to his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, “things have to move on.”
(Image: Getty Images)
Charlotte explains: “Having grown up with William all my life, I just can’t imagine him walking around in tights and shiny shoes – it’s just crazy. This is a guy that doesn’t wear a kilt. He looks very uncomfortable when he does wear this traditional stuff.
“Even now, while he still wears the big feathery plume and you can just see him rolling his eyes… he’s a modern man it’s a modern monarchy and it’s he shouldn’t be wearing tights at the age of 43.”
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The prince has spoken more and more about his ambitions to modernise the monarchy. At an event to mark the fourth annual edition of his Earthshot environmental prize, he said: “I can only describe what I’m trying to do, and … I’m trying to do it differently and I’m trying to do it for my generation.”
He added that in the future he’d be “doing it with maybe a smaller ‘r’ in the Royal.” And part of that, it seems, will be losing the silk stockings.
