He has donned plumes of ostrich feathers, embraced bows and ribbons and even worn a cap with an embroidered leek.
Such are the elaborate sartorial demands on the Prince of Wales, who away from royal and military ceremonials tends to be a blue-shirt-and-chinos man.
So what has Prince William got against kilts?
It’s something royal observers are asking of a man who has inherited the Scottish titles of the Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles and Prince & Great Steward of Scotland. Not to mention he’s the heir to the throne of Scotland.
Yet he has not been seen in public in Scotland in traditional Highland attire since he was a child, a fact that has not gone unnoticed by his father’s Scottish tailor John Sugden, owner of Campbell’s of Beauly and holder of a royal warrant.
“We would be delighted to make a kilt and jacket for the Prince of Wales. It would keep up a tradition and, especially being Lord of the Isles, it would be a perfect vehicle to popularise the traditional Highland dress – particularly to a younger generation,” he has said.
“It is curious that William has not worn the kilt as an adult, though he may have done so in private,” said Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine.
William is not often photographed in the Highlands. “Sightings of him in rural Scotland are rare. But wearing a kilt in an urban setting at least once would silence his critics. Others, of course, would see it as a PR stunt,” added Little.
No reason for the royal’s reluctance has been made public. Wearing a kilt is optional, unlike the vestments and accoutrements of the Order of the Garter in which he is seen: midnight-blue velvet cape, red velvet hood, white taffeta, a black bonnet sprouting plumes of white ostrich and black heron feathers and a garter around the left calf.
The tartan kilt, jacket, sporran (a dangling fur or leather pouch) and sgian dubh dagger, is a much-treasured part of Scotland’s heritage, and is worn with pride at many a Scottish wedding.
For his wedding. William chose the ceremonial uniform of the Irish guards. For his father’s coronation, there were white bows and ribbons, yards of heavy gold braid and the aforementioned leek hat as he turned out in the ceremonial dress uniform of the Welsh guards, of which he is colonel.
At his graduation from the University of St Andrews, when he had the option of wearing a kilt, he plumped instead for a white bow tie and black silk academic gown with cherry-red lining.
By contrast, his father embraced the kilt enthusiastically. And his grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, was regularly attired in tartan as soon as she crossed the border. The Braemar Gathering often saw her wrapped up against the Highland chill in a tartan blanket.
Balmoral Castle was a temple to tartan with its tartan carpets. The Balmoral tartan, worn by the royals, was said to have been designed by Prince Albert for Queen Victoria in 1853. The queen was wearing a skirt of Balmoral tartan on her last public appearance before her death.
King Charles has an extensive wardrobe of kilts, jackets, sporrans and socks, and takes every opportunity to show them off while in Scotland. He is, it seems, very particular. Two years ago, he ordered an outfit from Campbell’s of Beauly, insisting that every inch of material used was sourced from Scotland, including the stag-horn buttons.
Sugden told the Times recently that Charles was “very open and fastidious and passionate about craft. He was particular that the buttons had to be Scottish stag horn. He does care about the detail. It really matters to him that he promotes British crafts, even with the smallest of things.”
