COMMENT: When King Charles arrives in Scotland the beautifully tailored suits are cast aside in favour of the kilt – much to journalist Mel Fallowfield’s delight.
King Charles loves to wear one of the five different kinds of tartan he owns when he’s in Scotland (Image: Getty)
There’s an old saying, coined by Shakespeare – ‘clothes maketh the man’ and it springs to mind every time I see King Charles during the summer.
As he moves north to spend August in the highlands of Scotland, he sports a kilt and in my opinion it transforms him into something of a heart throb.
I always think that in a suit, if he wasn’t surrounded by bodyguards and cheering crowds, he could easily fade into the background. He’d be just another well dressed man of 75 – they’re two a penny.
But as he dons his kilt he seems to take on a new persona.
→ Swipe to see more articles
A relaxed and happy version of himself and someone who’d stand out in a crowd, irrespective of his royal status and that is immensely attractive.
I’m not a monarchist as such – I struggle with the immense wealth and privilege they enjoy while so many have so little – but I like most of the individual Royals (not Harry and Meghan but I’m sure that won’t give them sleepless nights).
I suspect Queen Camilla would be a hilarious companion over a couple of gin and tonics. I also think she wouldn’t mind if I confessed that when her husband sports his kilt I get a little hot under the collar.
There’s something about clothes that can change a man in an instant. For example I’ve always fancied Marcus Wareing – but only in his chef’s whites.
In ordinary clothes he’s distinctly unremarkable. I had to turn off his recent series, ‘Tales from a Kitchen Garden’ lest my crush disappeared.
On paper a man in a ‘skirt’ shouldn’t be the epitome of macho. But in my mind while Sean Connery looked suave and sophisticated as James Bond, he was never more masculine than when he wore a kilt.
As he once said, “A man in a kilt is a man and a half”. And who could forget the rugged intensity of Mel Gibson in a full kilt in Braveheart.
And King Charles wears his exceptionally well – it is of course as beautifully tailored as his suits. It hangs to exactly the right length – mid knee – and he teams it with immaculate hose, giving us a mere tantalising glimpse of the royal knee.
He looks elegant and yet has a twinkle in his eye.
Mel Fallowfield likes it when King Charles shows off his knees in a kilt (Image: Getty)
He also looks immensely comfortable and we know he likes wearing them, he once said, “The kilt is a garment that is both traditional and timeless.”
It’s also a symbol of strength and bravery, qualities that King Charles definitely possesses, for all his privilege he’s not exactly having an easy time of late. And yet he’s soldiering on.
I asked an old friend of mine, who’s entitled to wear a kilt, about why the King might look so at ease while wearing one. He told me that they’re astonishingly comfortable and cosy, he added that it’s fun to wear something different and mentioned the feeling of patriotism and tradition that it engendered.
I suspect it’s also something to do with the fact that King Charles loves Scotland, he adores nature and it gives him much needed family time
Happily I’m not alone in my penchant for liking King Charles in his Scottish garb. One girl friend of mine told me, “He looks great, I like seeing him in more colourful clothes.”
Though I’m yet to find someone who agrees his hands are attractive and he doesn’t have ‘sausage fingers’.
I like to imagine him browsing through his kilt collection deciding which one he fancies wearing – there are five tartans he’s entitled to don – and then matching it with a suitable sporran.
I’ve always thought he was a bit of a dandy at heart and that he can indulge this when in the Highlands, paying attention to every detail of his outfit.
King Charles loves to show off his legs in a kilt when he holidays in Scotland (Image: Getty)
I recently read that Prince William ‘hates’ kilts and has no intention of following in his father’s footsteps. It may be for prosaic reasons – perhaps he’s got knobbly knees. But it goes some way to confirming my suspicions that he’s a tad dull.
I’ve always thought Charles is interesting, I like his eccentricities, the handwritten notes, talking to his plants and his love of red squirrels. The fact that he reportedly only likes round ice ‘cubes’ and even travels with a suitable tray to make them makes me chuckle.
I refuse to believe the rumours that he gets a lackey to iron his shoelaces, that’s a step too far.
I wouldn’t be so crude as to speculate whether he sticks to tradition and goes commando underneath or whether the crown jewels are covered, ahem. But I would like to know what he keeps in his sporran…..perhaps a pen that doesn’t leak…
