Members of the Royal Family are always scrutanised for what they wear. Though we tend to think that scrutiny only applies to the women, the men are also very much looked at. However, when it comes to them, commentary usually focuses on their uniforms and the little details that they add. For instance, in June 2023, royal watchers were delighted to see Prince William’s discreet yet significant homageto both his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, and his father, King Charles III, on his uniform.
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What happened in June 2023 during the preparation for Trooping the Colour wasn’t the first time Prince William was in the spotlight concerning his uniform. Back in 2011 when he married Kate Middleton, in what many consider to be the wedding of the century, the heir to the throne’s red military uniform accompanied his bride’s perfect dress creating timeless images of a modern fairytale.
However, now, more than ten years later a new picture taken on their wedding day reveals the Prince may not have wanted to wear his now iconic outfit.
Prince William’s wedding uniform
On 29 April 2011, Prince William married Kate Middleton, a commoner, at Westminster Abbey in London. The wedding was one of the most awaited events of the year as the two had been dating for around 10 years at that point.
When the day came, many conversations focused on what Middleton’s dress would look like. On the day itself however, though Kate’s dress wowed everyone, and, as usual, Prince William’s outfit was relayed to the background. For his wedding the prince wore his Scarlet Tunic of the Colonel of the Irish Guard, a rank he had been appointed to prior to his wedding.
The lack of coverage the uniform received was a real shame because the uniform was special – it had been specially designed for the event with specific technology. Express explains that the outfit was ‘made of heat-absorbing material [...] so that [Prince William] didn't faint in the abbey.’ The Irish Guards uniform was crafted by military tailors Kashket and Partners who, talking to the Daily Mail, stated:
We worked together to get the look he [Prince William] wanted, while making sure he didn't pass out in front of two billion people. We added micro sweat pads under the arms and used less padding.
Not the outfit Prince William wanted to wear
Prince William’s uniform becomes even more interesting and significant when you find out that it wasn’t the one he initially wanted to wear. Indeed, the heir to the throne himself has mentioned that he had ‘several conversations’ with his grandmother, then-Queen Elizabeth II, about it.
According to a report by MailOnline Prince William said:
I wanted to decide what to wear for the wedding. I was given a categorical: 'No, you’ll wear this!
It is understood that Prince William wanted to wear his Irish Guards frock coat – which Prince Harry got to wear at his own wedding.
Prince William found a way to get what he wanted
On the 13 year anniversary of the Prince and Princess of Wales Kensington Palace shared a previously unseen picture. The formal portrait was taken on the couple’s wedding day. However, as excited as people were to get a new picture of the two, many observers pointed out that there is something different about it.
Offering an analysis on the portrait is TikTok royal expert @matta_of_fact. In her video, posted after the picture was shared on Instagram by the Palace, the royal watcher explains that the timing of when the picture was taken is particularly of interest.
Indeed though we have seen Prince William in the uniform before – namely when he and Kate drove off from Buckingham Palace – the expert points out that the uniform was worn at a very specific time. This would mean that the picture shared by Kensington Palace was taken after the ceremony and official portraits were taken ‘but before the evening reception that was held for them at Clarence House’.
The content creator continues her analysis and refers back to what Prince Harry wrote in Spare about William’s wedding uniform. The youngest of the brothers said that William was ‘glum’ at ‘having his autonomy taken from him on such an occasion’.
However, we now know that Prince William eventually got his wish and wore the uniform he wanted to in the first place and that he insisted on having it for official portraits. Finally, this uniform was clearly just worn for photographs and at the heir’s insistence because at the Clarence House reception Prince William wore a tuxedo. He therefore had 3 outfits for his wedding day.
That being said, the whole uniform debacle around Prince William did later on create some animosity in the Royal Family. Indeed, Prince Harry wrote that his brother was ‘livid’ by the fact that Harry was allowed to wear both the uniform he wanted and his beard on his wedding day when both were denied to him.
Did you know this tidbit of information about Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding day?
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Sources:
Daily Record: ‘Prince William makes small yet touching change to uniform before Trooping the Colour’
Express: Prince William could not wear outfit he wanted on wedding day - 'just do as you're told!'
