Prince William has skipped one thing his father, King Charles, has done several times. He has never been publicly seen wearing a kilt in Scotland as an adult. Royal expert Phil Dampier said there’s a simple reason behind it.
“He doesn’t want to and has never been seen wearing a kilt in Scotland, whereas King Charles will don a kilt at the drop of a hat,” Dampier told the Daily Mail. Dampier also noted that William tends to stick to his choices. “If he doesn’t want to wear a kilt, he won’t,” he said.
William’s recent visit to Scotland showed the difference again. On September 12, William and Kate Middleton visited the Isle of Bute. There, he wore an olive-green jacket, a brown sweater, navy trousers, and brown boots.
Again, there was no kilt. He also visited Bute Shinty Club and joined a beach cleanup at Ettrick Bay. Meanwhile, Charles went for the traditional look during his Scottish visits. He wore a tartan kilt at the Braemar Highland Gathering in Aberdeenshire. He paired it with a blazer and knee socks, known as kilt hose.
Then, on September 22, Charles wore another Highland outfit during his visit to Peterhead. Still, William’s approach to royal traditions has been discussed before. Speaking to 60 Minutes, Jason Knauf said, “The thing I have heard from Prince William is you’re going to do this in your own way.”
He added, “Every generation of the royal family has to reinvent the role for the generation that they serve.” William still takes part in major royal traditions. He has worn the Order of the Garter robe and plumed hat during the historic ceremony. The kilt, though, appears to be different.
According to The Daily Beast, William has worn a kilt before, but only when he was a kid. The last public sighting goes back to around 1990, when William was about eight years old. As an adult, though, the Prince of Wales has stayed away from kilts.
He actually talked about it back in a 2003 interview with the Press Association, when he was 20. He didn’t completely rule out wearing one. He said, “I’m not saying I will never wear one in public. I haven’t got into it yet.” He also joked about what it was like to wear one, saying, “I haven’t got into it yet. It’s a bit draughty.”
But he never really followed through. When William graduated from the University of St Andrews in 2005, he wore a black academic gown, white bow tie, and formal clothes instead of Highland dress.
He also went to the Braemar Gathering in 2005. William wore a suit instead. The same pattern continued at later Scottish events. Even for the Order of the Thistle ceremony, William has worn the traditional ceremonial robes.
The same goes for his brother, Prince Harry. He wore a kilt as a little kid, too. One of the clearest examples is the royal family’s 1987 Christmas card. So, while both brothers wore kilts growing up, neither seems to have made the Scottish outfit a regular part of their adult public wardrobe.
