Normally, we only see King Charles in his finest clothing. When the reigning monarch of England steps out, he’s sporting the fanciest clothing, and depending on what he’s doing, you’re as likely to see him rocking wealthy royal robes as well as impeccably tailored suits.
Obviously, King Charles has enough wealth to afford all this costly clothing. But it turns out there is one thing money can’t buy: dignity. Like other celebs, Charles has experienced some crazy wardrobe malfunctions over the years, and the Royal Family has done their best to sweep these embarrassing incidents under the rug. Keep reading to discover the worst wardrobe malfunctions that Charles would prefer all of us forget about!
That time Charles got his jacket buttons wrong
Even if you hate King Charles, it’s hard not to admit that some of his wardrobe malfunctions come from mistakes any one of us could have made. Perhaps the best example of this is when Charles and Camilla took a tour of Africa in 2018 and ended up visiting The Gambia. In their expensive, the two looked perfect…until everyone took a second look, that is.
Poor Charles had made the very human mistake of buttoning the bottom button into the middle hole. This had the unfortunate effect of making Charles look like someone who didn’t know how to dress himself. Talk about a royal mistake!
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Naked sunbathing
When is a royal wardrobe malfunction not exactly a wardrobe malfunction? Simple: when there’s no wardrobe at all because the royal is completely naked!
Back in 1994, Charles decided to engage in a bit of nude sunbathing. He felt safe and secure because he was staying in a private chateau in the South of France. But “private” is relative: a lone paparazzi took pictures of the sunbathing Charles and then sold them to a tabloid. Just like that, Charles “royal jewels” were on display for the entire world to see!
The ugliest royal jacket
Charles was destined to become the King of England from the moment he was born. Understandably, that means he has been in front of television cameras for his entire life. The British public became quite used to the sight of Charles, but in 2013, they saw the future king as they had never seen him before.
That year, Charles appeared on an episode of the BBC’s Countryfile series. He was there to discuss various issues facing residents of royal England, but it was difficult to focus on this important matter because of what Charles was wearing: a raggedy jacket covered in rips and tears.
It’s possible that Charles was wearing a jacket he was trying to mend (a habit he would reveal in a later interview in 2020). At the time, though, nobody could figure out why one of the richest people in the entire world decided to dress like a homeless person before appearing on national television.
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Rocking a wrinkly suit
It seems Charles just can’t catch a break: when he decided to wear that raggedy jacket in 2013, it soon became the only thing anyone could talk about. A decade later, he put on a very nice beige suit for the Sandringham Flower Show. However, this suit ended up generating almost as much gossip as the raggedy jacket from before.
That’s because when Charles was wearing this light-colored suit, it was very easy to see that the trousers were covered with wrinkles and creases. Chances are Charles was just too busy to notice his fashion faux pas, but his attire that day stood out like a sore thumb.
King Charles’ head: too big for the crown
One of King Charles’ most notorious wardrobe malfunctions actually occurred on the day of his coronation. As part of the ceremony, Charles had to wear St Edward’s Crown, and this crown jewel of the Royal Family was made way back in 1661. These days, putting the crown on has become part of symbolically ascending to the throne, just like when Queen Elizabeth donned the crown back in 1953.
However, Charles faced an embarrassing issue that Elizabeth didn’t have to worry about: his head was a tad too big for the crown. When the Archbishop went to put it on Charles’ noggin, the holy man had to visibly push it down and wriggle it a bit for the crown to stay. The moment didn’t last long, but it seemingly confirmed that becoming King had gone to Charles’ head!
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The backward hat incident
While King Charles had a crown-related wardrobe malfunction during his 2023 coronation, he faced a different issue with an entirely different bit of headgear in 2000. That year, Charles was touring Jamaica, and he was given a knitted rasta hat complete with fake dreadlocks. In an attempt to show his gratitude and blend in with the locals, Charles promptly put the hat on.
Just one problem: the future king put the hat on backward! The entire incident was both humorous and bizarre, especially when a grinning Charles began mugging for the camera while wearing the hat the wrong way.