You can always count on the Royal Family to wear fancy clothing. These men and women are dressed to the nines even for minor public appearances, and they turn major events like weddings into major fashion spectaculars. Because of that, countless fans around the world are always eager to see what their favorite royals will do next.
Sometimes, though, those royals surprise us by causing major fashion scandals. We’re not talking about minor ones, like when a royal wears a dress for a second time or forgets to put on pantyhose. No, these are the kinds of scandals that cause international headlines and force the royals’ biggest fans to question what the world’s most famous family was thinking.
We came here to play, and we’ve got the receipts. Keep reading to discover the most surprisingly scandalous outfits in royal history!
Kate Middleton’s seductive catwalk outfit
Most of the time, most royals try to avoid major fashion faux pas because it makes the entire Royal Family look bad. However, one of the most prominent royals made a scene with a stunning and seductive outfit long before she joined this family. And it’s fair to say she might not be a princess today if she hadn’t done so.
We’re talking, of course, about Kate Middleton’s catwalk outfit. Back when she and William were still in college, Kate wore a see-through Charlotte Todd to a charity fashion show. By all accounts, she was as sexy and stunning as a supermodel as she walked the runway, and nobody in the room could stop staring at her.
This includes Prince William, who reportedly became extremely interested in dating Kate after he saw that dress. In that sense, this sexy dress might have helped Kate win over her own Prince Charming!
RELATED: Kate Middleton’s Most Royally Scandalous Outfits
Prince William’s white jeans faux pas
Prince William is the future King of England, and he generally doesn’t cause many scandals. Not nearly as many as his rebellious brother, at least. And most of William’s faux pas are kind of charming, like when a video of his awkward dad dance movies went viral. But one of his fashion scandals wasn’t quite so charming, and it can be summed up in two little words: white jeans.
Like many royal men, William has a fondness for playing polo. One day, he wore some jeans to the park, ostensibly to do some stretching before the match began. This baffled everyone who heard about it because, frankly, it made no sense. Jeans are usually considered too informal for royals for any public appearance, and that includes William’s jaunt to the park. And Jeans are arguably the worst possible clothing to wear for stretching or exercise of any stripe.
Throw in the fact that it was white jeans (easy to mess up and ugy on the eyes) and this was a royally baffling moment from the future king!
Meghan Markle and her ripped jeans
Meghan Markle is one of the most fashionable royals around. That’s no surprise, really: she married into the family after becoming a very successful television star. She already had millions of fans long before she met Prince Harry, and being a major celeb taught her how to dress well for just about any event. On one occasion, though, she learned the hard way that what Hollywood finds acceptable and what the Royal Family finds acceptable are two very different things.
After Meghan began dating Harry, the two made their first public appearance at an event very dear to him: the Invictus Games in Toronto. She looked very glam accept for one glaring detail: she wore blue jeans. Ripped blue jeans, at that! All these years later, critics still bring up Meghan’s fashion blunder because they think it symbolizes that she never did take the Royal Family seriously, even after marrying into it.
RELATED: 6 Reasons to Worry About Harry & Meghan’s Marriage
Prince Harry dressed like a Nazi
Prince Harry has had a rebellious reputation for decades. These days, he is seen as a rebel for his willingness to defy the Royal Family. After members of his fam allegedly made Meghan feel like an outsider (right down to questioning the skin tone of her unborn baby), she and Harry fled England to begin a new life in America. It was a pretty drastic measure, but one easy to justify because Harry was doing his best to protect his family.
Back in 2005, though, Harry was a rebel for all the wrong reasons, and he did something that many found impossible to justify. He went to a friend’s birthday party wearing a very special outfit: a khaki-style shirt and a Nazi armband. Needless to say, tabloid headlines around the world questioned why someone so close to the throne seemed to be dressing like a Nazi.
Eventually, Harry apologized, claiming that it was a “poor choice” to wear this outfit. As for us, we’re still wondering why dressing like a Nazi was ever a choice he considered in the first place!