Everyone gets holes in their socks — even King Charles III!
But the King isn't alone.
From an uncut price tag to a coffee-stained dress, plenty of the Royal Family's most embarrassing
wardrobe malfunctions have been caught on camera.
If Princess Diana can parade down her wedding aisle with a creased gown, you can afford
to wear a wrinkled shirt to the office.
750 million viewers tuned into the royal nuptials of then-Prince Charles and Diana Spencer on
July 29, 1981 —- only to see Diana's billowing white gown rumpled with creases.
Interestingly, this faux pas was not entirely unanticipated.
Designers Elizabeth and David Emanuel, who were commissioned to make the dress, did factor
in the possibility that the bride's huge gown was bound to get crushed.
Elizabeth Emanuel told the Daily Mail:
"In the tiny carriage, it had crumpled far more than we'd anticipated.
We'd done a rehearsal, but not with her father, Earl Spencer, in the car, too — and he was
quite a large man."
When Diana emerged from her carriage, there was a panicked exchange, to the point of Elizabeth
Emanuel actually feeling faint.
During a 2018 appearance on ITV, the designer recalled being "horrified."
And yet, the dread couldn't overshadow how gorgeous Diana looked in her dress.
"We wanted her to look like everybody's vision of a fairytale princess."
Ever since Catherine, Princess of Wales, became a working royal, the wind has been her archnemesis.
On more than one occasion, the forever decorous princess has been caught trying to awkwardly
hold down her skirts and dresses against high wind speeds.
In one of her more scandalous moments of being blown away by nature, Princess Catherine struggled
to keep her lovely yellow dress down as she arrived in Canada in 2011.
Press photos captured the then-Duchess of Cambridge trying to simultaneously manage
her flyaway outfit while attending to official duties.
The faux pas didn't go down well with viewers, one of whom passionately let their feelings
known to designer Jenny Packham in a letter.
Packham told the Evening Standard:
"Well, I didn't know it was going to be worn on a windy runway.
But I did think maybe in [the] future I will put in more weighting, just in case."
In 2018, Meghan Markle stepped off a plane in Tonga with the most relatable faux pas
peeking out from under her dress — a tiny price tag.
"Oh, bummer."
Had she been an ordinary commoner, the tiny flap of paper ruffling in the folds of Meghan's
stunning dress could easily have gone unnoticed.
But with the thorough scrutiny royal members are subjected to, it was only a matter of
time before media outlets spotted the slip in Meghan's otherwise impeccable look.
However, since leaving the price tag dangling on a new dress is probably the most common
fashion gaffe in the world, social media users went easy on the soon-to-be mommy.
Meghan, all smiles and clearly oblivious, even paraded through the airport for a good
five minutes before the tag was ultimately dealt with.
For all 70 years of her reign, Queen Elizabeth II ruled both the United Kingdom and also
the world of fashion.
So, it wasn't without reason that she was regarded as an icon among the icons.
The queen's trendsetting wardrobe was enduringly elegant and individualistic — and delightfully
colorful, might we add.
That said, her clothes could never be disassociated from her office.
Susanna Cordner, archivist at London College of Fashion, told Women's Wear Daily:
"They make her appear steady and bright and ever-easy to spot in a crowd — an essential
part of her role."
It was, therefore, almost surreal to see the queen in attendance at a party with stains
down her dress and a broken bag in her hand.
No, the party wasn't quite the rager it sounds.
King Constantine of Greece celebrated his 70th birthday in 2010, and the British monarch
was among the dignitaries invited.
According to The Daily Mail, Queen Elizabeth was supposedly the victim of a coffee-spilling
accident during the party.
At some point during the event, she also seemed to have snapped the chain on her silver bag.
An onlooker revealed to the Daily Mail that the world's most beloved royal, ever the figure
of grace, owned the mishaps and remained composed.
In terms of luxury, riches, and authority, the public just cannot compare to King Charles
III.
But one tiny but significant similarity ties the sovereign head of the United Kingdom to
the rest of us paupers: Torn socks.
It probably wasn't due to thriftiness but oversight when Charles showed up at London's
Brick Lane Mosque wearing a sock with a hole during an official visit in 2023.
The King's fashion mishap was immediately picked up by media outlets.
Luckily for the monarch, however, it was a gaffe so endearing that he won hearts instead
of criticism on social media.
Yet, the King, who's known for his tailored suits and suave style, was likely not pleased
with the sock slip.
Christopher Andersen, who has authored a book on Charles, told Fox News:
"Charles has always prided himself on his keen sense of style."
In her quintessential manner of grace, Princess Catherine appears to always successfully navigate
her way through complex situations.
One such testing episode arose in 2018, when the storm of #MeToo and Time's Up took over
social events of the season.
Female attendees at the awards hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts
planned to wear black in solidarity with the shared global sisterhood.
A notification for the sartorial protest was well-publicized among the invitees.
So there's no doubt that Catherine would have received a memo.
Yet, she chose to show up at the BAFTAs embellished in a dark green Jenny Packham gown.
The royal's decision to wear the gown raised some eyebrows and brought under question her
support for women's empowerment.
However, her bypass of the blackout wasn't entirely unexpected, since protocol dictates
British royals keep their distance from political statements.
As Vanity Fair points out, the monarchy's enduring political neutrality is more a matter
of tradition than law.
Being a royal in a dress can't be an easy task.
With roving cameras tuned into every single moment of vulnerability, one cannot afford
to be caught off-guard.
And a dress on a windy day is just a calamity waiting to happen!
Camilla, queen consort, can probably testify to the tribulations of donning a fluttery
dress on royal occasions since hers was nearly blown away in 2015.
The senior royal, then the Duchess of Cornwall, was wearing a sky-blue dress while attending
the christening of her granddaughter Princess Charlotte.
An ill-timed gust of wind dangerously lifted her attire and attempted to make off with
her matching hat, as Camilla struggled to keep everything down.
The wind has been an all too common enemy of Camilla's outfits, as well as those of
Princess Catherine, whose run-ins with unfavorable weather are also notorious.
Incidentally, Queen Elizabeth II was positively clued into the wardrobe malfunctions of both
women in her family.
While legend goes that she apparently offered Catherine advice about weighing down her hems,
the queen had only laughter to offer her daughter-in-law.
As Camilla said during a tribute to the late monarch in 2022, the queen couldn't help but
chuckle over the fact that Camilla wore two mismatched heels on her wedding day.
There's nothing more aggravating than clothes riding up.
Why can't they just stay in place?
The thought probably plagued Princess Beatrice after a relatable wardrobe mishap left her
underwear exposed to the world in 2017.
The young royal was in attendance at the V&A Summer Party in a black sheer dress.
Likely unknown to her, the nude slip beneath her dress appeared to wriggle up far too much.
When Beatrice does it right, she does it well.
Over the years, she has given fashion magazines multiple iconic looks to fawn over.
But as personal stylist Melissa Lund told Express,
"[Beatrice would shine] if she paid attention to the seemingly small details which actually
make a huge difference."
However, Beatrice isn't oblivious to the ridicule that a single bad outfit can attract — nor
to the potential she has for upping her game.The watershed moment came in 2011, when Beatrice
wore an enormous hat to her cousin Prince William's wedding.
The hat was almost universally mocked for its sheer size and extravagance.
Though Beatrice eventually took it in her stride, the flood of criticism that came her
way after the hat tragedy clearly left her wounded.
As a result, she decided to hire stylist Charlie Anderson for a wardrobe shake-up.
Anderson later said that the backlash over Beatrice's hat was unfair.
In an interview with People, she also had this to say about the princess:
"I think Beatrice has a good eye; she's been wearing some fabulous pieces over the last
few years."
Like father, like son.
Long before his father delighted the world with a hole in his sock, Prince William had
already captured the attention of millions with a hole in his shoe.
The senior royal was at the World Economic Forum in 2019, where he was speaking with
Britain's beloved Sir David Attenborough about grave issues such as environmental conservation.
But the most pressing issue on viewers' minds seemed to be what looked like a hole in the
sole of William's shoe.
"That's pretty cheeky, really."
The supposed defect was directly in the audience's line of sight since the prince sat with his
legs crossed and gave a glorious view of his footwear.
As style analyst Stephen Doig has previously told South China Morning Post, most of William's
"style highlights are shoe-related," which could be why this one was particularly eye-catching.
Social media users were quick to analyze the broadcast, only to find themselves confused
over what the dark spot on his sole actually was.
Was it a hole or just something stuck to his shoe?
Either way, we can all agree that it was both weird and icky for people to be examining
the dirty underside of William's shoe.
But it wasn't the first time.
Only a year prior, fans were keenly observing his brother Prince Harry's shoe that flaunted
an unfortunate hole at a friend's wedding.
"Isn't it good?
Yes."
The world typically thinks of Diana Spencer as a trendsetter after she joined — and
left — the British royal family.
But what many don't know is that she had been a fashion icon prior to officially becoming
a princess.
Before the revenge dress, there was the see-through skirt.
A pursuit of Britain's princess-to-be and a sunny backlight in 1980 produced pictures
that captured a fashion faux pas that went on to attain an innocent, iconic status.
In fact, the incident was legendary enough to be reproduced by Emma Corrin in Season
4 of The Crown.
As recalled by photographer Arthur Edwards, who took the pictures, the 19-year-old was
one of the most sought-after figures in the country at the time.
Her romance with Prince Charles had just begun, so the public wanted to see photos of her.
Edwards told Today that he tracked Diana down to a preschool in London where she worked.
It was there that he was permitted to snap some photos of Diana with a few children from
her workplace.
As Edwards noted to Today, Diana's transparent skirt was unplanned — the result of the
sun popping out unexpectedly.
Edwards told Today:
"I didn't do it to embarrass her, but it was such a good picture you couldn't not publish
it."
According to Today, Diana was understandably not thrilled with the pictures, reportedly
telling Charles:
"I don't want to be known as the girlfriend who had no petticoat."