William's stubble shows that royal men are subject to style scrutiny too

09/06/2024 11:26 AM

Listen, it's finally time for the royal men to get their share of the fashion coverage the women have been hogging since time immemorial.

Give me all the stories about the Prince of Wales's 'vacation beard.'

Because while we're talking about it, we're also talking about the Homelessness: Reframed exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery, which partnered with Prince William's Homewards to shift the narrative on the effects of homelessness and allow artists who've experienced it to share their stories.

The royal women have proved that you can focus on fashion and style choices while also focusing on the work.

The Princess of Wales has cut her hair, highlighted it, tried out bangs and there were days of coverage over each event.

When Princess Charlene cut off all her hair and got that high fashion pixie cut, you bet we paid attention.

Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Princess Madeleine make headlines for wearing gowns their mothers once wore.

That fascinator will haunt Princess Beatrice forever, but she turned it around and raised serious money for charity because of it.

My point is: fashion and style choices are part and parcel of royal watching. Those blogs dedicated to identifying what any royal is wearing on a given day—and sleuthing the archives for pieces dating back to the early 2000s—prove that it's a lucrative business. And that the people behind those blogs should work for spy agencies, because nothing escapes their notice!

And before you tell me I'm wrong, let me point you to the 'Kate Effect.' The 'Meghan Effect.' The 'Charlotte Effect.' Diana, in her day. Princess Margaret. Queen Margrethe. Queen Elizabeth. Queen Maud. Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. Queen Victoria, and so on and so back.

But a change is afoot. We're starting to pay more attention to the fashion and styling of the royal men.

Because not only have we speculated about William's beard since it first appeared in early August (on a video celebrating the Olympians from Team Great Britain) and swiftly disappeared weeks later (the facial hair was gone for attendance at Crathie Kirk in Scotland), but King Felipe has also become a fashion icon on social media.

If you're not following @dieworkwear on Twitter, you're missing out. The man is single-handedly keeping me on the platform with his tweets about how to properly style menswear. And his ne plus ultra is King Felipe.

"King Felipe consistently looks great, and it seems that all of his suits are cut by the same tailor," he'll tweet after seeing him at Wimbledon. And when he's highlighting how menswear should look versus what it currently is, King Felipe is usually his example of expert tailoring.

So with all this focus on the fashion and styling choices of royal men, it's only a matter of time before the other royal men follow suit. Have some fun with your fashion, gents! It's only drawing more attention to your causes.

And William, if somehow this light-hearted post has made its way to you via some staffer who's been tasked with trawling Royal Central, let me just say: keep the beard. Embrace being a style icon.

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