Whether you love them or hate them, there’s no denying the fact that the Royal Family knows how to put together an outfit. Duchess Kate and Meghan Markle are constantly celebrated for their fashion choices and their prim and proper outfits, and they always look perfectly put together. But it’s impossible to be perfect all the time, and it seems as though the Royal Family aren’t immune to the odd fashion faux-pas either. Check out these fashion fails the royals don’t want you to see below!
When Kate’s Heel Got Caught
If we’re being totally honest, the royals deserve a huge amount of credit for wearing heels all the time. You’ll never see them in flats, and they never seem to complain about the pain that comes with wearing high heels. But while they’re very used to wearing these heels, they’re not immune to a fashion faux pas every now and then. And in 2013, Duchess Kate got her heel stuck in a grate.
While attending a St. Patrick’s Day event, the then-pregnant Kate almost fell over as her heel got stuck to the floor. Thankfully, Prince William was by her side to lend a hand.
When Eugenie and Beatrice Wore These Hats
Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice may not be as famous as the likes of Duchess Kate and Meghan Markle, but there’s no denying the fact that they’re still very popular. And while some people love their style, they caused a media storm in 2011 when they attended Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding. As per royal custom, the royal sisters wore hats to the event – and they were certainly very unique.
Although they stood out from the crowd, most critics agreed that their hats stood out for all of the wrong reasons. In fact, they were ruthlessly trolled online and instantly made into memes for their fashion faux pas.
When Camilla Wore the Same Color as the Queen
Although Camilla Parker-Bowles is now queen herself, there was once a time when she looked up to the late Queen Elizabeth II as the most senior member of the Royal Family. But Camilla made one of the biggest fashion faux pases in 2019 when she turned up at the same event wearing the exact same color as the Queen. Of course, both women looked absolutely stunning in their rich purple outfits and hats – but it didn’t go down well with the Queen.
It didn’t take long for the British press to tear Camilla down, dubbing the awkward moment as ‘Purplegate.’ As you can probably imagine, Camilla didn’t ever wear the same color as the queen ever again.Â
When Meghan’s Shirt Came Unbuttoned
One of the biggest fashion rules every member of the Royal Family has to abide by is the rule of modesty. They can’t show off too much skin, they can’t wear anything too short, and they can’t wear anything that shows their underwear. And while Meghan Markle never intended for the world to see her bra in 2018, she ultimately suffered a fashion fail that showed off her lace undergarments.
Yes, as she attended a wedding ceremony with Prince Harry by her side, her shirt came unbuttoned. Unluckily for her, the cameras caught everything before she realized what had happened.
When Princess Beatrice Wore a Sheer Dress
It’s believed that most of the fashion rules within the Royal Family were introduced by Queen Elizabeth II. And while she enforced these rules on the likes of Duchess Kate and Meghan Markle, it seems as though she allowed her blood relatives the chance to experiment a bit more. This was the case in 2017 when Princess Beatrice wore this sheer black dress to an event. At first, the press dubbed it a royal fashion scandal.
However, it was later noted that Queen Elizabeth II had actually encouraged Beatrice to wear the dress and wanted her to experiment with her style more than what she was doing.
When Kate Wore Wedge Heels
Over the course of her impressive rein, Queen Elizabeth II made a name for herself as one of the best-dressed women in the public eye. Fans loved her modest yet fashionable clothing choices, and they appreciated the fashion rules that she put in place for the rest of the Royal Family. Unfortunately, Kate Middleton broke one of these big rules in 2011 when she wore wedge heels to a royal event.
The Queen famously despised wedge heels and forbade any member of the Royal Family to wear them. And what’s so interesting is that this was the first and last time Kate wore such shoes.
When Meghan Left the Tag on Her Dress
Have you ever accidentally left the tag on a new item of clothing? This is a fashion faux pas that many of us have experienced before, but it’s not something that you’d expect from a member of the Royal Family. However, Meghan Markle proved that it’s possible for royals to overlook these small details, as she left the tag on her dress in 2018. Not only that, but the tag poked out the bottom of the dress!
Many critics joked that Meghan obviously wanted to return the dress after she wore it, but the likelihood is that she just didn’t even know it was there. It happens to the best of us!
When Kate Had Unpolished Toenails
While many of the royal fashion fails on this list focus on clothes, Duchess Kate angered fans in 2016 when she attended an event without unpolished toenails. Of course, most people wouldn’t normally care about a lack of toenail polish if she had been wearing shoes, but she chose to go polish-less for an event that required her to take her shoes off. So, some people just can’t forgive her.
This happened when Duchess Kate and Prince William visited India’s Mahatma Gandhi Museum, and removing your shoes is a sign of respect. Kate would have known this ahead of time, so why didn’t she paint her toenails?
When the Queen’s Hat Flew off
While many of the royal fashion fails on this list were self-inflicted, others were the result of Mother Nature. And that was the case in 1979 when the wind ruined Queen Elizabeth II’s outfit. At the time, she was visiting Sultan Qaboos in Oman and wore a beautiful skirt suit and matching hat. What she hadn’t anticipated was just how strong the winds would be, and her hat just couldn’t hold on.
On multiple occasions, the hat completely flew off her head. She was able to pop it back on, but not before royal photographers had captured the whole thing on camera for us all to see.
When the Queen Spilled Food Down Herself
Have you ever spilt food or drink down your outfit? While you might assume that royals wouldn’t find themselves in such a predicament, these pictures prove that even the late Queen of England wasn’t immune to such fashion disasters. When she attended the birthday part of Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece back in 2010, these photographs of the event shocked the world. After all, the food stains on her clothing were very obvious.
Of course, we’ve all done it, but when we spill food down our best outfit, we don’t have photographers sharing photos of it with the whole world. So, this must have been pretty embarrassing.
When Princess Michael of Kent Wore an Inappropriate Brooch
If you’re not familiar with Princess Michael of Kent, she is married to Prince Michael of Kent, who is the cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth II. And while she’s rarely seen in public, she made headlines in 2017 when she was pictured on her way to the Queen’s Christmas lunch. It wasn’t her clothing that caused a stir, though. Instead, it was the brooch that she had pinned to her coat.
Princess Michael was wearing the Blackamoor brooch, which is infamous for depicting people with dark skin as servants and slaves. In fact, most historians believe this brooch to be incredibly racist.
When Kate Wore Gucci Backwards
It’s not uncommon to see members of the Royal Family wear designer clothing that the average Joe can’t afford, and Duchess Kate is particularly fond of wearing these designer brands. But that doesn’t mean that she knows how to wear them properly. This was proven in 2020 when Kate Middleton wore a purple Gucci blouse backwards – not once, but twice! Of course, we can understand where the confusion stemmed from.
Many blouses have tie-up bows on the front of the shirt, but this Gucci bow was designed to hang down her back instead. So, it was an easy mistake to make.
When Diana Turned a Choker Into a Headband
The late Princess Diana was no stranger to causing controversy. And while she rubbed the Royal Family up the wrong way on many occasions, most people don’t realize just how much of a stir this fashion faux pas caused among the royals. After all, it’s not every day a rebellious royal chooses to turn an heirloom choker into a headband – especially when it was a gift from Queen Elizabeth II herself. But that’s exactly what Diana did in 1985.
Although it’s safe to say that the emerald jewelry looked fabulous both as a headband and a choker, sources close to the Royal Family claim that Diana’s decision to go rogue didn’t go down with the Queen.