Prince Charles is fashion royalty

LONDON • His daughters-in-law Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle are regularly lauded for their fashion sense, but Britain's Prince Charles, who is well known for patching up and mending his clothes, has probably been considered a less likely British style icon - until now.

"I've always admired the way you dress," Mr Edward Enninful, editor-in-chief of British Vogue, told Prince Charles, 71, in an interview for the fashion magazine's latest edition.

The praise for his timeless dress sense seemed to take the heir to the throne, who usually favours double-breasted suits accompanied with a tie and matching handkerchief, by surprise.

"I thought I was like a stopped clock... people come round after 25 years to dressing like I do," he said.

"I'm very glad you think it has style. I mind about detail and colour and things like that."

The male members of Britain's royal family have usually taken a back seat to the females when it comes to fashion coverage.

Middleton, 38, wife of Prince Charles' elder son Prince William, has previously featured on the cover of Vogue while Markle, 39, wife of William's younger brother Prince Harry, has guest-edited the magazine.

Prince Charles wore a suit he has owned since 1984 when he attended Prince Harry's wedding to Markle in May 2018, as Mr Enninful asked him if he had considered wearing something new that day.

"I've considered it," the Prince said. "But in the case of that particular morning coat, as long as I can go on getting into it, I wear it only a few times a year, in the summer, so obviously you want to keep those sorts of things going."

He added: "But if I can't fit into them, then I just have to have something new made. But I'm not sure quite how radically different they can be at my age."

Prince Charles, who has long campaigned on environmental issues, was interviewed for Vogue about his commitment to sustainable fashion, something he said he had always taken to heart.

"I'm one of those people who hate throwing anything away. Hence, I'd rather have them maintained, even patched if necessary, than to abandon them," he said, calling on manufacturers and consumers to be less wasteful.

"But it seems to me there are huge opportunities, particularly now, within the whole sustainable fashion sector, to counter this extraordinary trend of throwaway clothing - or throwaway everything - frankly," he added.

REUTERS