Prince Louis is known for doing the unexpected. The adorable young royal danced at the 2024 Trooping the Colour, yawned his way through his grandfather’s coronation, and now he’s breaking yet another long-standing royal tradition.
At last week’s “Together at Christmas” Carol Service — while his sister Princess Charlotte wore her signature jacket for third year in a row — Prince Louis bucked royal fashion tradition. The 6-year-old matched his big brother Prince George and stepped out in a — *clutches pearls* — full suit.
A 6-year-old in a suit?! Typically, men in the royal family don’t start wearing suits until the ripe old age of 7, per Hello! Prince George was 7 when he first publicly wore a suit while watching the Euro 2020 final in London. And we’re not surprised to hear that the oldest of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s kids waited until he was of-suit-wearing-age to break out his Sunday best.
Of course, we’re also not surprised to hear that the youngest, who has been described as “cheeky,” somehow swayed the royal family into letting him wear a suit early. Last year at Christmastime, the then-5-year-old prince made an even bolder move when he decided to wear trousers. Trousers! And yes, that was actually a huge deal.
Apparently, dressing young boys in shorts (even in the winter!) is a “very English” and very posh thing to do.
“Trousers are for older boys and men, whereas shorts on young boys is one of those silent class markers that we have in England,” etiquette expert William Hanson told Harper’s Bazaar. “Although times are (slowly) changing, a pair of trousers on a young boy is considered quite middle class – quite suburban. And no self-respecting aristo or royal would want to be considered suburban.”
“The usual custom is that a boy graduates to trousers around 8 years old,” Hanson continued.
Eight! Which makes the timeline a bit confusing. Does that mean young royals would actually have to wait until they were 8 to wear a suit? Did 7-year-olds wear suits with shorts?
Prince William and his estranged brother Prince Harry certainly showed a lot of kneecap in their childhood, but these rules don’t seem to apply as strictly with the Wales boys who both started wearing pants early. Prince George first wore pants in 2018 when he attended Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding. At age four! How incredibly “suburban” for the incredibly adorable future King. When you think about it, Prince Louis isn’t rebelling with his fashion choices — he’s simply following the lead of the future monarch.
Before you go, check out every time Prince Louis had his big sister in his corner.
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