Why the royals are at their most stylish when they’re off-duty

William, Kate, George, Charlotte and Louis pose for a Christmas card family photo. Photo / @princeandprincessofwales

The royals regularly dazzle on the front pages in five-figure designer gowns, and style-wise can easily stand their ground against the titans of fashion and film (and even against the French) but the truth is that they, like most posh people, are happiest in country gear.

This love of all things mud-stained formed a plotline in The Crown. Margaret Thatcher arrived in Balmoral without any outdoor shoes and was immediately scorned, while a young Diana Spencer was warmly admitted into the fold for being a self-admitted “mucky pup” in her ancient boots, frayed jumpers and battered Barbour jacket.

For Camilla, who only became royal later in life, the hunting, shooting and fishing look was as easy as pie – it was the white-tie gowns and embroidered occasion coats that she found more difficult to get to grips with.

In a new book on our Queen, royal biographer Angela Levin writes about how Camilla has risen remarkably well to the sartorial challenges presented by royal life, but that – like most well-brought-up girls – she was always happiest when makeup-free in clothes at least a decade old that smelt faintly of dog. This outlook gave her plenty of common ground with the late Queen Elizabeth and Princess Anne.

As for the rest of us, anyone looking for off-duty style inspiration ahead of a long winter would surely do better emulating the royals than the more stylised outfits from the recent catwalks. Although, if you truly want to follow the Windsor lead, make sure that anything box-fresh is initiated with a muddy walk and some quality time with a damp Labrador.

Josh O'Connor and Emerald Fennell portray King Charles and Queen Camilla in the 70s.

Queen Camilla

It can’t be a coincidence that the first famous photograph of Camilla shows her in the simplest clothes possible: a red T-shirt and jeans talking to a just-off-the-polo-field Prince Charles (see above). Always more at ease in the sort of gear you could wear to hike up a hill in bad weather, Camilla used to embody the Gloucestershire pre-Bamford look: bare-faced, battered-looking tweeds and knits (the older, the higher status) and sensible boots.

With royal duties, she has embraced the more glamorous side of life, but at her core, she hasn’t strayed far from this aesthetic and has never been one for faddy trends (Levin talks about how, when living in London in the swinging 1960s, Camilla still didn’t have much interest in fashion and would race back to the Cotswolds at any opportunity). Even today, her off-duty style remains much the same as it was in the 1970s: wellies over trousers, a good waterproof jacket, a sensible scarf and a dog at the end of a lead. Toff-tastic.

Even Kate's most relaxed looks still feel ordered and immaculately clean. Photo / Getty Images

The Princess of Wales

There is a neatness to Kate which means that even her most relaxed looks still feel ordered and, unlike many of her upper-class peers, immaculately clean. Still, she clearly likes this aesthetic – for Vogue’s centenary issue in 2016 she chose to be photographed in the countryside in casual clothes despite being offered an array of colourful designer gowns. And while Kate’s public-facing style has transformed over two decades in the public eye and is now far less Sloaney than it once was, her country attire is much the same as it always was.

This means skinny jeans or trousers, a thick jumper or shirt, a Barbour and a pair of Penelope Chilvers boots. “We’re absolutely thrilled that Kate continues to wear our boots,” says Chilvers. “She still has the same pair she bought in her 20s, which shows how much she cares about preservation and sustainability – because if anyone could get new shoes each winter, it’s her.”

Princess Anne

The Princess Royal has always seemed remarkably un-vain, and nowhere is that clearer than in her country attire, which (very sensibly) always appears to have been chosen for exclusively practical reasons. Her Barbours look ancient and as if they have been re-waxed numerous times, her gilets and sweatshirts keep her at just the right temperature in the changeable British weather and if it does rain, well, there’s nobody better prepared than Anne in her voluminous waterproofs, magically appearing cagoules and wide-brimmed hats.

This no-fuss approach extends to formal events for which – unlike her relatives – she never has secret dress fittings or wears new collection clothes by big designers. The focus, instead, is on propriety and dressing correctly. And as a result, we’d wager that Anne is a woman who has never been caught out in bad weather wearing entirely the wrong clothes.

King Charles

Make no mistake, the King enjoys the ceremony of serious sartorial dress and showcases the finest that Savile Row has to offer. But his heart lies in the countryside – see his enduring love of Highgrove – and that’s reflected in his solid outdoors wardrobe of many-times-mended coats.

He supports the best of British through his outdoorsy clothes too – heavy-duty waxed jackets, tweeds, herringbones and flat caps, all using traditional British motifs and wools. His sustainable approach to dressing parlays into his off-duty clothes too; in 2021, the King featured in an issue of Country Life wearing a battered old Barbour that he’s had for decades. Loveworn but still serving a purpose, it’s a very British approach, and one that chimes with what real country folk do up and down the country.

Prince William

The heir is rather less expressive than his father in how he dresses, preferring to deflect any attention; there’s a slightly staid everyman approach to his wardrobe. That translates into chinos and knits, although going fully casual isn’t part of the Prince of Wales’s playbook; note the adherence to wearing a shirt with his knitted jumpers, and more often than not his footwear of choice is a pair of boots – classic ones or chukka varieties – instead of trainers.

On holidays, he’s been known to wear Luca Faloni linen shirts, which are some of the nicest in the business, so there’s a definite sense of connoisseurship. Perhaps we’ll tempt him into bolder styles yet…

Prince Harry is often seen with no labels, rarely ventures into colours or patterns and has his hair steadfastly ungroomed. Photo / Getty Images

Prince Harry

The prodigal son of Montecito has always struck a more casual note than his upright brother, and that’s evolved further since his move to the US. Harry also takes a very non-descript approach to his dress, perhaps taking a tip from his brother and designed to deflect press attention (bad luck Harry, we’re still interested) – no labels, rarely does he venture into colours or patterns and his hair is steadfastly ungroomed.

In California, he tends to favour sporty polo shirts (perhaps a nod to preppy, which is more of an East Coast and British sensibility in LA where loungewear dominates), slip-on shoes and the occasional baseball cap. The latter’s clearly handy for keeping his much-desired low profile, a trick learnt from his mother, perhaps, who often wore hers for under-the-radar gym trips.