For years, the British press has been needling Prince William about his kiltlessness. Royal men have historically donned the kilt whenever they’re in Scotland, especially when they’re at public events or mingling with Scottish people. Queen Elizabeth II felt strongly about it, given that she was half-Scottish and she genuinely loved being in Scotland. Thus, Prince Philip frequently wore kilts. King Charles has always worn kilts in Scotland too. But his sons rarely do. In Prince Harry’s case, who cares, he’s not a working royal and he rarely visits Scotland. But Prince William is the heir to the throne and future king of Scotland. Surely he should wear a kilt for *some* Scottish outings? Well, he doesn’t. He refuses.
As Prince William and Kate Middleton head North of the border this week, there will be one question on many royal fans’ minds: will the Prince of Wales finally wear a kilt?
Indeed, despite King Charles often being proudly pictured wearing tartan, there hasn’t been a single image taken of his eldest son dressed in the beloved Scottish pattern since he was a young boy.
Previous reports by The Daily Mail suggested that William shared one month before his 21st birthday in 2003: ‘I have worn a kilt in private and I’m not saying I will never wear one in public. I haven’t got into it yet.’
But nearly 23 years on, the prince has still not embraced the esteemed tradition, despite being educated at St Andrew’s University on the coast of Fife. William and his university sweetheart Kate, also The Duke and Duchess of Rothesay, are set to travel to Stirling and Falkirk on January 20 to shine a light on key aspects of Scottish heritage. As part of their visit, the couple will be trying their hand at curling with the team GB squad and Paralympic squad, while also learning how to weave tartan.
Speaking about the Waleses upcoming visit on the latest episode of The Daily Mail’s Palace Confidential, Diary Editor Richard Eden asked Royal Editor Rebecca English: ‘Does this mean that Prince William will be wearing a kilt?’
‘That’s bad news for you because you know what you’ve promised, that you’ll wear one when he wears one,’ the show’s host Jo Elvin told Richard.
‘Oh god, I’m getting nervous now, a shiver has gone down my spine,’ the royal expert quipped.
It really speaks to William’s lack of connection to Scotland. They always bring up the fact that he went to university in Scotland, but beyond that, he’s never given a sh-t about the country. As I said, QEII felt her Scottish connection very deeply. Arguably, Charles feels that way too, and he’s always spent a great deal of time in Scotland, especially after he inherited Castle of Mey from his Scottish grandmother. William and Kate just… lack passion and lack interest. Why show a passion for your Scottish roots and embrace the quirks and customs of Scotland when you can just grimly tweet about it and hide out in Scotland to avoid your brother?
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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- Mull, Scotland, 29 April 2025: The Prince and Princess of Wales, known as the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay when in Scotland, with the croft owner Jeanette Lynn and her husband Jack Shaw cooking charred haggis dumplings with whisk yduring their visit to a local croft on the west coast of Mull to learn about sustainable production and the hospitality industry on the islands.,Image: 993589518, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Robert Perry/Daily Mail Scotland/Avalon
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- Mull, Scotland, 29 April 2025: The Prince and Princess of Wales, known as the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay when in Scotland, during their visit to a local croft on the west coast of Mull to learn about sustainable production and the hospitality industry on the islands.,Image: 993589630, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Robert Perry/Daily Mail Scotland/Avalon
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- Mull, Scotland, 30 April 2025: Britain’s Catherine, Princess of Wales and William, Prince of Wales meet Countryside Rangers from the Mull and Iona Ranger Service at the Ardura Community Forest, to highlight the importance of protecting and championing the natural environment, during a visit to the Isle of Mull, western Scotland.,Image: 993867383, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: OLI SCARFF/Avalon
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- LEITH, SCOTLAND – MAY 21: Prince William, Prince of Wales smiles as he arrives for a visit as The Royal Foundation launches a new community impact partnership with Street Soccer Scotland at Leith Community Centre on May 21, 2025 in Leith, Scotland.,Image: 1001716093, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Chris Jackson/Avalon
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- LEITH, SCOTLAND – MAY 21: Prince William, Prince of Wales speaks with guests at the Edinburgh YMCA’s Youth Forum, about their aspirations and upcoming projects during a visit as The Royal Foundation launches a new community impact partnership with Street Soccer Scotland at Leith Community Centre on May 21, 2025 in Leith, Scotland.,Image: 1001716155, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Chris Jackson/Avalon
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- LEITH, SCOTLAND – MAY 21: Prince William, Prince of Wales plays football during a visit as The Royal Foundation launches a new community impact partnership with Street Soccer Scotland at Leith Community Centre on May 21, 2025 in Leith, Scotland.,Image: 1001716175, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Chris Jackson/Avalon
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- The Prince and Princess of Wales disembark the ferry from Iona,Fionnphort Featuring: William, Prince of Wales, Catherine, Princess of Wales Where: Fionnphort, United Kingdom When: 30 Apr 2025 Credit: Cover Images
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- The Prince and Princess of Wales, known as the the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay when in Scotland, attend the naming ceremony for HMS Glasgow, at the BAE Systems shipyard in Scotstoun, Glasgow Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales, William, Prince of Wales Where: Glasgow, United Kingdom When: 22 May 2025 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Prince of Wales, known as the Duke of Rothesay when in Scotland, attends the naming ceremony for HMS Glasgow, a state-of-the-art Type 26 anti-submarine frigate, at the BAE Systems shipyard in Scotstoun, Glasgow Featuring: William, Prince of Wales Where: Glasgow, United Kingdom When: 22 May 2025 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
More proof that Peg the Lazy couldn’t care less about the people he will represent as king and as a prince now. Traditions and customs to him mean nothing. He took forever to learn a few welsh words and he is the Prince of Wales. All he had to go is don a kilt in Scotland and he refuses to do so. Horrible King Peg the Thoughtless!
Exactly. He is unfit for the job and lacking essential hard and soft skills in all areas. And what he does not get at all: It’s not about you William! The ribbon cutting, the tartan-wearing, the Welsh-speaking – it simply doesn’t matter if he likes it or not – the people he is supposed to represent might like it and have strong feelings about it. It’s part of you heritage and country Will-not and about comfort.
I’ve been to Scotland several times and the only men I’ve seen wearing kilts work in the tourist industry. Most men in Scotland have never worn a kilt. It’s completely performative when the royals do it and I think William is smart not to pander to a way of life that was completely crushed by the British in the 18th century.
I’ve lived in Scotland on and off for over four decades and some men do wear kilts. For formal functions like weddings, it’s relatively common. My son in law and most of the males at my daughter’s wedding wore a kilt. We aren’t crushed yet.
I do wonder if Will or some of the Scots view the royals wearing kilts as rather performative.
Do the Scots feel some type of way? If not I think it should be a preference, in this case and cant believe im defending Peg he simply doesnt want to and thats fine.
We honestly don’t care. This story wouldn’t be of any interest to anyone unless they were an avid royal follower. The royals will really only come up if it’s a big event like a wedding or a baby and even then it’s *shrug*. You’ll have people that are anti monarchy and that will maybe come up but honestly this kind of thing isn’t remotely on any one’s radar.
I promise you, we couldn’t care less.
Signed: all of Scotland
This feels like such a non story. Scottish highlander cosplay is way more cringe.
Sometimes Kate wears tartan fabrics when she’s in Scotland. There was a Scottish writer that once wrote that the royals treat Scotland like their very own tartan Disneyland.
Anyways, not sure I’d care to see William in a kilt either so yeah I’d imagine Scot’s don’t care. It’s really just the bigger issue that William comes off as pretty uninterested in Scotland except for when he has to do obligatory visits. He doesn’t care so whatever he does do will feel performative.
Tartan Disneyland is about right. It comes off as fake and looks totally ridiculous.
As for not taking an interest in Scotland, I think the majority of people would be fine with that, in fact pretty happy. Honestly it’s just not something that people have any interest in.
The people don’t. But the royal machine loves to talk about the royal family’s close ties to Scotland, LOL. And how’re they gonna do that if William’s doesn’t wear a kilt?!?
Yeah it always feels like cosplay to me in a way. Kate loves to theme dress so she breaks out all the tartan. William wears the same thing everywhere – either blue or brown chinos with a sweater and either blue or brown suede shoes, or a suit. The former is his casual outfit, the latter his fancy/serious outfit. so I’m not surprised he doesnt wear a kilt and i think at this point it would look awkward if he did.
But at the same time, it just feels like one more thing where William is trying to convey that he’s modern but really he’s just lazy.
He’s not man enough to wear a kilt – looks too much like a skirt in his insecure mind. He lacks the confidence to pull it off.
This is it, 100%. Something about wearing a “skirt” makes Peggy worry about what people will say.
This is exactly it. He’s afraid a kilt will be called a skirt and he’s not secure enough to handle it.
We have a very long list of all the things about the monarchy that William says he hates or thinks are unimportant. And we have a long history of behavior that demonstrates that the things William says he cares deeply about-like the environment and his children–aren’t important to him at all. The only thing we know about Willam for certain is that he likes to drink, hates his brother, and he’s inordinately passionate about men’s football (Now that I think about it, I wonder what his gambling habits are. Nobody gets that excited unless they have a reason.) After Charles is dead, is this going to be enough to hold the show together?
He would not look good in a kilt. Might look awkward
I *wish* he’d wear one and save us from constantly seeing his moose knuckle in his ill fitting trousers!
IF he was smart enough, or the people around him had one collective working brain cell, they’d realize if Scoots *did* wear a kilt, he’d get the headlines he craves in his one sided competition with Harry. But he is too dim to even think of that. His obstinate, oppositional defiance disorder overshadows any good sense.
Frankly as someone with Scottish blood, living in England I couldn’t care – any Scots who do wear them really wear them for weddings, funerals etc. BUT your point about grabbing the headlines is a very valid point and one that his hot shot PR people should have thought about.
Weddings and funerals, that’s when my Scottish cousins pull their kilts out of the closet. Not for clout-chasing on the ice rink with the Olympic curling team.
While Willy could steal headlines by wearing a kilt, there’s no occasion during what seems like it will be a one-day trip, so he’d look ridiculous and desperate.
I remember a Scottish person saying that the Royal Family treat Scotland like Disneyland and I tend to agree with that. These people are not Scottish and to see Charles, Edward and Philip in kilts always looked ridiculous. So I’m with William on this. Granted his refusal to wear kilt has more to do his embarrassment in wearing a “skirt” rather than wanting avoid cultural appropriation or Scottish cosplay.
Exactly, tartan Disneyland. It’s more embarrassing than anything else. My husband wears his to weddings and that’s about it. It’s a special event type thing, not roaming up munros or walking across a field. Sure if they wanted to wear it to a burns supper, great, anything else is purely performative…which actually rubs us up the wrong way.
Perhaps he’s worried his wife might pull some attention-seeking ‘playful’ gag on him while wearing it.
Groan, thanks for that terrible image!
I really do not want to see Billy in a skirt
Well, he can’t refuse to be king, so he’ll refuse to do a lot of lesser things instead.
Over the weekend ghastly Camilla Long was observing that we only know the things he doesn’t want to do (tours, holiday photo ops, the Commonwealth). Now we know you can add Scotland and kilt wearing to the endless list of things that don’t float Billy’s boat or should that be luxury yacht?! Apart from Aston Villa and Jason what really lights Billy’s fire?
This is the crux of it. Willy only wants to do what Willy enjoys. And he makes it painfully obvious that he’s dissatisfied when he’s forced into doing anything else — including spending time with his wife.
@QuiteContrary with reporters noting how “selective” Billy is with public engagements there is a recognition of the oncoming storm of the King Who Won’t if He Doesn’t Want To Be Bothered. Is the crisis manager being hired to hide/explain/ excuse/ justify Billy’s need to spend quality alone time being empathetic from a distance to be a modernizer monarch??
I never want to see his knobby knees in a kilt anyway. I just want to see them on the big burly guys who do caber tossing lol
Yikes, that picture of William in a suit with his ill fitting trousers and maniacal grin. The caption should be “Look what I’ve got for you, my pretty…”
I’m totally fine and happy not to see William wearing a kilt – it would just be more awkward cosplay for him, and he’s got neither the confidence nor the legs for it😄.
Agree.
Boney legs. Thick wool socks won’t stay up. Looks like a Flashdance extra.
Looks like Wills dresses to the left.
It would not suit him but in general I think kilts are hot and we should normalize men wearing skirts
Maybe he doesn’t have good calves or thinks people will make fun of him (we do already)! Also, he’s not a showman and doesn’t have the self-deprecating sense of humor to just go with the flow, like, “Yes, I look silly in a kilt, but I love the Scottish people!” He has no love for anyone but himself. And he already looks like an ass for a million other reasons than not wearing a kilt to Scotland.
I think kilts make it difficult for the wearer to drive a Range Rover. And the school run is always at the back of William’s mind….