A different kind of holy. King Charles III and wife Queen Consort Camilla visited a mosque in London, but all eyes — and cameras — were on the hole in the monarch’s sock.
Upon arriving at the mosque on Wednesday, February 8, the king, 74 — wearing a long overcoat over a dress shirt and midnight blue pants — took off his shoes, as is custom in the house of worship, revealing a small hole on the top of his right black sock. Camilla, 75, added a white headscarf to her cream-colored ensemble when entering the mosque.
Last month, Charles drew praise for his sustainable fashion after wearing a tweed coat he’s had since the 1980s. His Majesty has long been a champion of environmental causes and sustainability — particularly when it comes to his own wardrobe.
“I happen to be one of those people who’d get shoes — or any item of clothing — repaired if I can, rather than just throw it away,” Charles told British Vogue in 2020.
And that’s why I think, from an economic point of view, there are huge opportunities for people to set up small businesses involved with repair, maintenance and reuse,” he added, recalling, “When I was a child, we used to take our shoes down to the cobbler in Scotland and would watch with fascination as he ripped the soles off and then put new soles on.”
Moreover, Charles explained to the style outlet, “It seems to me there are huge opportunities, particularly now, within the whole sustainable fashion sector, to counter this extraordinary trend of throw-away clothing—or throw away everything, frankly.”
When it comes to the king, his personal style has not been too much on the forefront of fans’ minds as of late. Charles — who succeeded the throne after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in September 2022 — will hold his official coronation ceremony in May. Amid the pomp and circumstance, however, is his ongoing rift with son Prince Harry.
The Duke of Sussex, 38, has publicly discussed his strained relationship with his father since stepping down as a senior member of the royal family in 2020, but perhaps no more so than in his debut memoir, Spare, which was released last month. Among the many claims against his family in the tell-all, Harry alleged that a member of Charles’ team “devised and launched a new campaign of getting good press for Pa and Camilla at the expense of bad press for us,” he wrote.
Despite the father and son’s estrangement, royal expert Angela Levin exclusively told Us Weekly on Tuesday, February 7, that in addition to being a monarch, Charles is “also a father.”
“He loves Harry. He might not like what he’s doing, but he loves him and there’s a weakness there for him. He doesn’t want to lose him as a son,” the Camilla: From Outcast to Queen Consort author told Us.
Charles, for his part, seemed to laugh off the Harry controversy on Wednesday while greeting onlookers. After one person asked the king to “bring back Harry, please; can you bring him back, sir?” the monarch laughed good-naturedly and kept walking.
