Prince Harry, fresh from his 40th birthday celebrations last month in California, is back in London, and, perhaps rather tenderly, taking style cues from his father.
The Duke of Sussex attended the Wellchild Awards on Monday evening in a sleek navy single-breasted suit and a striking turquoise tie with a subtle fish pattern from British brand Reef Knots. The style costs a relatively inexpensive £69.
The choice is symbolic. Reef Knots is an independent British brand founded by Patrick Dudley-Williams in 2012 and partners with the Blue Marine Foundation, a charity dedicated to ocean sustainability.
It’s a small gesture, a glancing decision as he readies himself for an event close to his heart and one of the few for which he makes a point to the UK – but it also speaks volumes about the Windsor wardrobe flourishes which still come naturally.
King Charles enjoys the finer points of dressing and is a stickler for tradition, while always adding a dose of personality via his accessories; ties, pocket squares and cufflinks are used to bring a playful element to his otherwise formal outfits.
The King previously donned a tie decorated with elephants to support Elephant Family, the elephant charity of his wife’s late brother Mark Shand, as well as a dinosaur patterned tie, a T-Rex to be exact, which was thought to be a coded message denoting his position as Charles III Rex.
Prince William, ever the dutiful heir, has followed in his father’s footsteps in this regard too, opting for a Ferragamo tie at the Euros this year adorned with footballs.
Harry usually prefers an open collar, like a lot of men his age, but has been known to sport an Hermès tie on occasion. “I looked at the shiny blue tie and thought that it could be Hermès,” says Tom Chamberlin, editor of The Rake magazine. “But to be honest, my eye was drawn to the fact that his boarding school upbringing hasn’t entirely gone to waste, as the point of the tie stops right at the top of the waistband, just as it should be with a single-breasted jacket. There’s still hope for the prodigal prince.”
His humorous tie choice also nods subtly to the sartorial legacy of his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales who always ensured she wore bright and cheerful clothes and jewellery when visiting children or hospitals. No doubt Harry’s tie will have been an uplifting sight for the children honoured by Wellchild.
Of course, it is standard practice that royals deploy certain signifiers via their style; see the Princess of Wales’ in softly-softly boho or the Queen wearing Dior in Paris. Prince Harry’s been something of an outlier, plus ça change, in how he represents himself, sitting somewhat apart from the traditional classicism of his father and brother.
His usual style is more casual, less focused on seeming upright and polished, with a touch of Californification courtesy of his Vince trainers and workout gear.
Prince Harry famously went his own way for his wedding by asking Queen Elizabeth’s permission to sport a fiery tuft of beard for the day, in contravention of strict military rules around facial hair in uniform and, according to his tell-all memoir Spare, incurring the wrath of his brother for the grooming infringement.
He favours talismanic bracelets, a touching nod to his love of Africa. He has also made forays into high fashion, going a great deal further than his brother, who tends to favour traditional Savile Row tailoring – Prince Harry wore Dior for the coronation of his father in 2023.
Formality has never been Harry’s particular forte, but he is happy to tow the line in a safe suit when the occasion calls, most remarkably and stylishly when he was photographed wearing a slick Paul Smith suit, beaming at the Duchess of Sussex in the pouring rain after the announcement that they would be stepping down from royal duties in 2021.
Perhaps he’s finding his own way in terms of style as he marks his 40th birthday. Prince Harry is clearly intent on carving out his own path, but opting for a cheerful tie, nothing overtly “fashion”, nothing too sombre, is a very everyman approach.
The look is also just very redolent of a workaday British guy – blink and it could be any City suit – and perhaps a nudge towards a more “tow the party line” approach to dressing that the royal family do so well. Could he be softening into an image that’s more in keeping with the family status quo? Time, and how he chooses to present himself, will tell.
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