Royals Who Suffered From Major Wardrobe Malfunctions

The British royal family might be one of the best-dressed families in the world. Over the years, its members have worn pieces that indelibly altered the fashion world, from the fairy tale Dior gown worn by Princess Margaret on her 21st birthday to Princess Diana's never-forgotten revenge dress. Of course, these stylish royals enlist quite a bit of help to ensure that their looks are perfectly presentable — even working one-on-one with designers to dream up custom-made ensembles. 

Diana was known to have such close personal ties to the fashion world that she was occasionally spotted dining out with Gianni Versace. And, the People's Princess wore so many pieces by Catherine Walker that the couturier would lend her pieces on request. These days, Princess Catherine continues the royal tradition of associating with stylists. Fashion designer Jenny Peckham even told WWD that she likes to get Catherine's input before she draws up a new dress, stating, "It's always quite a collaboration."

Despite all of the effort that goes into dressing the British royal family, its members are not immune from suffering the occasional wardrobe malfunction. Unfortunately, thanks to the eternal presence of the paparazzi, few of these mishaps have gone unnoticed. From Queen Elizabeth II's broken wedding tiara to King Charles III's hole-filled socks, the royal history of public clothing struggles only goes to show that sometimes, even the highest-ranked people are at the mercy of a broken zipper.  

During her heyday in the 1960s and 70s, Princess Margaret was known for being the rebellious royal who challenged tradition. Affectionately dubbed "Priceless Margarine" by John Lennon, Margaret — or Margo, as she was known to her family — enjoyed rubbing shoulders with celebrities and rock stars. Her biographer, Theo Aronson, even alleged that she once told Jean Cocteau, "Disobedience is my joy."

Whether or not Aronson's claim is true, Margaret lived up to her reputation one year while on a Caribbean vacation. In her memoir "Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown," Lady Anne Glenconner described an incident that took place on Mustique Island: "I began to notice that whispers circulated whenever [Margaret] got out of the water. I soon realized it was because her swimming costumes were transparent when wet." 

While this royal wardrobe malfunction would have been embarrassing to some, Margaret did not even bat an eye. When Glenconne confronted the princess about her see-through swimsuits, Margaret apparently responded with little more than a shrug. "Oh, Anne, I don't care. If they want to look, they can look." That being said, it's important to note that at the time, the Glenconne family owned Mustique Island, meaning that Margaret was free from the prying eyes of the paparazzi. As Glenconne wrote in her tell-all, "Even though it was basic, and for years there were no celebrities and no grandee on the island, [Margaret] had privacy."

On July 29, 1981, Princess Diana wed the future King Charles of England. Wearing a billowing taffeta lace gown designed by Elizabeth and David Emanuel, she looked the very image of a fairy tale bride. However, the dress did not sit on Diana in the way that the designers intended. In the ITV documentary "Invitation to the Royal Wedding," Elizabeth Emanuel confessed to feeling "horrified" when she saw Diana wearing the gown. "We did know [the dress] would crease a bit, but, when I saw her arrive at St Paul's and we saw the creasing, I actually felt faint," the stylist divulged. Apparently, the gown's creators hadn't guessed just how much it would wrinkle, admitting "it was a lot more than we thought."

This royal wardrobe malfunction came after the Emanuels had spent weeks altering the gown to fit Diana's ever-changing figure. Speaking to People, Elizabeth Emanuel revealed that they had to craft five different bodices for the dress. Apparently, at the first fitting, Diana needed a 26 to a 27-inch waist. By the last one, she wore a bodice with a 23-inch waist. As Diana would later reveal in an interview for Andrew Morton's biography "Diana: Her True Story — In Her Own Words," this rapid change was likely due to her disordered eating. "The bulimia started the week after we got engaged," Diana shared.

If royal nuptials are a hotbed for wardrobe malfunctions, Princess Eugenie's wedding to Jack Brooksbank was no exception. At the couple's 2018 ceremony, Princess Catherine had something of a Marilyn Monroe moment. Donning a hot pink Alexander McQueen dress, Catherine experienced a slight wardrobe issue when a huge gust of wind blew up her skirt. The moment was captured by the paparazzi, although Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh swept in before disaster struck. The older royal helped Catherine pull down her billowing dress, preventing the photographers from getting a shot of her underwear.  

Interestingly, this kind of incident is uncommon among royal women, as they typically collaborate with designers to prevent wardrobe malfunctions. As PR expert Daena Borrowman told the Express, "There are dozens of protocols in place that stylists and dressers of the royals have to familiarize themselves with to prevent working royals from landing into embarrassing fashion faux pas." In a case such as this one, Borrowman claimed that Catherine could have avoided embarrassment by sewing weights into her skirt. Apparently, Queen Elizabeth III used this strategy to always maintain her sense of decency in public. "It has been said that the late queen passed down her tricks to Kate, as she too would have circular lead curtain weights sewn into all of her handmade outfits," Borrowman said.

On December 1, 2017, Meghan Markle proved that one can experience a royal wardrobe malfunction before even becoming a princess. At the time, Meghan was a title-less actress, primarily known for her role in "Suits." She was also, of course, Prince Harry's new fiancée; the couple had announced their engagement just days earlier. Nevertheless, despite her position as a commoner, Meghan was invited to Nottingham to participate in a walkabout with Harry. Speaking in the documentary series "Harry & Meghan," the now-Duchess of Sussex recalled, "I never saw pictures or videos of a walkabout. Like, what's a walkabout?"

As a way to compensate for her lack of royal knowledge, Meghan says that she tried to choose to perfect outfit. As the Duchess said in the documentary, "I was like, 'Should I wear these earrings? Are these a British designer? I just ordered these online. Is this good? Wait, my tag's on. Cut the tag." Unfortunately, in the middle of this struggle, Meghan's attire malfunctioned, and her zipper broke. Rather than allow further chaos to ensue, however, Harry came rushing to his fiancée's rescue. The duchess recounted, "And [Harry's] like, 'OK, babe, safety pin. Just safety pin it.'" Luckily, the prince's efforts paid off. The rest of the event unfurled without a hitch, and the paparazzi remained none the wiser. 

The late Prince Philip was not immune to the royal wardrobe malfunctions of the younger generation. On a 2012 trip to Scotland, Philip attended the Highland Games, and was sure to dress for the event. In typical Scottish fashion, Philip donned a checkered kilt. However, despite his apropos choice of attire, the former Duke of Edinburgh did not exactly blend in with the crowds. Instead, he leaned back into his chair, accidentally spread his legs, and suffered the consequences in the form of flashing cameras. The following day, tabloid headlines ripped the prince consort apart — the Daily Beast even published the headline: "Prince Philip Flashes in Kilt."

This incident must have been hugely embarrassing for Philip, who had a history of assisting others with their wardrobe mishaps. During an episode of the BBC's "Women's Hour," fashion expert Susannah Constantine divulged that Philip once helped her out of a major clothing disaster: "I was at a dinner at Windsor Castle, as one is, and sat between Prince Philip and, I think, Prince Edward, in a beautiful dress which my father had got me ... I didn't notice anything and Prince Philip turned towards me and kind of went towards my breasts ... And I realized that the straps had broken and my bosoms were on display to the entire room." Luckily, thanks to Philip's help, a butler came running to Constantine's rescue, offering her a safety pin.