Victoria on PBS

[AFS1970]

So I have been watching this on Masterpiece Theater and have noticed that the your Crown Prince is often seen in a kilt. But ponce line in last weeks episode made me wonder. There was a discussion about what the royal family would wear to an event and the Queen said something along the lines of "of course Bertie will wear his kilt, the Prince of Wales must be recognized".

Since I tend to think of the kilt as a Scottish thing, and not (at least historically) a welsh thing, I wondered if this was just an odd line by the writers or if there is some traditional reason for the prince of wales to wear a kilt?

[Allan Thomson]

So I have been watching this on Masterpiece Theater and have noticed that the your Crown Prince is often seen in a kilt. But ponce line in last weeks episode made me wonder. There was a discussion about what the royal family would wear to an event and the Queen said something along the lines of "of course Bertie will wear his kilt, the Prince of Wales must be recognized".

Since I tend to think of the kilt as a Scottish thing, and not (at least historically) a welsh thing, I wondered if this was just an odd line by the writers or if there is some traditional reason for the prince of wales to wear a kilt?

The Prince of Wales is a title. The bearer of the title's choice of attire has nothing to do with the title they hol. The current Prince of Wales is also well known for wearing kilts.

Also period dramas aren't particularly accurate as a guide to history...

[figheadair]

By tradition, the Prince of Wales is the premier title of the eldest male child of the Sovereign. He usually holds a number of other titles, including; Duke of Rothesey, Lord of the Isles and Great Steward of Scotland. The premier title is always used in England or in a national context but when in Scotland he is unusually referred to by one of his Scottish titles.

[Karl R]

The Prince of Wales and Duke of Rothesay are titles bestowed upon the heir apparent to the throne. "Bertie"/Edward would have carried both titles.

I don't know whether "Victoria" accurately represents his fondness for kilts. On the other hand, at one point I wanted to figure out what kilt styles were worn during the 1920s. So I Googled "edwardian era kilt." The top image returned was a photo of King Edward, in his later years, in a kilt daywear set.

On an unrelated note, my wife was laughing at the size of young Bertie's sporran in the "Victoria" series.

[kingandrew]

Bertie/Edward VII was quite a clothes horse. So he was celebrated for his style and had quite a bit of influence on mens clothing. Among the items he helped popularize were the dinner jacket (tuxedo to those from the US) and the homburg hat.

I don't know how often he wore kilts, but I certainly find many images of him kilted online. Victoria was fond of all things Scottish and her family spent a good deal of time at Balmoral each year. When in Scotland, it was pretty standard for royal men to wear the kilt (still seems to be, actually). So that would seem to offer plenty of opportunities for the prince to be kilted.

However, I have seen plenty of pictures of him in trousers and plus-fours as well. So the kilt doesn't seem to have been a personal signature for HRH.

Andrew

[ctbuchanan]

Perhaps to add some context - the episode in question took place in 1851 when the Prince of Wales was 10 years old. Queen Victoria is depicted as making his apparel choices.