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Prince Louis Breaks Royal Protocol, Ditches Shorts for Pants at Trooping the Color

Prince Louis, who stole the show at Trooping the Color, broke royal protocol with his choice of outfit.

Prince Louis is often the center of attention at any royal event. The same was the case during King Charles’s birthday celebration this year, Trooping the Color. While royal watchers found Louis’s cheeky antics adorable as always, they noted a significant change in his outfit from previous years — Louis broke royal protocol and opted to wear pants instead of shorts.

In the past, the young Prince was always seen donning a pair of shorts and knee-high socks while his elder brother, Prince George, wore pants.  According to Us Weekly, this is because royal protocol dictates that any male member of the family must wear shorts and socks till they turn eight during public events. However, Louis, who only turned seven in April, broke protocol and twinned with his brother. The two were seen donning a navy suit with a white shirt and red tie. The young Prince was also once spotted wearing trousers during a Christmas outing in December 2020 and while walking to the church on VE Day.

Louis seems to be following in his elder brother’s footsteps, who did the same when he was four years old. George, on the occasion of his uncle Prince Harry’s wedding, did not adhere to the strict dress code and wore long, black pants in public for the first time. The pants were custom-made for the young prince by Dege & Skinner and were the miniature version of the coat that his father and uncle wore to the ceremony.

Louis and George, during their grandfather’s birthday celebration, were seen riding the carriage with their mother and sister to return to Buckingham Palace. As per The Sun, during the carriage ride, the two princes were seen chatting as they passed through the Mall. A lip reader revealed that Louis asked his elder brother if he should ‘wave’ to the crowd around them, to which the latter replied, “It's up to you, I can't believe how sunny it is.” Louis then allegedly told George, “Let’s do it together,” as they began waving to the crowd. They continued to do the same while appearing on the Palace balcony.

Interestingly, George also once begged his grandfather Charles to allow him to break protocol. The Prince, nine at the time, persuaded Charles to change his page boy uniform for the Coronation as he was worried he would be made fun of at school. According to reports, George was against wearing tights and white knee breeches for the ceremony. The King, a doting grandfather, agreed and decided to change the centuries-old uniform worn by pages of honor, swapping the breeches for naval pants. An insider spilled at the time that the young Prince "wasn’t keen on wearing tights and becoming a subject of ribaldry at school."