Rumours first began circulating that the King would be making a surprise appearance at Tolu Coker’s London Fashion Week show a couple of weeks beforehand—and indeed, His Royal Highness, ever punctual, did take his seat on the front row with the rest of the fashion set at 180 Strand on Thursday afternoon.
Of course, King Charles isn’t the first monarch to have graced the front row during fashion month. Queen Elizabeth II memorably attended Richard Quinn’s fall 2018 show, sat next to Vogue’s global editorial director Anna Wintour, when the designer won the inaugural QEII Award for British Design.
Indeed, the royals have long pledged their support to the fashion industry, with Princess Margaret sitting front row for Dior’s show at Blenheim Palace back in 1954, while Princess Diana attended Joe Casely-Hayford’s London Fashion Week show in 1995. Even before she became a royal, Meghan Markle attended a number of shows during New York Fashion Week, including the likes of Hervé Léger, Tory Burch, and Tracy Reese in 2013. And more recently, she made her Paris Fashion Week debut at Pierpaolo Piccioli’s debut Balenciaga show in October.
Below, see all the royals who have graced the front row at fashion shows over the years.