Royals

Queen Camilla Transforms Royal Off-Duty Style In a Puffer Jacket

Her Majesty looked more like Martha Stewart than Queen Mary when she met up with her children wearing a UNIQLO parka this week.
Image may contain Person Adult Child Face Head Clothing Footwear Shoe Hat Flower and Flower Arrangement
Queen Camilla in Cardiff, Wales, on July 11, 2024.Samir Hussein/Getty Images.

This week, King Charles III and Queen Camilla traveled to Balmoral Castle to begin their traditional summer in residence at the sprawling Scottish estate. Though the couple are still carrying out some of their public duties, the time up north represents a change of pace and an opportunity to connect with family members who come to visit. On Monday, Camilla went to Ballater, the village closest to the castle, to have lunch with her children and grandchildren. Following the gathering, she was photographed waving goodbye, wearing navy suede loafers, bootcut jeans, and a sky-blue UNIQLO parka. (The jacket is sold out, but when it was available, it retailed for 69.90 British pounds or about 91 dollars.)

Off-duty style has always been a fundamental part of any royal’s wardrobe, but Camilla’s look on Monday proves that we really are in a new royal era. Though the late Queen Elizabeth II was fond of the traditional country look of the British upper classes, including khakis, Barbour jackets, and patterned headscarves, Camilla is embracing the casual garb preferred by fashionable ladies across the Anglosphere, like Martha Stewart on a coffee run. However, she did elevate the look with her familiar Van Cleef & Arpels Alhambra bracelet in gold and blue agate.

While Camilla was enjoying time with her family, Charles was back at the castle taking part in a traditional welcoming ceremony. He donned a kilt and greeted Cruachan IV, a Shetland pony who serves as the mascot of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The pony had a well-documented feud with Charles’s late mother—in 2014, he even tried to bite her—but he was on his best behavior for the king on Monday.

This year, the king and queen traveled to Balmoral Estate two weeks later than usual, as the castle was opened up to visitors for the first time in its history. For 100 British pounds, tourists got the opportunity to see the interiors of the home that has served as a summer hideaway for the royals since 1842, and the tickets sold out within hours.