He’d turned up to cheer on the underdog in the Wimbledon final and left as the internet’s new fashion darling. King Felipe VI of Spain has become the unexpected royal style icon of the year and for one of his first appearances after claiming his newest title, he was in black tie and tux. Naturally.
Felipe VI’s visit to the royal box at Wimbledon caused quite the stir as his jacket was praised in a tweet that viral and sent the Spanish monarch to the top of the trending list for days.
The account of menswear and style expert, Derek Guy, highlighted the uber chic elements of the king’s tennis choice, noting that it’s ”very rare to see this level of tailoring nowadays, even on the wealthy” and suddenly Felipe was the only style ticket in town.
The debate about just why he looked so elegant continues even now so there was a bit of pressure on the king for his latest engagement, an awards ceremony with his wife, Queen Letizia, who is usually the person in this partnership being praised for style.
However, all eyes were on Felipe this time and he chose to raise his jacket game with full black tie, well, bowtie to be precise. The King arrived at the ABC 2023 awards in full evening garb, complete with tux, bowtie and very shiny shoes. The jacket, as Derek Guy, has now taught hundreds of thousands online, isn’t just well cut but fits neatly at the collar and has perfectly proportioned lapels.
The king certainly looked rather comfortable in it and, to be fair to Felipe, he had little choice other than a tux for one of the most prestigious awards nights of the summer in Spain.
It’s rare to write this but, for once, Queen Letizia’s outfit was an afterthought, albeit a rather stylish one as we’ve come to expect from her over the years. She chose on trend aqua for this awards ceremony but one of royalty’s ultimate fashion stars could relax knowing her husband was in the spotlight for once.
And King Felipe might yet be required to get the grey jacket that caused a social media sensation out again. He was at Wimbledon to watch Carlos Alcaraz claim his first title with the 20 year old tipped to win several more. Alcaraz reminded the king that he’d watched him play twice and he’d won both games, hinting that he’d like him as a lucky mascot at future matches. Who’s to say that same jacket won’t become part of the luck.
