When it comes to royal fashion trendsetters, I have the usual suspects lined up. Princess Diana, Princess Catherine, Meghan Markle, Duchess Sophie, even Queen Elizabeth II was a style icon in her own right. So when fashion brand Kaiia released a report detailing who had been the most influential royal style inspiration on TikTok, I had already placed my bets. Turns out, all the women above were trumped by: Her son, her husband, her brother-in-law, her nephew and her grandson (in that order). Yep. The king of royal fashion on TikTok is...Prince William.
This Relative Beat Kate Middleton for TikTok's Biggest Royal Fashionista
Who would've guessed?!
Published Jan 2, 2026
•2:00pm
James Whatling-IPA/POOL supplied by Splash News/Shutterstock
Carl Court-Getty/POOL supplied by Splash News/Shutterstock
You read that right. Per the report, the heir to the throne pulled in over 11 million searches each month this past year, with users looking for "Prince William style inspiration." Though Princess Catherine's search volume clocks in at nearly 15 million, when it comes to TikTok, the prince wins with 600,000 searches to his wife's 60,000. That's a 90 percent jump.
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Truthfully, I was mildly flabbergasted. Given that the Prince of Wales is normally serving us some version of Finance Bro Lite™, I initially couldn't believe he'd pulled ahead of all the stylish women in his family. Suits, ties, tuxedos and crisp button-ups, with the occasional variation, like this tweed number above, have been his usual go-tos. The occasional quarter zip and sneakers have made an appearance as well.
After my initial surprise, I realized...it made sense. Fashion has seen the rise of corpcore and the office siren; Ralph Lauren is all over social media and the runways are filled with '80s power suits. While the royal ladies have fun with their fashion, Prince William's dependable, consistent and simple outfits feel achievable for all of us who can't custom-order every single piece of clothing. As for me, well, I've already started saving for my button-up collection.
