Prince Louis made two big public appearances while celebrating Christmas with the rest of the Royal Family this year, and he did so wearing something that he has rarely been seen in up to this point – pants.

The five-year-old son of Prince William and Princess Catherine (aka Kate Middleton) joined his older brother Prince George, 10, and sister Princess Charlotte, 5, at his mom’s annual Christmas Carol concert for this first time at the start of the month.

He then attended his second Christmas Day Service at Sandringham with the rest of his family.

Both times, he wore a double-breasted peacoat with pants. This marks some of the first times that the young royal has been seen in public wearing anything but shorts, and the change has a deeper meaning than you might think.

Read more about Prince Louis’ wardrobe change…

Despite it being winter, Prince Louis wore shorts and high socks when he attended his first Christmas service with his family in 2022. He was seen wearing a pair of pastel blue shorts with navy high socks while celebrating Easter with his family earlier in 2023.

At both events, Prince George was wearing pants. An etiquette expert explained why there was the difference in wardrobe.

“It’s a very English thing to dress a young boy in shorts,” etiquette expert William Hanson told Harper’s Bazaar. “Trousers are for older boys and men, whereas shorts on young boys is one of those silent class markers that we have in England. Although times are (slowly) changing, a pair of trousers on a young boy is considered quite middle class – quite suburban. And no self-respecting aristo or royal would want to be considered suburban. Even the [the Princess of Wales].”

The expert continued, “The usual custom is that a boy graduates to trousers around eight years old. This is, historically, perhaps due to the practice of ‘breeching’, which dates back to the sixteenth century. A newborn boy would be dressed in a gown for their first year or two (these gowns have survived as the modern Christening robe) and then he was ‘breeched’ and wore articles of clothing that more resembled shorts or trousers than dresses.”

Prince Louis seems to be moving ahead of schedule. While he wore shorts to attend the RAF Air Tattoo show in July, he was dressed smartly in a pair of pants on the day of his grandfather’s coronation in May.

Find out what he was wearing in the family’s annual Christmas card this year!