King Charles gets me 'hot under the collar' in a kilt - and I love his 'sausage fingers'

There’s an old saying, coined by Shakespeare – ‘clothes maketh the man’ and it springs to mind every time I see King Charles during the summer.

As he moves north to spend August in the highlands of Scotland, he sports a kilt and in my opinion it transforms him into something of a heart throb.

I always think that in a suit, if he wasn’t surrounded by bodyguards and cheering crowds, he could easily fade into the background. He’d be just another well dressed man of 75 – they’re two a penny.

But as he dons his kilt he seems to take on a new persona.

A relaxed and happy version of himself and someone who’d stand out in a crowd, irrespective of his royal status and that is immensely attractive.

I’m not a monarchist as such – I struggle with the immense wealth and privilege they enjoy while so many have so little – but I like most of the individual Royals (not Harry and Meghan but I’m sure that won’t give them sleepless nights).

I suspect Queen Camilla would be a hilarious companion over a couple of gin and tonics. I also think she wouldn’t mind if I confessed that when her husband sports his kilt I get a little hot under the collar.

There’s something about clothes that can change a man in an instant. For example I’ve always fancied Marcus Wareing – but only in his chef’s whites.

In ordinary clothes he’s distinctly unremarkable. I had to turn off his recent series, ‘Tales from a Kitchen Garden’ lest my crush disappeared.

On paper a man in a ‘skirt’ shouldn’t be the epitome of macho. But in my mind while Sean Connery looked suave and sophisticated as James Bond, he was never more masculine than when he wore a kilt.

As he once said, “A man in a kilt is a man and a half”. And who could forget the rugged intensity of Mel Gibson in a full kilt in Braveheart.

And King Charles wears his exceptionally well – it is of course as beautifully tailored as his suits. It hangs to exactly the right length – mid knee - and he teams it with immaculate hose, giving us a mere tantalising glimpse of the royal knee.

He looks elegant and yet has a twinkle in his eye.

He also looks immensely comfortable and we know he likes wearing them, he once said, “The kilt is a garment that is both traditional and timeless.”

It’s also a symbol of strength and bravery, qualities that King Charles definitely possesses, for all his privilege he’s not exactly having an easy time of late. And yet he’s soldiering on.

I recently read that Prince William ‘hates’ kilts and has no intention of following in his father’s footsteps. It may be for prosaic reasons – perhaps he’s got knobbly knees. But it goes some way to confirming my suspicions that he’s a tad dull.

I’ve always thought Charles is interesting, I like his eccentricities, the handwritten notes, talking to his plants and his love of red squirrels. The fact that he reportedly only likes round ice ‘cubes’ and even travels with a suitable tray to make them makes me chuckle.

I refuse to believe the rumours that he gets a lackey to iron his shoelaces, that’s a step too far.

I wouldn’t be so crude as to speculate whether he sticks to tradition and goes commando underneath or whether the crown jewels are covered, ahem. But I would like to know what he keeps in his sporran…..perhaps a pen that doesn’t leak…