King Charles may hold the highest position in British society, but he’s apparently quite sensitive about his height. Standing at 5’10”, the King stands a shade over the average height for a man in the UK, but he was dwarfed by former lingerie model Penny Lancaster at an event at Dumfries House.
The pair met up at the headquarters of The King’s charity, The King’s Foundation, to launch its 35th anniversary celebrations. But His Majesty was reportedly a little uneasy as he took up his position next to the 6’1” former face of Ultimo.
“He commented on my height,” Penny told the Daily Mail’s Ephraim Hardcastle, “So I said, ‘I can do something about that’, and took my shoes off… he held my hand as we walked along.”
It was a policy also adopted by the late Princess Diana when she was married to the King. Both of them were 5’10” and Diana tried to avoid looming over her husband.
“For years, Diana wore shoes no higher than two inches out of respect to her husband’s ego,” writes Eloise Moran, author of The Lady Di Look Book, “Since he was the same height she was.”
Queen Camilla, a little shorter than her husband at 5’9”, and almost invariably wears a low-heeled wide-fitting shoe from a UK company called Sole Bliss.
The brand, founded by Lisa Kay, specialises in extra-comfy shoes with concealed stretch panels and extra cushioning that’s ideal for a woman who can often be on her feet all day at public engagements.
Camilla, 75, owns at least three pairs of the company’s £159 Ingrid style. A Sole Bliss spokesperson told Page Six Style that Queen Camilla has been spotted in the signature shoe “an estimated 80 times” since purchasing her first pair in 2018.
Princess Catherine is almost as tall as her Princess Diana, standing at 5’9”. Fortunately, though, Prince William is the tallest in the family at an impressive 6ft 3in – a full inch taller than his younger brother Prince Harry.