Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen reveals his embarrassment after receiving the ‘cold shoulder’ from King Charles following his scathing comments on his Coronation outfit

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen has admitted he is still feeling embarrassed over comments he made abut King Charles’ Coronation robes.

The outlandish TV personality, 59, made some scathing remarks about the ‘pyjamas’ the King wore to his Coronation in 2023 and he previously claimed he had been receiving ‘the cold shoulder’ from the monarch ever since.

After claiming that King Charles wore the ‘wrong shade of purple’ to the historic event, Laurence has told MailOnline that despite his unease over the snub he still stands by his comments.

He said: ‘I do feel slightly embarrassed, I accused him of wearing purple pyjamas to his own coronation. But I stick by it. I still think he should have rethought that outfit.’ 

The interior designer, who has partnered with the Ideal Home Show, said: ‘The last time I bumped into him, he congratulated me on all the medals I’d won at Chelsea, so he obviously knows vaguely who I am but I think if he ever had to pick me out on a line-up, he would struggle.

Claiming that the King has a fondness for his wife, he added: ‘Probably less so with my wife. He always manages to make a beeline for Mrs Llewelyn-Bowen.

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen has admitted he is still feeling embarrassed over comments he made abut King Charles’ Coronation robes (pictured in February 2025)

The outlandish TV personality, 59, made some scathing remarks about the ‘pyjamas’ the King wore to his Coronation in 2023 and he previously claimed he had been receiving ‘the cold shoulder’ from the monarch ever since (pictured, meeting him in 2012)

The recent snubs might have something to do with the fact he branded the monarch’s coronation outfit ‘the wrong shade of purple’ but Laurence doubled down on the critique 

‘[Last time we spoke] was before he became King, it was a couple of years ago and we were at a thing at Buckingham Palace, but we bumped into him because we were at a different thing and he was just there.’

The Changing Rooms star holds Charles’ diplomacy skills in much higher regard than his sartorial preferences, however, heaping praise on his ‘quiet, powerful influence’.

He added: ‘I think of course he is [coping well with the role]. I think the thing is that he’s had a very, very long run up to it.

‘I still think that historically we’re going to look back at his time as Prince of Wales and just go, “my God, that man changed so much”. 

‘We all thought he was a complete loon 25 years ago. He was a gift to Spitting Image with the talking to the trees and the green stuff and yet now it is the orthodoxy.

‘We shouldn’t underestimate the quiet, powerful influence a monarch like ours can wield.’ 

Last year, Laurence clarified his problems with the King’s trousers, saying: ‘They were Pantone 739. They need to be Pantone in 742. No, I just think I think the thing is, the crown was amazing. You know, the whole thing. Lovely, lovely, lovely.

The TV star said: ‘I think if he ever had to pick me out on a line-up, he would struggle. Probably less so with my wife. He always manages to make a beeline for Mrs Llewelyn-Bowen [right]’

‘Let’s see what happens around Christmas. If we get the Christmas card, I know I’m back in the fold.’

Adding insult to injury, he said: ‘My big thing at the moment about all these huge royal events is that Westminster Abbey is just very, very overlit. I think, you know, it looks like an old people’s home.

‘It looks like the cleaners have left the fluorescent lights on and actually, it needs to be beautiful and romantic and kind of candlelit and powerful and timeless and ageless.

‘And at the moment, you know, there’s something of the mall to it. You know, it just looks a little bit too retail park.’

He continued: ‘If I’m still around for the next royal engagement, you know, please, can we turn the lights down a bit? As creative curator of the Blackpool Illuminations, I think I should be involved.

‘I think we need a bit more Blackpool in the coronation, don’t you? I can just imagine the Palace getting on the phone and saying, “You were right. We are going for more Blackpool”.’

Laurence once bought a 10,000 sq ft. barn conversion from Charles and he owns a £1.6million manor house in Gloucestershire as well as a holiday home in Cornwall.

He said the King used to write to him at his home in Gloucestershire, but not all his family members were not quite so impressed.

He said: ‘Westminster Abbey is just very, very overlit. I think, you know, it looks like an old people’s home’

The Changing Rooms star holds Charles’s diplomacy skills in much higher regard than his sartorial preferences, however, heaping praise on his ‘quiet, powerful influence’

‘We got letter from him years ago. I was showing my young grandson Albion… from when King Charles was the Prince of Wales.

‘And he was very unimpressed with his handwriting. I like that. You know, you know, forget all the sort of the seal and the flunkie-dom and the you know, the genuine, this is a historical document didn’t like his handwriting, it was very messy.

‘See, I reckon if King Charles hadn’t been King Charles probably would have been a GP. Because as far as I’m concerned, that letter could be saying 50 grams of diazepam, I don’t you know, it could be anything and an enema.’

In 2018, Laurence told The Daily Telegraph that his neighbours, Charles and Camilla, were ‘forever popping over wanting to borrow more gin’.

Laurence returns once again to the Ideal Home Show, which lands at Olympia Events in west London on March 21, where he will show off his Home Of Your Future and celebrate 25 years of his Brand LLB.

‘Aside from the thrill of seeing myself on the side of a bus, which is obviously something I live for, I wanted this to be a definitive year,’ he said. ‘This year with my Home of Your Future concept I wanted to create a space that reflected the fact we’re all living in smaller spaces than we used to, that there are things you can do to make that easier. 

‘But to also very much peg it to this idea of an ageing population and an ageing population that I think are very, very averse to the idea of being bullied into beige just for the hell of it.’

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen will be appearing at the Ideal Home Show, on hand to offer lots of top tips, live Q&As and demonstrations throughout the 17-day event at Kensington Olympia. Laurence’s fun insights can all be learned about at this year’s Ideal Home Show. https://www.idealhomeshow.co.uk/