Howard Chua-Eoan, Columnist

The King’s Royal Blue Tie Speaks Volumes to Greeks

Did Charles’s sartorial choice express an opinion on the fate of the Parthenon marbles?

December 5, 2023 at 5:00 AM UTC

Howard Chua-Eoan is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion covering culture and business. He previously served as Bloomberg Opinion's international editor and is a former news director at Time magazine.

King Charles III and his blue tie during the COP28 United Nations climate summit in Dubai.
Photographer: Giuseppe Cacace/AFP via Getty Images

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Can a tie really bind you to an opinion?

Greek and British journalists traded flurries of speculation last week after King Charles III wore a bright blue cravat (and matching pocket square) as he addressed the COP28 climate conference in Dubai. The color and pattern, proclaimed Hellenic media, was a definite allusion to the Greek flag. Some reports even named a boutique in Athens as the source of the accessory. Why all the to-do over a flap of fabric?