Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen says he has been ‘looked after’ by his friend King Charles since the coronation – and claims he made Westminster Abbey look like a ‘old people’s home’

He has been friends with King Charles for years, but interior designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen has said he has been ignored by the monarch since his coronation.

Speaking about the My dirty laundry podcastLaurence, 58, said he didn’t like the ‘purple pajamas’ Charles wore on his big day in May last year and believes he made Westminster Abbey look like an ‘old people’s home’.

He said: ‘I haven’t seen Charles since the coronation. I think he might be shooting me in the back cold. I was a bit rude about his purple pajamas and I’m not sure, I think I just lost the knighthood.

“But you know what, I think the purple pajama cheer was justified. I stand by it.’

When asked what the problem was with the ensemble, Laurence said: ‘They had the wrong shade of purple. Only now would I say that.’

He said: ‘I haven’t seen Charles since the coronation. I think he might be shooting me in the back cold. I was a bit rude about his purple pajamas and I’m not sure, I think I just lost my knighthood’

Speaking on the My Dirty Laundry podcast (pictured), Laurence claimed King Charles made Westminster Abbey look like an ‘old people’s home’

“They were Pantone 739. They must be Pantone in 742. No, I just think the crown was great. You know, the whole thing. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.’

‘Let’s see what happens around Christmas. When we get the Christmas card, I know I’ll be back on track again.’

To make matters worse, he said: ‘My biggest thing at the moment about all these big royal events is that Westminster Abbey is just very overlit. I think it looks like a retirement home.

‘It looks like the cleaners have left the fluorescent lighting on and actually it’s supposed to be beautiful and romantic, a kind of candlelight, powerful, timeless and timeless.

“And right now, you know, it’s kind of like a mall. You know, it just looks a little too retail park.”

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

‘I think we need a bit more Blackpool at the coronation, don’t we? I can imagine the Palace coming on the phone and saying, ‘You were right. We’re going for more Blackpool.’

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

He said: ‘Westminster Abbey is just very overlit. I think it looks like a retirement home. It looks like the cleaners left the fluorescent lights on and actually it’s supposed to be beautiful and romantic, kind of candlelit and powerful.’

In 2022, Laurence appeared on This Morning and recalled designing the floors of Buckingham Palace in his early career, which the late Prince Philip ‘hated’ (pictured in 2010)

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

‘We received a letter from him years ago. I showed my young grandson Albion… from when King Charles was Prince of Wales.

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

“Look, I think if it wasn’t for King Charles, King Charles probably would have been a general practitioner. Because as far as I’m concerned, that letter could say 50 grams of diazepam, I don’t know, it could be anything and an enema.’

In 2022, Laurence appeared on This Morning and recalled designing the floors of Buckingham Palace in his early career, which the late Prince Philip ‘hated’.

He said: “I helped create this floor and it was a wonderfully beautiful moment and when I was involved with the Cutty Stark Trust ten or fifteen years later I met Prince Philip.

‘I said to him [Prince Philip]“the floor we stand on, I designed it,” and he rocked back and forth on his feet and said, “I never enjoyed it,” the designer laughed.

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

And it seems the connections go back a long way. Laurence’s wife Jackie organized parties for Princess Diana.

Laurence regularly met Prince Harry and his daughters went to the same school – Marlborough – as Kate Middleton.

My Dirty Laundry Podcast is out now. Visit @mydirtylaundrypodcast for more information.