Zelenskyy wore his signature olive-green sweater to meet King Charles during his surprise visit to the UK. Here's why he is rarely seen without it

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met King Charles III in Buckingham Palace on Wednesday.
• The Ukrainian leader wore his casual, olive-green crewneck during the meeting.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wore his signature olive-green fleece sweater when he met King Charles III during his surprise visit to the UK on Wednesday.

Zelenskyy and King Charles met in the 1844 room of Buckingham Palace, where the king has previously had an audience with British prime ministers.

A video, published by the BBC, shows Zelenskyy being introduced to the king, and the pair shaking hands.

Zelenskyy told Charles it was "a great honor to be here" to which the king replied: "We've all been worried about you and thinking about your country for so long, I can't tell you," the royal editor for the Daily Mail tweeted.

Speaking to a packed Westminster Hall earlier in the day, Zelenskkyy said it will be "a truly special moment" when he meets the king.

"In Britain, the King is an air force pilot and in Ukraine today every air force pilot is a king," he said, according to Sky News.

After Russia's invasion, Zelenskyy ditched the typical black suit look that he had frequently worn before and switched to a military look of mostly green crew necks, fleeces, and t-shirts paired with dark cargo pants.

Zelenskyy has sported the look on numerous official visits, including a recent trip to Washington, DC, in December where he spoke in front of Congress in what appears to be the same sweater he wore in Buckingham Palace.

The New York Times critic Vanessa Friedman wrote in March that Zelenskyy is wearing green to reflect the state of his country and show solidarity with his people.

"The T-shirt is a reminder of Mr. Zelensky's origins as a regular guy; a connection between him and the citizen-soldiers fighting on the streets; a sign he shares their hardship," Friedman wrote.

"That Mr. Zelensky choose instead to adopt what may be the single most accessible garment around — the T-shirt — is as clear a statement of solidarity with his people as any of his rhetoric," she added.

In an interview with the Financial Times in December, the Ukrainian president said he plans to keep wearing his new outfit until after the war is over.

Last year, one of Zelenskyy's own fleeces was auctioned off in London for more than $100,000, CNN reported.