About vows of poverty taken by rulers

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Lysistrata

Πρωθυπουργός της Αυτοκρατορίας Ρωμαίος
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Especially around, say, Ireland you'll frequently see rulers wearing rags alongside their often bejeweled official headgear. I've personally found it a bit jarring; surely for rulers, particularly at and above ducal-tier, they'd dress more simply but not in literal rags?

I'm curious what you guys think, or if there are historical precedents to draw upon. The only sort-of relevant example that immediately springs to mind for me is Basil II, noted for his spartan character by Byzantine standards. He dressed very simply for an emperor, usually going with a plain purple robe when he wasn't wearing his war regalia.