The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word STARKERS
I've seen this crossword clue in The Sunday Telegraph
S
T
A
R
K
E
R
S
More clues leading to the result STARKERS
- Powerless people leaving car on street out of gear
- Naked king pinched by lecherous types?
- Run, when in better shape, at first without a stitch
- Onlookers surrounding king revealing all
- Nude king surrounded by people gawping?
- Royal couple among celebrities in their birthday suits
- People gawping around king ‘in his new clothes‘
- Celebrity, with underwear half off, gets naked
- Followers, once having changed sides, totally exposed
- Those looking to cover bottom in shock – nude!
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Like fairytale emperor" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case like fairytale emperor = starkers.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does STARKERS mean?
STARKERS adjective- Completely nude.
- Stark raving mad.