British royals
These absurd rules still apply to the royals
Queen Elizabeth II: It’s not easy being a royal
© Alessia Pierdomenico/Shutterstock
No Catholicism, no finger-splaying, and no chin guard: the royals adhere to some crazy rules and traditions.
It’s not easy being a member of the British royal family. And you don’t even have to be called Meghan for that. The list of rules is long and not every tradition makes sense in the 21st century – as some of the following examples show, which the “Daily Mail” unearthed.
Dinner with the Queen
An evening with the Queen (95) is not a relaxed thing. It starts with the ingredients: for obvious reasons, the royal family is supposedly not allowed to eat onions or garlic. The food itself is also subject to the Queen’s pace. According to this, it can only be started when the queen does it – and must be stopped when she puts down the cutlery. The following also applies to overnight guests: They may only go to bed when the Queen has ended the evening. And rumor has it she likes to stay up until midnight.
journeys
When Prince George (8) turns 12, Prince William’s son (39) will no longer be allowed to fly with his father. This is to ensure the succession to the throne in the event of an accident. There are exceptions to this rule for high-ranking royals only with the express permission of Queen Elizabeth II. This is certainly the most sensible rule on this list, but it is also a rather sad one.
to drink tea
The rules for drinking tea are not quite as necessary for the survival of the nobility, but they are very British: according to royal etiquette, a spread little finger is not appropriate. Instead, the finger should support the teacup. Female royals are also encouraged to always drink from the same spot on the cup to avoid smearing the entire rim with lipstick.
church
Because the Queen of England is also the Queen of the Church of England, senior royals are not allowed to convert to Catholicism. After all, they are now allowed to marry Catholics – but the law only came into force in 2015.
shellfish
Because the risk of food poisoning from improperly cooking crab, shrimp or scallops is too high, the royal family should avoid eating crustaceans away from home or in foreign countries, it said.
chin position
For the female royals, there is a clear rule on how to keep your chin parallel to the floor. Raising your chin too high could make you look arrogant, too low would mean you’re too shy. Still, a great parable of the demands that the public places on women.
tights
It continues with rules for female royals – and a pretty important one if royals expert Victoria Arbiter is to be believed. She told Insider that “really the only strict, unshakable rule in relation to the Queen’s requirements” is not to show bare legs. The female royals always have to wear pantyhose under skirts and dresses, come the heat wave as it may.
weddings
The Queen only attends weddings if they’re in a church. That is said to be the reason why she was not present at the wedding of her son Prince Charles (73) and his long-term love Duchess Camilla (74) in 2005. This was decided in a “civil ceremony” in the Windsor Guildhall. At the subsequent service in St. George’s Chapel, the Queen was there.
gifts
When traveling, royals must accept any gifts that are given to them, no matter how whimsical. Ultimately, Queen Elizabeth II decides whether they keep the gifts.
hostage taking
While the Queen is delivering her annual speech in Parliament, a Member of the House of Commons is being held “hostage” at Buckingham Palace. The tradition can be traced back to Charles I, who wanted to prevail in 1649 without ruling Parliament, thereby starting the English Civil War. The guards probably take the hostage tradition just as seriously. Labor MP Jim Fitzpatrick was a “hostage” in 2014 and quoted the armed forces chief as saying to the BBC: “If anything happened to Her Majesty Jim we would have done it quickly, we would have just shot you.”