Princess of Wales + Co: In these moments, they whistled on the protocol

Catherine, Princess of Wales
In these situations, royals have flouted protocol

When King Charles, 74, Queen Camilla, 75, or Catherine, Princess of Wales, 41, and Prince William, 40, attend public meetings, they are always greeted by a huge crowd. Not only does this mean that appropriate safety precautions are taken, the royals themselves also have to follow a protocol. Because in the British royal family there are certain rules as to how high-ranking members of the royal family should present themselves or deal with other people. In recent years, however, some of these principles seem to have lost some of their rigor – for they have often been disregarded.

Catherine, Princess of Wales, and Co.: In these moments, royals whistled on the record

King Charles once gave an autograph

It is well known that members of the royal family are forbidden from signing autographs in order to prevent forgery of signatures. A few weeks ago, Kate had to turn down a child’s request for an autograph during her surprise appearance at the Chelsea Flower Show, footage circulating on social media shows. When asked why she couldn’t sign her name, she explained, “My name is Catherine. I’m not allowed to write my signature, it’s just one of those rules.”

However, as the British newspaper “Express” reports, this rule was once broken by King Charles. In 2010, the then Prince of Wales is said to have written “Charles 2010” on a piece of paper during a visit to the victims of the devastating floods in Cornwall.

Selfies are the new autographs – but actually forbidden

Autographs have been almost completely replaced by selfies since the development of mobile phones and smartphones. Members of the royal family are always asked to pose for a snap. Although it’s an official rule that they can’t appear in front of royal fans’ cameras, a growing number of senior royals are making exceptions.

Catherine and William, in particular, often stop at the so-called walkabouts to delight those present with radiant photos – even though the heir to the throne is reported to have never been a friend of snapshots of this kind. But the closeness to the people pays off, the Waleses are extremely popular among fans.

Hugs instead of handshakes?

Traditional protocol also dictates that members of the royal family extend their hands in greeting—or curtsey curtseys to those who meet them. However, that has changed in terms of handling cheering crowds.

Duchess Meghan, 41, often refrained from shaking hands during her time as Senior Royal and instead hugged fans. Even after the death of Queen Elizabeth, † 96, Prince Harry’s wife, 38, hugged a mourning person at the gates of Windsor Castle. While most royal-enthusiastic people continue to shake hands – for logistical reasons alone – Kate has also hugged fans on several occasions.

Colorful nail polish is taboo

In addition, colorful nail polish is said to be reluctant to see, instead the royal ladies should rely on transparent or nude-colored nail polish. But this rule is not being followed either. Both Duchess Sophie, 58, and Catherine have been spotted sporting extravagant manicures, given unofficial royal protocol. Most recently, Kate showed up with red fingernails at the traditional Easter fair in April 2023.

Heirs to the throne should not travel together

It is a well-known rule that the heirs to the throne are not allowed to travel together, as the worst case scenario could jeopardize the monarchy. But Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, are regularly out and about with their eldest Prince George, 9, who is second in line to the throne.

The rule was introduced when traveling was still significantly less safe than it is today. William first broke them while taking his son to Australia on the same flight. George was only nine months old at the time. It was said that Queen Elizabeth always had the last word on this principle.

Sources used: express.co.uk, gettyimages.de, picture-alliance.com, instagram.com

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