Kate Middleton breaks ‘unwritten’ royal rule
Kate Middleton has been spotted breaking an unwritten rule for royals while posing with a royal fan.
After the man approached and put his arm around her, the Princess of Wales reciprocated, breaking the unwritten rule of limiting contact to a handshake.
Before smiling for the camera, Kate was seen speaking with him during the official visit she made with husband Prince William to Scarborough.
The sweet photo was taken during the couple’s visit to ‘The Street’, a youth and community facility run by the charity Coast & Vale Community Action, where they announced that £345,000 of funds from their Royal Foundation would be used to help young people’s mental health in the area.
Kate Middleton was photographed with her arm around a royal fan during a sweet encounter in Scarborough. Image: Getty Images
Their visit marked the first time royals had been to the town in 12 years and was met with a positive reception from locals.
“It’s a feel good factor, which at the present situation as somebody said to me, ‘To see a prince and princess, it’s like a fairytale’,” one local told ITV News.
“It’s lovely that they’re helping all the young ones isn’t it, because they’ll be the ones that’s with them, you know, when [William]’s king really,” another said.
One of the teens who was lucky to meet with the royals to speak about mental health shared a surprising revelation about what the couple were really like.
“I thought they’d be more posh but they were very down to earth,” he said.
Both Kate and William were also snapped with their arms around a young child, with other members of the public taking photos of them as well.
Prince William and Kate Middleton were also spotted with their arms around a young royal fan during their visit to Scarborough. Image: Getty Images
But Kate and William’s most recent visit to Scarborough isn’t the first time members of the public have been met with more than a handshake by the younger royals.
Earlier this year, William hugged a man who became emotional during a trip to Scotland, and the Prince also hugged the Lionesses after their historic win of the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 competition.
In the wake of the Queen’s death in September, Meghan Markle was spotted being hugged and kissed by royal fans, while Sophie, Countess of Wessex, was photographed hugging a young boy during a vigil.
While there aren’t any official rules for how royals behave while greeting members of the public, a handshake has historically been the extent of contact made.
Grant Harold, a former royal butler, told OK! that at most “you could look but you couldn’t touch”.
“If you met a royal, you could look at them and if they offered you a handshake you were to accept it,” he told the outlet.
“That was a lot to do with the mystique surrounding the family but also for security reasons, too."
Image: Getty Images