Why can't Kate Middleton cross her legs in public?
Does Prince William need permission to travel with his father? And does the
queen really have a rule about eating potatoes? The royal family has some rather weird rules.
Being part of the royal family means there are rules that govern nearly every action one
might take, especially if those actions are conducted in public view. However,
plenty of these rules apply to the home life of the royals, too.
One of the rules Prince William, Kate Middleton, and the rest of the royal family must adhere to
is about meals, and specifically, when they can and can't eat them.
As reported by Express, the current monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, sets the tone for how any
meals conducted in her presence proceed. Members of the family must wait until she
begins her meal before beginning their own, and if she stops eating, the rest of the family
and attendees must stop, too. Even if William and Kate are hungry, they will be required to
stop eating their meals completely once the queen has established she's done with hers.
When and how people greet Queen Elizabeth is a major part of the
etiquette that both commoners and the royal family are expected to follow.
As such, it's worth noting that Kate Middleton is required to curtsy when she greets the queen.
Plus, the queen isn't the only person in the family that Kate is required to bend
her knees for. Since she married into the royal family, Kate is supposed to curtsy to the female
members of the family who were born into it, from Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice all the
way down to her own daughter, Princess Charlotte. However, if Kate is in a room with her husband,
then William's own elevated status means Kate doesn't need to curtsy to anyone he outranks.
It's also worth mentioning that Kate is technically required to curtsy to her husband.
However, in this day and age, this rule apparently isn't strictly enforced.
When it comes to performing public duties, there are plenty of rules that Prince William and Kate
Middleton adhere to. One of the more surprising ones is that Kate cannot cross her legs in public,
no matter what. The result is what is known as the "duchess slant," a position that has
found both Kate and her sister-in-law Meghan Markle sitting with their knees to the side.
The term was coined by royal watchers who often noticed that Kate makes a point to sit with her
legs slanted to one side. The pose is mostly used to avoid any potential embarrassing slip-ups,
especially as the duchess often wears skirts and dresses on her official visits.
Needless to say, it's another rule that Kate always seems to follow.
When it comes to married royals, it's rare to see a pair hold hands or express PDA in any real way.
This is especially true for Prince William and Kate Middleton,
though the reason behind the behavior isn't dramatic.
As a royal etiquette expert explained to People, the pair aren't photographed holding hands in
public precisely because they are in public. In other words, part of being Prince William or Kate
Middleton means you're more or less always on the job when you're out, and something
like holding hands isn't considered professional behavior. However, fans of the couple have likely
noticed that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been known to break this rule on occasion.
It's probably not too surprising that royal weddings and the people who participate in
them are expected to comply with a fairly lengthy list of rules and expectations.
However, you might be surprised at the specifics.
When she married Prince William in April 2011,
Kate Middleton was required to have a sprig of myrtle in her wedding bouquet.
The tradition reportedly dates all the way back to Queen Victoria's wedding,
as the former monarch used myrtle from her own garden when she married husband Prince Albert.
Both Princess Diana and the queen herself also used myrtle in their own wedding bouquets.
And according to Glamour, the myrtle used by members of the royal family comes from a
garden planted by Queen Victoria over 150 years ago, which makes the flower even more special.
The Royal Marriages Act of 1772 is a pretty big one for members of the British monarchy. The rule
dictates that all descendants of King George II must have the reigning monarch's approval before
they get married. This rule definitely applied to Prince William and Kate Middleton ahead of their
2011 wedding, with the queen issuing a decree in April 2011 indicating her approval of their union.
On April 21, 2011, Queen Elizabeth offered up her consent to the wedding. In an official
statement, the monarch communicated that she approved of the marriage between the pair.
As noted by the official website of the royal family, the decree issued was adorned with art
that was meant to represent both William and Kate, including a Welsh leek and a red dragon.
"As far as we're concerned, within our, sort of, family unit, we are a normal family."
Like many grandmothers, Queen Elizabeth has opinions about the baby names that
her children and grandchildren choose for their offspring. And while it can
feel like your own mother's opinion about a potential name for a grandchild is important,
that feeling is likely massive if your grandmother is the leader of the commonwealth.
"One of the joys of living a long life is watching one's children,
then grandchildren, then great grandchildren."
It's worth noting that the queen doesn't officially have veto power when it comes
to baby names. But as the Mirror points out, members of the family often have
private conversations with Queen Elizabeth about their plans in case she isn't a fan of
a specific name. As their first child would be third in line to the throne,
Prince William and Kate Middleton likely had to consult the queen when it came to royal baby
names. Conversely, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were able to name their firstborn Archie, and
Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank welcomed their son, August, in February 2021.
While it might seem extreme to some, there are even rules about what the royal family
can and can't eat. Former Buckingham Palace chef Darren McGrady once explained to The
Telegraph that the queen herself is not a fan of carbohydrates, which means that
members of the royal family aren't supposed to be spotted indulging in them in public.
McGrady worked at the Palace between the years 1982 and 1993. He told The Telegraph that Prince
William and Kate Middleton are also expected to abide by the "no pasta, potatoes, or rice
for dinner" policy. Per McGrady, when it comes to what she eats, the queen is focused, saying,
"When she dines on her own she's very disciplined. No starch is the
rule. [...] Just usually something like grilled sole with vegetables and salad."
"It burns carbs. It just burns up all your carbs."
Of course, this doesn't mean the rule is always followed at home. As Marie Claire has shared,
William and Kate's oldest son Prince George is reportedly a big fan of pasta carbonara.
Prince William and Kate Middleton are some of the most famous people on the planet,
and members of the public are pretty obsessed with the twosome. In this day and age,
taking selfies with celebrities is pretty common, unless those people happen to be
royal. When Prince William and Kate Middleton are out in public, the pair aren't allowed to sign
autographs or take a quick snap with anyone, no matter how big of a fan they might be.
The reason for the selfie ban was revealed in 2014,
when U.S. ambassador Matthew Barzun told The Telegraph that Queen Elizabeth
admitted to him she finds cell phones and selfie culture "strange." As he put it,
"She was essentially saying: 'I miss eye contact.'"
Kate Middleton and Prince William have to follow a few rules that apply to the clothing they can
and can't wear in public. As working royals, their appearances are extremely important.
As stylist Melita Latham told the Express that while it's likely the
Duchess of Cambridge dresses fairly casually at home, when it's time to be on the clock,
she has to go all out. Latham explained that some styles are just never on the table, saying,
"Royal means nothing above the knee and very rarely a v-neck and never both.
Picking dresses over trousers and wearing tights is also preferred at formal engagements."
Additionally, royal women rarely wear ultra high heels, though Kate has been
known to experiment with heel height that deviates from the preferred standard.
When it comes to being dressed casually in public, the "casual" that William and Kate stick to is
a little different than what many of us might wear. For example, as the Irish Mirror notes,
"For women, a smart day dress or trousers along with a jacket or cardigan is acceptable. For men,
it is a blazer with a collared shirt and chinos. Prince William and Kate generally
follow these traditional rules but sometimes let it slip on a dress-down day by wearing jeans."
The royal family has a pretty standard rule when it comes to who can travel together
and why. To avoid losing more than one heir in the event of an accident or similar tragedy,
heirs to the throne are generally not allowed to ride in the same
car or travel on the same plane together. This is certainly true for Prince William and his father,
Prince Charles, and William also doesn't travel with Queen Elizabeth.
However, the rule isn't quite as rigid when it applies to young children. William and his son,
Prince George, are often photographed traveling together alongside Kate Middleton and the pair's
other children, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. As the Express notes,
once George turns 12 years old, he will no longer be allowed to travel with his father,
meaning the family will have to come up with new travel arrangements.
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