As the newest member of the royal family, Meghan Markle has had to learn a lot of new rules and guidelines. Adjusting to her new life as the Duchess of Sussex has included so many public events where she has to act a specific way, and so it’s only inevitable that she’ll make a “mistake” once in a while. Her recent mishap, though, was pretty devastating to hear about. Prince Harry shot down Meghan’s attempt at PDA, and it’s actually kinda sad.
Harry and Meghan were at the Young Leaders Reception at Buckingham Palace last week when Meghan made a pretty serious faux pas: She tried to hold Harry’s hand in public. In a video obtained by The Sun, you can see Meghan move her hand toward her husband’s hand, they brush hands, and then you can see him quickly pull his hand away and clasp them together, away from hers.
Now, to us “normal” folk, hand-holding doesn’t seem like a big deal — in fact, it barely even seems to count as PDA. But the royal family follows rules of traditional etiquette, and it seems that hand-holding might be frowned upon. It appears Harry may have had to subtly remind Meghan of that at the event.
A body language expert, Robin Kermode, explained to the Daily Mail, “The Queen rarely holds hands with her husband in public and this seems to have set an unwritten precedent for the other royals.”
Kermode pointed out that you don’t see Kate Middleton and Prince William holding hands in public, saying, “It is very clear that William and Kate are emotionally close, however, they do not seem to feel the need to prove their love — particularly when on official state business.”
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However, one royal etiquette expert, Myka Meier, told People, “While Prince Harry and Meghan holding hands is atypical for royal engagements, it is a seemingly welcomed gesture to show unity and celebration of their engagement period. There is no protocol that says they cannot show affection on official engagements, and this gesture makes them relatable and lovable to the public.”
So while it doesn’t seem like there’s a strict rule about “no hand-holding,” it does seem like something the royal family might generally try to avoid when in social situations. Or maybe Harry and Meghan were just being awkward with each other.
At that same party, Meghan was criticized by some for sitting with her legs crossed in front of the Queen. This is a position that the royals don’t use very often — you might have noticed that Kate never does it. In fact, the way she sits is called “the Duchess slant,” and was also used by Princess Diana.
So many rules! We’re actually kind of thankful we’re not a member of the royal family, TBH.