Royal rule-breakers: Kate Middleton, Queen Elizabeth and more breaking protocol

It's not only celebrities who break the rules when meeting members of the royal family! On occasion, royals like the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Charles and Prince Harry have been guilty of not following protocol. Join us as we take a look back at some of the British royals who have broken a rule or two - including Queen Elizabeth, herself!

The Duchess of Sussex looked absolutely stunning as she made her first Wimbledon appearance as a member of the royal family on Saturday, July 14, but did she break Wimbledon's Royal Box dress code? It seems one of her accessories did: a Maison Michel hat.

Wimbledon's Royal Box protocol asks that ladies do not take hats into the box as not to "obscure the vision of those seated behind them". The dress code description on Wimbledon's official website reads: "Protocol - dress is smart, suits/jacket and tie, etc. Ladies are asked not to wear hats, as they tend to obscure the vision of those seated behind them."

Although, this photo isn't an obvious act of breaking protocol, it displays the royal family in a not-usually seen sate. The bunch took a relaxed approach as they posed for a snapshot together, taken by the Duke of York on a phone. They waved goodbye to the Queen and Prince Philip on what was her 90th birthday celebration in 2016.

In keeping with her down-to-earth attitude, Princess Diana famously picked out her own engagement ring from the pages of a catalogue. Royal engagement rings are traditionally custom-made, but the then-19-year-old opted to chose one herself from a collection made by Garrard jewellery. The iconic sapphire ring is now worn by Prince William's wife, Duchess Kate.

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Unlike generations before her, Princess Diana chose to abandon the royal wedding tradition of promising to "obey" Prince Charles during the couple's wedding at St Paul's Cathedral in July 1981. That precedent was followed by Duchess Kate at her 2011 nuptials to Prince William; Dr Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury, who conducted the service, instead asked the bride whether she would "love him, comfort him, honor and keep him in sickness and in health and, forsaking all others, keep only unto him so long as ye both shall live".

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The royals are always polite and obliging when meeting members of the public – but ask them for an autograph, and they'll have to decline. The monarch and her family are unable to write down their signatures for members of the public because of the risk of it being forged. One royal rule breaker in this regard is Prince Charles, who defied protocol back in 2010 when he signed an autograph for a victim of devastating floods, writing 'Charles 2010' on a piece of paper.

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Breaking royal tradition, the Queen surprised the world when she agreed to sign a football for a young Manchester United football fan inside the Petronas Twin Towers building during her visit to Malaysia in 1998. Speaking about the signing, United player and England football hero, Sir Bobby Charlton, said at the time: "She didn't know what to do so I just helped to hold the ball. This is a fantastic honour for Manchester United."

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The royals are not necessarily fans of selfies. But occasionally they will break the rules for their supporters. Prince Harry happily obliged in May 2016 when he posed for a photo in Estonia. The Prince has previously admitted he hates selfies, turning down a request for one during a visit to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra: "No, I hate selfies. Seriously, you need to get out of it (the habit), I know you're young, selfies are bad. Just take a normal photograph!"

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Prince William and Duchess Kate broke the rules when they flew into Australia and New Zealand in April 2014 with their then-baby, Prince George, who was just nine months old at the time. Technically, heirs should not take the same flights in order to protect royal lineage. That is not always practical, of course, but it's thought that permission to do so must first be sought from the Queen. Since then, William and George have flown together on a number of occasions, including trips to Canada and most recently Poland and Germany. Similarly, when William was a little boy, he accompanied his father Prince Charles on worldwide tours.

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LeBron James caused a stir in December 2014 when he broke royal protocol by placing an arm around the Duchess at an NBA basketball game. Intended as a friendly pose, LeBron initially appeared to surprise Kate with his tactile gesture as they took photographs. Kate didn't enforce the protocol. Of course, the baller certainly isn’t the first or last to break the royal 'rule'. In 2009 former first lady Michelle Obama famously hugged the Queen as the pair prepared to leave for an evening event. However, it was later said that her majesty made the first move. 

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Just like his mother Princess Diana, Prince Harry has earned a reputation for his caring and compassionate approach to meeting members of the public. The royal has been photographed on a number of occasions embracing fans – particularly young children. Here he is photographed cuddling a little boy while on an official visit to Antigua and Barbuda.

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Clearly a huge fan of the Star Wars franchise, Prince William showed off his fun and friendly side when he hugged Chewbacca during a tour of the film's set at Pinewood studios in Iver Heath, in 2016. The father-of-two admitted that he was a "total geek" when it came to the films. Leading star Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker, even remarked: "If I went towards royalty with my arms outstretched I would get arrested - but there's something about a Wookie that means you just wanted to be hugged."

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You can count on one hand the amount of times members of the royal family engage in public displays of affection – which is why photos of William and Kate embracing during the London 2012 Olympics caused such a stir. Our sister magazine HELLO!'s royal correspondent Emily Nash explained: "The Duke and Duchess are almost always seen in photographs taken during official engagements so they are at 'work' and it would be unprofessional to hold hands. They also need to shake hands with a huge number of people as they meet then, so aside from being on duty, it wouldn't be very practical! We know they are very affectionate and that sometimes comes across during more light-hearted moments, at sporting events or similar, but you wouldn't expect them to put that on show while in more formal situations."

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle seem to be forging their own path within the royal family. The newly-engaged couple are openly tactile in front of the cameras – in stark contrast to other working representatives of the British monarchy. Harry and Meghan showed their easy-going, loving relationship during their first public appearance together at the Toronto Invictus Games and their first TV interview since becoming engaged. Again as they stepped out for their debut official visit in Nottingham.

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