70. Hold Your Purse In Your Left Hand
Reason: It makes it easier to shake hands with your right
Exception: Vice-versa if you are left-handed
Beaumont Etiquette’s Myka Meier noted that you almost always see Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle holding their purse with their left hands. This rule isn’t set-in-stone; it’s just so practical that it is what is done.
Hold Your Purse In Your Left Hand ©Karwai Tang /Getty Images
Keeping their purse in their left hands allows Royal women to be able to wave and shake hands with their right. Obviously, this rule is reversed for the odd Royal family member who is left-handed.
71. There Is A Proper Way To Shake Hands
Reason: It keeps things uniform and polite
Exception: None
There are specific rules Royal Family members must follow when shaking hands. For one, maintain eye contact. Secondly, keep the number of handshakes low, especially if you are not wearing gloves (a popular Royal accessory).
There Is A Proper Way To Shake Hands ©Ryan Pierse /Getty Images
Royals always keep their thumbs down and palms open, shaking each person’s hand with two or three shakes. Also, the Royals are always the ones to initiate the handshake, not the other way around.
72. Gifts Have To Be Recorded and Written Down
Reason: It keeps things transparent
Exception: None
Not only must Royal Family members accept all gifts (save for people they are not permitted to receive presents from, such as British businesses), these gifts must be carefully recorded in a meticulous list.
Gifts Have To Be Recorded and Written Down ©WPA Pool /Getty Images
According to the Royals’ gift policy, gifts must be “recorded and traceable at all times,” in addition to “acknowledged wherever possible.” The Royals have been given quite a few gifts over the past century, ranging from live animals to boxes of mangoes to an Arctic Monkeys CD.
73. Only Wear Black To Funerals
Reason: It’s for mourning, nothing else
Exception: Princess Diana occasionally flouted this rule
Traditionally, black is only worn by Royals when they are in mourning. This was confirmed by Princess Diana, who liked to flout this rule sometimes for formal occasions. According to an early interview with the late Princess, that wardrobe choice caused a stir with her then-husband, King Charles III.
Only Wear Black To Funerals ©Christopher Furlong/Gettty Images
Diana said that, one time, Charles gave her some sass for wearing a black dress to a Royal engagement, saying, “You’re not going in that, are you? Only people in mourning wear black.” Diana, true to form, wore it anyway.
74. Never Say “Toilet”
Reason: “Toilet” just isn’t proper
Exception: None
Royals have to remain proper and upper-class in conversations, and that means they must avoid using the word “toilet,” replacing it instead with the word “lavatory.” According to the author of Regal Rules for Girls, Jerramy Fine, “toilet” is too jarring.
Jeans Are Only Permitted Sometimes ©New Africa/Shutterstock
Fine compared using the word “toilet” to that of the “f-word,” saying the two were “equally-jarring” to upper-class “English ear[s].” In fact, Fine said, he got “the impression” that upper-class British people would rather the “f-word” than the word “toilet.”
75. Jeans Are Only Permitted Sometimes
Reason: Informal occasions only
Exception: Never as formal wear
Royals are absolutely allowed to wear jeans, just not for anything formal. Even a pair of dark-wash jeans with heels is not allowed, if the occasion is formal. You’ll only see jeans when the occasion is an outing without a lot of rules attached.
Jeans Are Only Permitted Sometimes ©Karwai Tang/Getty Images
Jeans and sneakers are, in fact, Kate Middleton’s go-to casual clothes. Meanwhile, Charlene of Monaco prefers a t-shirt and leather jacket when she wants to dress down. Plus, we can’t forget Princess Diana’s biker shorts, which are back in style nowadays.
76. Royal Children’s Birth Must Be Announced To The Public
Reason: It’s tradition
Exception: None
Even before they are born, Royal kids are expected to follow protocol. Because it is tradition, the birth of a Royal child must be announced once they are officially born. The announcement is posted outside the gates of Buckingham Palace to share the good news.
Royal Children’s Birth Must Be Announced To The Public ©Princess Diana Archive/Getty Images
The announcement is signed by Royal Family members, and it displays the time of delivery and gender of the baby. This tradition has been ongoing for years, and the British public anxiously awaits the posting whenever a new baby is born.
77. All Royals Must Be Baptized
Reason: To swear loyalty to the Church of England
Exception: None
Because King Charles III is the head of the Church of England, all of his family members must be baptized into the Church to show their loyalty. Even American Meghan Markle was anointed before marrying Prince Harry in 2018.
All Royals Must Be Baptized ©WPA Pool/Getty Images
The Archbishop of Canterbury, a role that dates back to Saint Augustine in 597 A.D., oversees and performs the ceremony. Royal baptisms are major events, often televised on main British news stations when they occur. royalr
78. Every Royal Must Have A Passport
Reason: They have to be ready to internationally travel at the drop of the hat
Exception: None
Newborn babies almost never travel abroad, as, for most of us, there are just too many risks to a baby when flying commercially. But, the Royal Family has private jets at their disposal to ease the pains of traveling that the rest of us with kids face.
Every Royal Must Have A Passport ©Pool / Getty Images
This is why young Royals must have a passport, even when they are newly born. They have to be ready to internationally travel at any moment, so having a passport at such a young age is mandatory.
79. Royal Children Must Attend Etiquette Training, Even As Toddlers
Reason: It’s expected of all Royals to display proper etiquette
Exception: None
Myka Meier, an etiquette expert, stated that Royal kids have to go to etiquette training as soon as they can sit at a table (so, around toddler age). Though it might seem impossible to teach toddlers etiquette, Royal toddlers are no ordinary kids.
Royal Children Must Attend Etiquette Training, Even As Toddlers ©Karwai Tang/Getty Images
At these training classes, Royal kids learn about how to act at formal meals, how to behave at formal events, how to dress appropriately, curtsying and bowing, and even how to modulate their voice levels. Teaching kids not to be too loud—yes, that’s a thing for Royals!
80. Girls (And Women) Should Stick To Dresses Whenever Possible
Reason: It’s Royal protocol
Exception: None
Young boys in the Royal Family are expected to wear shorts, as that is considered a status symbol. Similarly, the Royal Family’s little girls are expected to wear smock dresses when they are in public with their parents.
Girls (And Women) Should Stick To Dresses Whenever Possible © Antony Jones/Getty Images
This tradition dates back to Princess Anne, Queen Elizabeth’s daughter, and the Royals have stuck with it ever since. That’s why you often see Princess Charlotte donning dresses, as that is what is expected of her wardrobe.
81. Baby Food Isn’t Allowed (Or Preferred)
Reason: Personal chef food is better than packaged food
Exception: None
Though most babies love baby food, and you can find colorful, small jars of the food flying off the shelves at “commoner” stores, the Royal Family actually isn’t a big fan. According to a formal Royal chef who worked at the Palace, Princes Harry and William ate a wide range of foods.
Baby Food Isn’t Allowed (Or Preferred) ©Bettmann/Getty Images
According to the chef, he never saw “packaged food” when he worked there, and why would he? The monarch has “twenty personal chefs,” all of whom are able to whip up a meal for even the fussiest of babies.
82. Royal Nannies Are Top-Of-The-Line Professionals
Reason: Only the best of the best for the Royal Family
Exception: None
Royal nannies working for the Royal Family are top-of-the-line professionals, with many educated at the prestigious Norland College. Norland is the best nanny training school in the world, and it is the school, for example, that Prince William and Kate Middleton’s nanny, Maria, comes from.
Royal Nannies Are Top-Of-The-Line Professionals ©Express/Getty Images
Nowadays, the Royal Family is much more hands-on when it comes to raising their kids, but they do get a lot of help from their nannies. After all, Royals are full-time working parents, just like many of us.
83. Each Family Member Must Travel With Their Own Individual Security Detail
Reason: For safety reasons
Exception: None
Billions of people around the world know who the Royal Family is, and it’s safe to say, not everyone loves them (though many do). Therefore, the Royals take security incredibly seriously, particularly when it comes to their kids.
Each Family Member Must Travel With Their Own Individual Security Detail © Brooks Kraft /Getty Images
Each Royal Family child has his or her own individual security details. Military police, special forces, private security, and more all work together to protect each Royal Family member, keeping them from harm and even, in some cases, reprimanding the press.
84. The Monarch Decides What Gifts The Royal Kids Can Keep
Reason: It’s Royal protocol
Exception: Some gifts are permitted to be kept, others are not
Much like adult members of the Royal Family, Royal children are mandated to always accept a gift that has been given by a well-wisher (though the same exceptions apply). From flowers to toys, the kids are often given tons of gifts, but they aren’t always allowed to keep them.
The Monarch Decides What Gifts The Royal Kids Can Keep © Chris Jackson /Getty Images
The monarch decides what the kids can and cannot keep when they attend Royal events. Surely, some gifts go home with the children, while others are placed into the Royal Collection for safekeeping.
85. Keep Napkins Folded In Half
Reason: Keeps clothes clean
Exception: None
This rule pertains to napkins, and it is one of a myriad of dining-related etiquette rules that we have on this list. When the Royals wipe their hands or face with a napkin, they then fold that napkin in half.
Keep Napkins Folded In Half © Emily Ranquist/Shutterstock
They only wipe with the part of the napkin inside the fold. That way, their clothing doesn’t get dirty when they put their napkin back on their lap. After all, dinner is a formal affair with ball gowns and suits, so this rule is a must.