How Duchess Kate And Tom Cruise Broke Royal Protocol
During Thursday night’s Top Gun: Maverick premier Hollywood veteran Tom Cruise ended up breaking one of the many protocols that govern royals when they’re out on official business.
Tom Cruise took the Duchess of Cambridge by her hand helping her ascend some stairs, however, while this is an act of generosity and chivalry usually, it has long been rumoured that the royals aren’t supposed to be touched.
This rule has been well-established when the royal in question is Her Majesty the Queen, where one is only allowed to take her by the hand if she has offered, but it seems to apply to the rest of the royals as well.
Kate Middleton in turn, aware of protocols and acting quickly, placed her bag in the hand the actor had held, making it impossible for him to hold it again as they continued to ascend another set of stairs.
If you’re wondering why the Duchess’ husband Prince William didn’t take her by the hand as they went up the stairs, there are also many rules the royals must follow even between themselves, including keeping PDAs to a minimum.
Emily Nash, royal editor for HELLO! Magazine has previously said: “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.”
Another interesting rule prohibits the royals from taking selfies or signing autographs, which means the only photos taken at the event were by professional photographers.