When Kate Middleton joined the royal family back in 2011, she had a big family to fit into, with lots of rules, traditions, and protocols to learn.
One such protocol designated who was allowed to touch Queen Elizabeth II, with only blood relatives technically allowed to do so. However, royal fans on TikTok have noticed that the queen appeared to waive this rule when it came to Middleton, which could be seen as a surefire sign of her approval of her eventual successor.
The TikTok, which can be viewed below, is going viral, with fans noticing that Middleton was allowed to kiss the Queen on the cheek alongside her usual curtsy.
Watch here:
It’s interesting to note that it doesn’t appear that Megan Markle was offered the same courtesy, although it’s not clear if that was to do with her coming further down the line of succession, or that the two were not as close.
Yet, it was not just Kate Middleton who the Queen allowed to give her a peck on the cheek. She would greet Harry and William’s former nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke as such, and also Zara Tindall.
So, royal watchers believe that it was the Queen’s personal attachment to Middleton that meant the monarch didn’t mind when Kate extended an informal greeting (always alongside a curtsy, of course).
It would seem, by all accounts, that the love and respect the Queen felt towards Kate was shown in her actions, in the traditions she chose to let her break.
The Queens passing only shrouded this outward sign of familial love in even more grief.
Fans of the royal family will not easily forget Kate Middleton giving the Queen a final curtsy in her mourning black, as the royal hearse exited Westminster Abbey and headed towards Windsor.
It sure was enough to bring a tear to the eye, a final farewell to their protocol.
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