9 Times People Broke Protocol With Queen Camilla

Members of the royal family sure have a lot of rules they're expected to not only remember, but follow. The list includes everything from the way they are to greet the reigning monarch to what food items are and aren't allowed at royal family events. And, of course, when a royal meets a member of the general public, there's protocol, too. However, there have been a number of instances where a royal's interaction with a non-royal does not totally stick to the script. 

In June 2024, for example, Prince William let loose at a Taylor Swift concert when he eschewed the family's "no selfies" rule. William, Prince Charlotte, Prince George, Travis Kelce, and Swift met up backstage before the show, and naturally, they snapped some photos together. William, Charlotte, and George certainly aren't the first royals to take a selfie, and as far as we can tell, breaking this "rule" doesn't come with any major consequences. And hey, who could blame them for going rogue?

Camilla, Queen Consort, is no stranger to breaking the royal rules or stepping outside of tradition. What's more, some fellow royals and regular folks alike have interacted with Camilla in ways that don't exactly align with royal expectations. Here are nine times people broke protocol with the queen consort. 

Before they tied the knot, Queen Camilla and King Charles III broke royal protocol a few times. In 2001, for example, they were spotted kissing at a charity event in London. Charles and Camilla, who made their first public appearance as a couple two years prior, greeted each other with a warm embrace and a couple of smooches. The moment was reportedly the first time the couple had ever kissed in public, as they hadn't had too many public appearances together at that point, and PDA is a bit of a faux pas in the royal family.

But to be fair to Charles and Camilla, although PDA is rare for royals, it's not technically against any rules. As royal etiquette expert Myka Meier told People, "Senior members of the royal family would likely not be told how to interact or when they can or can not show PDA and would be trusted to use their better judgement as to when it's appropriate." The expert added, "The royals often adjust PDA to mirror the formality of the event they are attending. At a somber or more formal event, we are less likely to see PDA than at a casual event where it would be deemed more fitting."

It's one thing for a royal to break protocol with another royal, but it's another entirely when it is someone outside the family. In 2024, Emmanuel Macron's wife, Brigitte Macron, committed a bit of a royal gaffe. While in Normandy for a D-Day service, Brigitte tried to hold Camilla, Queen Consort's hand after the two each set a bouquet of flowers in front of a memorial. The queen consort awkwardly kept her hand to her side, not reciprocating the gesture.

The uncomfortable exchange between the two promptly went viral. Brigitte not only broke protocol when she attempted to touch a senior member of the royal family, but Camilla clearly was not having it. As royal expert Lucy Hume told Reuters of touching a member of the royal family, "Best not to initiate personal physical contact with a member of the royal family. Again, it may be that they offered to give you a hug or to put their arm around you, but usually wait and see what's expected or what's appropriate for the event." The royals can touch others, but others need to take their lead, especially at an event as formal as a war memorial service.

At the end of the day, royals are still human beings. Sure, they have certain ways of doing things and long-standing traditions, but when push comes to shove, they'll make exceptions. One exception came in the form of a breach in royal protocol amid King Charles III's cancer treatment. Typically, royals don't really visit one another in the hospital. However, Camilla, Queen Consort, went with her husband to the medical center when he was first admitted. Despite her actions breaking tradition, Camilla's friends were not surprised that her husband allowed her to come with him. "They are a genuinely devoted and very sweet couple," a friend of Camilla's told the Daily Mail. "It sounds a bit cheesy, I know, but they really are [a] team. It doesn't surprise me in the slightest that she would be there," a second source said.

This particular royal rule seems to only be upheld in general circumstances. For more unusual events, standards are bent. For example, while undergoing her own cancer treatment, Princess Catherine was visited by Charles and Camilla at the hospital; Queen Elizabeth II visited Prince Philip in the hospital some while he was seriously ill. The royals are also willing to break protocol for the birth of a baby: Prince William was in the room with Princess Catherine for the birth of each of their children.

Less senior members of the royal family are expected to show a certain physical respect to more senior members. For Princess Anne, that means curtsying in front of her eldest sibling, King Charles III, and his wife, Camilla, Queen Consort. In 2024, while at that year's Commonwealth Day Service, Anne neglected to curtsy in front of Camilla when she greeted her, breaking royal protocol. Instead, Anne said hello to Camilla with a kiss on the cheek. Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, on the other hand, kissed Camilla on the cheek before dropping into a quick curtsy. 

Though Anne's curtsy-free greeting was not as royal tradition dictates, some have pointed out that the royals have been more casual with each other under Charles' rule. And Anne's greeting to Camilla was most likely not a snub or an intentionally disrespectful act; the princess royal has stated her admiration for the queen consort in her new position. "I've known [Anne] a long time, off and on. Her understanding of her role and how much difference it makes to the King has been absolutely outstanding. This role is not something that she would have been a natural for, but she does it really well," Anne said in the documentary "Charles III: The Coronation," as reported by Town & Country.

Members of the royal family, like anyone, become accustomed to certain systems. For 70 years, Queen Elizabeth II was the reigning monarch, and all members of the royal family knew to show her proper respect. But when Elizabeth died and Charles III became king, things shifted. "The personal impact is likely the protocol changes that roll into action almost immediately. The family will now have to bow or curtsy to King Charles and Queen [Consort] Camilla," a royal source told Page Six soon after the late queen's death. Not being used to this major shift could explain why, during King Charles' coronation concert, Prince William did not bow to Camilla, Queen Consort. 

Some experts had other theories, though. Per Judi James, a body language expert, William's choice not to bow to Camilla could have been a subtle sign of solidarity with his late mother, Princess Diana. "Would William have felt comfortable bowing to the woman who took the place of his mother on the throne of the UK?" James said to the Express. James also noted that William's children Princess Charlotte and Prince George followed their father's lead, but Princess Catherine followed royal protocol. "This is a unique example of selective bowing, where William, Charlotte and George opt to not bow or curtsy to Camilla in keeping with protocol, but Kate drops a deep curtsy to both Charles and Camilla. It looks like an appeasement gesture," James said.

Every now and again, members of the royal family are able to keep a sense of humor about them, even amid breaks in protocol. In June of 2024, just days after Camilla, Queen Consort, had been touched against protocol by France's first lady Brigitte Macron, the queen consort had another mix-up with author Harlan Coben. The writer was at the Queen's Reading Room Literacy Festival along with Camilla and other creatives, and when Coben greeted Camilla, he initiated a hand shake rather than following custom and bowing. Another writer, Emily Griffin, bore witness to the exchange, and quipped to the queen consort, "He's very sorry that he didn't bow before he shook your hand." Camilla playfully responded, "I'd be horrified if I was you."

Griffin noted to Camilla that she researched how to properly greet the royal ahead of meeting her, but Coben's snafu perhaps wasn't as egregious as it seemed. Per the royal website, "There are no obligatory codes of behaviour when meeting The Queen or a member of the Royal Family, but many people wish to observe the traditional forms. For men this is a neck bow (from the head only) whilst women do a small curtsy. Other people prefer simply to shake hands in the usual way." The greeting may have been non-traditional, but not necessarily an unforgivable offense.

Certain levels of decorum are expected from certain members of society, like the president of the United States. During his term as president, Donald Trump traveled with his wife, former first lady Melania Trump, to the U.K., and the commander-in-chief greeted both King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort in a non-traditional way. Rather than bowing to the royals, as is custom, Donald shook their hands.

As noted, shaking hands with a royal isn't necessarily against the rules, but it isn't customary — even for a politician. As Grant Harrold, former butler to Charles, told Business Insider, "If you are a member of the public meeting a member of the royal family, you should never offer your hand to shake — wait for them to initiate the handshake." While the royal family might advertise some informality, those in their inner circle have indicated that certain levels of etiquette are the norm. And although Donald wasn't just any old member of the public at the time, evidently, he wasn't supposed to stick his hand out first.

Donald wasn't the first White House resident to commit this faux pas. When former first lady Michelle Obama met Queen Elizabeth II for the first time, she hugged the royal. Obama maintained that she didn't know of any such custom forbidding her from touching the monarch.

Some breaches in protocol are planned. In November of 2022, King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort, attended a statue unveiling of the late Queen Elizabeth II, and the couple stayed for a while to spend time with the citizens of York. One citizen in particular got to spend ample time with the royals, 5-year-old Jason Tweedie-Long. The child, who has vision issues, walked around York holding both Charles and Camilla's hands for an extended period of time. Typically, members of the family abstain from extended physical contact while out and about, especially with members of the public.

This instance, however, was all well and good. As the City of York Council tweeted after the event, "We were very happy to have helped young resident Jason, who is visually impaired, to meet the King and Queen Consort during todays royal visit. Jason said he felt 'calm, happy and excited' and got to hold their hands." Any other member of the public at the event who got to meet the royal couple was expected to behave in a standard way. As royal etiquette expert Lucy Hume described to Reuters, "Sometimes you might encounter a member of the royal family at a reception or a less formal occasion, in which case it might be appropriate to shake their hand, but it's best to wait for them to offer their hand first before you reach out yours."

The royal family hardly shows affection to each other in public, let alone people they're not related to. This precedent regarding PDA for the modern royal family can be traced back to Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. Although the two were happily married for decades, they didn't engage in PDA, which was reportedly because of cultural norms of the generation they grew up part of. That standard has leaked into expected behavior and treatment of other royals, making it unofficial protocol to abstain from touching a member of the royal family unless they initiate contact.

In early 2018, King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort, appeared on the British program "This Morning." At one point, one of the hosts, Eamonn Holmes, broke protocol with Camilla. Holmes was first greeted by Charles who extended his hand for a shake, which Holmes reciprocated. But when Holmes got to Camilla, he leaned in to hug her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. While Camilla did not seem turned off by the gesture or the embrace, it surprised viewers. Though the host didn't commit a major offense, some still found it unprofessional and uncouth. As royal etiquette Myka Meier said to People of rules to keep in mind concerning PDA and the royals, "When in a professional role, practice professional behavior." Though she was talking about couples and not broadcast journalists, some could say it still applies.