Royal protocol
Adéla Hlaváčová
Royal protocol represents a list of very specific and strict rules, duties and obligations which need to be followed by the Royals. Some of those are very important and sensible, because even a modern day person of this position simply has to have a certain way with words and demeanor. But honestly, some of these rules are pretty ludicrous; even absurd and it turns out that being a member of the royal family is not as easy as it looks on TV, so let's look at some examples.
The royals are not allowed to vote, but they are expected to remain politically neutral at all times. This includes refraining from voting in elections. A lot of these protocols had a lot to do with The monarch, currently The King Charles. One of those is for example that his written approval is needed before any member of the royal family gets married. A lot of these rules also deal with fashion choices and dress code, for example that black should be worn only at funerals, or that any member of the royal family cannot travel without packing a black outfit. This ensures they have something appropriate to wear in case they have to attend a last-minute funeral or appear in mourning if someone passes back at home. Another one would be the long-standing royal tradition that the women in the royal family wear hats
to formal events. When it comes to the encounter with the public, another rule is that Royals don't sign autographs for fans. Royal protocol prohibits family members from offering their signature to fans, lest someone try to forge it. Another category is dining and the main rule is pretty obvious: when the monarch stops eating, you stop eating. When it comes to entrance, the order is also very specific, because they typically enter and are seated in order of who is next in line for the crown, that means the order usually starts with the monarch, then prince William and Kate, and so on.
These all may seem pretty sensible to you, but let me tell you there definitely are a lot of bizarre ones as well. For example, The Queen has banned her royal family from playing the board game Monopoly. Her reason behind this is that the game made the family too competitive and it was getting too vicious while playing.
It is understandable that the Royals have to present themselves nobly and gracefully in public, but we're all human and for that reason you'd probably think that this behavior ends as soon as the curtain closes. The truth is to the contrary as Meghan, Duchess of Sussex recently revealed in her new documentary. She confessed that this was one of the things that shocked her the most, that the family was so used to this unnatural behavior that it displayed even behind the scenes in the privacy of their own homes.