"Kings can do anything": 5 hundred-year-old taboos that the royal family regularly violates

There is no doubt that a few centuries ago, members of the British royal family felt less free than now, when their power is nominal. It should be noted that the demand from queens, princes and princesses today is not the same — they can afford something that would shock their crowned ancestors.

From this material, you will learn what important rules that have come from the depths of centuries are ignored by the royal family today, and especially by its younger generations.

Source: BBC

The code of conduct adopted by the Windsor dynasty five centuries ago and regularly updated with new items is quite extensive. It contains both quite reasonable instructions, such as a ban on smoking in the presence of other people, and rather strange ones, for example, the inadmissibility of wearing black clothes, except in cases of mourning. Some rules are observed by members of the royal family, while others are ignored. Here are five prohibitions that have completely ceased to be observed by the younger generation of Windsors.

1. Autographs. Since ancient times, the royal signature and seal have been valued at their weight in gold. The ban on signing autographs has a perfectly reasonable explanation — the signature of the monarch or a member of his family, having a sample, is easy to forge.

Today, in the age of digital technology, you can fake anything, so they do not attach much importance to this rule. If the queen's status is not supposed to stand in a crowd and sign postcards, then princes and their spouses go "to the people" very often.

2. Expression of feelings and emotions in public.

This rule was no longer observed by Princess Diana, who loved to communicate with fans and at the same time often hugged them and shook their hands. Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, also behave democratically, and besides, they often take each other's hands at social receptions, without being shy of those present.

3. Joint travel.

The ban on joint travel is explained very simply — any long-distance road, in the past, was accompanied by serious risks and an attack on the road, an accident or a natural disaster could "decapitate" the monarchy in one fell swoop. Today, when the world has become less hostile, this prohibition is no longer observed.

4. Wearing wedding rings.

The men of the royal family have never worn wedding rings — this is required by an old rule. All the Windsors in the male line, up to Prince Harry, observed this taboo, and they were never seen with rings. Harry not only does not part with the symbol of marriage ties, but even insisted that the exchange of rings be included in the ceremony of his marriage with Megan.

5. Not to marry divorced people.

One of the oldest traditions of the royal house is a strict prohibition to bring new members who were previously married into the family. For the first time in five centuries, the rule was violated by Prince Charles, who married divorced Camilla Parker Bowles after Diana's death. Prince Harry's wife, Meghan, also, by the way, was previously married.

You can be sure that the royal family will not stop there, and over time there will be other precedents for ignoring the old rules. What can you do — the world is changing, getting rid of many conventions and formalism, and therefore even kings want to free themselves from the oppression of some dusty prim traditions.