She may not be a working royal anymore, but the Duchess of Sussex may have accidentally shown just how restricted life is for the ones who are, including Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales. Meghan Markle broke a major royal rule while visiting a children’s hospital in Los Angeles in late March.
In a video of the visit captured by E! News, Meghan can be seen posing for Polaroid photos with the kids and then autographing them, which is something members of the royal family aren’t allowed to do. In 2023 during a surprise visit to the Chelsea Flower Show’s inaugural Children’s Picnic, Catherine was asked to sign her name by one of the primary school pupils, to which she replied, “I can’t write my name, but I can draw.” When asked again for an autograph, the Princess of Wales responded, “My name’s Catherine. I’m not allowed to write my signature, it’s just one of those rules.”
The reason for the autograph ban, reportedly, is to insure against fraud. Though, it’s not to say this rule hasn’t been broken before. King Charles III reportedly gave an autograph to a local couple’s son while visiting residents in Cornwall in 2010. According to The Telegraph, at the time, he reportedly wrote “Charles 2010” on a piece of paper and apologized for his “shaky writing.”
The royals do have some other interesting rules. In 2008, the Duke of York revealed that the royal family has a Christmas day ban on Monopoly. But why? Well, it seems that the royals have another thing in common with everyone else who plays Monopoly—it gets far too intense. “We’re not allowed to play Monopoly at home,” Prince Andrew revealed during a visit to Leeds Building Society’s Albion Street headquarters, per Marie Claire. “It gets too vicious.”
