Royals used to stand and wave, keeping their distance from royal fans, but in the past few years, royal walkabouts have become much more hands-on, with royals like the Prince and Princess of Wales often stopping for selfies, hugs and FaceTime videos. On Tuesday, Prince William hosted a ‘Cricket on the Mall’ event for his Earthshot Prize, and during the engagement, he decided to greet royal fans – but one wasn’t happy with his selfie technique. 

One onlooker passed William her phone to get a snap together, but she quickly adjusted his arm upwards to ensure the perfect angle for the pair. William didn’t seem to mind the very hands-on approach and continued to grin for the picture. The excitable fan continued to chat to William’s security detail as the royal moved on to the next in line. 

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Are royals allowed to take selfies?

While royal protocol has relaxed over the years, with members of the Firm now accepting selfie requests, some royals admit they don’t like them. 

Prince Harry once said that he “hates selfies”. During a visit to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, he turned down the request of a young fan, explaining: “No, I hate selfies. Seriously, you need to get out of it [the habit], I know you’re young, selfies are bad. Just take a normal photograph!”

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The late Queen Elizabeth II also once revealed that she found it “disconcerting” and “strange” when she was faced with crowds of people trying to take selfies with her. She confided in US ambassador Matthew Barzun, who told Tatler: “She was essentially saying: ‘I miss eye contact’.”

Another royal who abstains from selfies is Princess Anne, who has branded it “weird”, and she prefers to decline handshakes, too. In an ITV documentary called Queen of the World, which aired in 2018, the Princess Royal explained how the rules have evolved, but she’s sticking to the traditional way. “I mean, we never shook hands,” she said. “The theory was that you couldn’t shake hands with everybody, so don’t start. So I kind of stick with that, but I notice others don’t,” she said. 

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The mother-of-two added: “I’m glad I’m not starting now, because at least you had people to talk to, and now you don’t really. Phones are bad enough, but the iPads, you can’t even see their heads. You don’t know who you’re talking to. And I do get slightly, I either don’t bother, or just say, ‘Look, if you want to ask, you know, meet somebody, I suggest you put that down.’ It is weird, as people don’t believe that they’ve experienced the event unless they’ve taken photographs. And usually you’re standing immediately in front of them.”