Queen Camilla and Geri Halliwell-Horner at Maggie’s Cheltenham (Image: Getty)
Queen Camilla’s latest reaction to a “massive royal protocol breach” showed just how much the Royal Family has changed, a former royal butler has claimed. The Queen visited Maggie’s Cheltenham centre in Gloucestershire on Wednesday to mark the cancer support charity’s 30th anniversary and meet people living with the disease. She was joined by former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell-Horner, who appeared to breach protocol when greeting her without a curtsy and going for a kiss first and hug first. Camilla seemed to go along with it, embracing the pop star and saying how “lovely” it was to see her.
According to a former royal butler, the Queen’s response showed how much more relaxed the royals behave now, compared to the late Queen Elizabeth’s reign.
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The two women shared a hug and a kiss (Image: Getty)
Grant Harrold, who worked as a butler for King Charles from 2004 to 2011, said members of the public should first curtsey and then follow the royal’s lead, which didn’t happen in that instance.
He added that Camilla seemed “completely fine” with the exchange, which he said showed how much things have changed.
Notably, the royals do appear to be more relaxed nowadays about gestures of affection towards the public and have been seen hugging and taking selfies with them increasingly often.
Mr Harrold said on behalf of OLBG: “Officially, this is a massive [breach] of royal protocol.
“When meeting a royal, you should curtsy. If you’re friends or know each other well, the royal may come forward for a kiss or a hug – but it should be entirely led by the royal. But that didn’t really happen here.”
He added: “But the fact that Camilla went along with it is very telling. It would have been very different if it was Queen Elizabeth.
The Queen appeared to be relaxed during the exchange (Image: Getty)
“This shows how much more relaxed Queen Camilla is about things, and the King actually, especially when it comes to meeting and greetings. Things have changed over the decades. If anything, it’s become very overfamiliar – and they seem completely fine with it.
“We would never have seen it with senior members of the Family before, especially not the wife of the monarch. It’s becoming completely normal, which is really interesting and a sign of things to come.”
On Wednesday, the Queen arrived under a clear umbrella due to the rain.
After being introduced to various guests, including the mayor of Cheltenham, she warmly embraced the former popstar and asked: “How nice to see you. Is this your first visit?”
Ms Halliwell-Horner replied: “Yeah, amazing.”
The Queen, who is president of the charity, met NHS and centre staff and people living with cancer to hear how they have been supported by Maggie’s.
She unveiled a portrait of herself by artist Eileen Hogan, and heard about the revamped garden at the centre.
During a short speech, the Queen said it was a “huge pleasure” to return to the Cheltenham centre to celebrate the charity’s 30th anniversary and recalled when she first met the late founder, Maggie Keswick Jencks.