During a recent outing at the 2023 Chelsea Flower Show in London, Kate Middleton revealed an interesting rule that she’s not allowed to break during public appearances: she can’t sign autographs.
The Princess of Wales was regretful as she turned down a child’s request for an autograph at the Flower Show, saying, “I can’t write my name, but I can draw.”
Royal Protocol Forbids Family From Signing Autographs
According to CBS News, the rule against working royals giving out autographs is in place to prevent any nefarious scammers from forging their signatures. Though some have fudged the rule at times—King Charles signed an autograph for victims of flooding in Cornwall in 2010—most members of the royal family have stuck diligently to the rule.
There are many other little-known rules that the working royals must follow: it's frowned upon for women to wear dark nail polish, public displays of affection are strongly discouraged (even between married partners), and royals are reportedly not allowed to partake in selfies.
Kate Says: 'I'm Not Allowed To Write My Signature'
Kate Middleton made an appearance at the 2023 Chelsea Flower Show on May 22nd wearing a pink ME+EM shirt dress and hair in her signature long, flowing style. To the delight of the children from 10 elementary schools attending, Kate surprised the kids by joining them for a picnic on the lawn during the event.
The Flower Show was participating in the Royal Horticultural Society's Campaign for School Gardening by bringing the elementary students to the event, with the Princess of Wales joining in as a passionate promoter of the campaign. Kate said in 2019, "In recent years I have focused much of my work on the early years, and how instrumental they are for outcomes later in life. I believe that spending time outdoors when we are young can play a role in laying the foundations for children to become happy, healthy adults."
One of the children attending the show, ten-year-old Romasia, told reporters that she and Kate discussed growing fruits and vegetables in their gardens. "We spoke about how fascinating it is to see how food grows. We talked about strawberries and how it takes time for them to grow and how rewarding it is to eat them then," said Romasia. Simon Ward, CEO of the Royal Entomological Society, told the media that "[Kate] was really interacting with the children—she was amazing talking to them about the insects and what they enjoyed spotting."
Though Kate was saddened to turn down the "polite" children's requests for autographs, she explained that it's "just one of those rules," and offered drawings of flowers and a pond to those she couldn't sign for.
