Kate Middleton Isn't Allowed to Sign Autographs

Apr 27, 2020 by apost team

Even if you’re lucky enough to meet Kate Middleton in person and want her signature as a souvenir, the 38-year-old Duchess of Cambridge is banned from signing autographs. The reasoning behind the long-established rule—one of many seemingly random royal regulations—is that handing out royal signatures to strangers would increase the risk of forgery.

Middleton isn’t the only royal who has to follow the rule either. In fact, the Queen, Prince Harry, Prince William and really anyone in the royal family are all forbidden from giving out their John Hancock, according to Reader’s Digest. Despite the regulation, however, the magazine reports that Prince Charles did give out his autograph back in 2010 after he signed an autograph for a natural disaster victim. But since then, news outlets have yet to report another violation.

But don’t despair. Although you might not be able to get a royal signature from a living member of the monarchy, there are a few other options provided you have the extra cash. According to Reader’s Digest, a late 16th century document bearing Queen Elizabeth I — not to be confused with the current Queen, Elizabeth II — was up for sale in 2016 for $27,500. The logic probably being that forging a 400-year-old Queen’s signature won’t do you any good.

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For those of you who follow the royal family in all its intricacies, you should be no stranger to the many bizarre and perplexing rules that monarchs have to follow. Beyond not being able to give out their autographs, Reader’s Digest details a whole slew of strict and seemingly arbitrary royal regulations. Children of the royal family, for example, are banned from playing with certain toys and wearing pants. And let’s say that the Duchess of Cambridge finds herself with a craving for lobster while vacationing off the coast of Cape Cod. Well, according to the rules, the royals are not allowed to eat crustaceans in public.

Again, the logic behind the rule isn’t as ridiculous as you might think. According to The Sun, members of royal family aren’t only discouraged from eating shellfish while travelling, but also from eating rare meat and drinking tap water all in service of avoiding food poisoning. And while these rules might seem like silly guidelines from the past that no one follows anymore, The Sun reports that the Queen has always stuck to the rules, though younger members of the royal family have had more liberal interpretations of the regulations.

So if you do get the chance to meet a royal, just remember not to ask for an autograph, and whatever you do, don’t invite them out for seafood. Who knows what would happen if Buckingham Palace caught Kate eating a lobster in public.

What do you think of the royal family's ban on autographs? Is the rule reasonable or a bit over-the-top? Let us know and pass this fascinating story on to your friends and family members, especially if they follow the royal family.