- When lucky fans get the chance to meet Prince Harry or Meghan Markle, it’s understandable that they would want to reach out and hug them or even pat them on the back.
- However, this is hugely frowned upon, according to royal expert Grant Harrold.
- Members of the royal family are reportedly taught how to create the perfect handshake – and this is the way the public are expected to greet them.
- Harrold shared his tips on what to do, and more importantly, what not to do, when shaking a royal’s hand – and it’s more complicated than you might think.
To meet a member of the royal family would be a dream come true for many.
From Prince Harry kissing a girl’s hand to Meghan Markle breaking protocol to take a picture with a young fan, it seems the royals’ interactions with the public have become less traditional.
However, there are certain rules you must follow when you meet a royal – including how you’re supposed to shake their hand.
A handshake is standard when you meet someone for the first time.
However, according to Grant Harrold, royal expert and director of the Royal School of Etiquette, there's a certain way royals like Prince Harry and William were taught to create the perfect shake.
"A royal handshake should consist of two-to-three pumps, with your palms open and thumbs down." explained Harrold.
He added that there's one steadfast rule when it comes to royal handshakes.
"If you are a member of the public meeting a member of the royal family, you should never offer your hand to shake - wait for them to initiate the handshake."
This is because touching is generally frowned up when it comes to the public and the royals.
Not only is this just bad etiquette, but according to Harrold, it could be potentially dangerous for them.
He explained: "As well as an etiquette rule, it poses a major security risk if someone is able to get so close that they are able to touch members of the Royal Family."
This didn't stop Michelle Obama from placing a hand on the Queen's back when they first met in 2009 - a move that caused controversy across the globe.
The former First Lady admitted that she was briefed on the correct royal protocol before making the embarrassing mistake.
Read More: 8 rules Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will be expected to follow when their baby is born
However, she later revealed that during a separate visit in 2016, the Queen told her protocol was "rubbish" after she hesitated about whether it was okay to sit next to Her Majesty in a car.
Obama isn't the first celebrity to accidentally break the rules. Ed Sheeran also made a mistake when shaking Prince Charles' hand when they met in 2017.
Instead of conducting the handshake using the method that Harrold described, Sheeran was pictured clasping Charles' arm with his other hand during the handshake.
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People are bound to get flustered when meeting their idols - especially if those idols happen to be royalty.
Making mistakes like these is most often nothing to worry about, according to royal expert and CNN commentator Victoria Arbiter.
"Sometimes, the royal family quite like it when things go wrong because it adds a bit of humor and it gives them something to enjoy and talk about," Arbiter previously told INSIDER.
Considering the fact that shaking a royal's hand is a relatively new tradition, it makes sense that people would be confused as to the correct way to do it.
In a behind-the-scenes documentary about the royal family, "Queen of the World," Princess Anne revealed that growing up, she would never shake hands with fans during public walkabouts.
It wasn't until the 1970s when the Queen relaxed the rules surrounding formal greetings that the handshake became more common. But even then, the princess still wasn't keen to do it.
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 noticed others don't.
"It's not for me to say that it's wrong, but I think the initial concept was that it was patently absurd to start shaking hands. And it seems to be that it's become a shaking hands exercise rather than a walkabout if you see what I mean."