Meeting a royal is said to be one of the highest honors there is. As such, there are many rules in place to ensure the greeting is up to royal standards.
This includes minimal (or even no touching, in some cases), bowing, and following extreme etiquette.
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Surprisingly, there have been many celebs who messed up some or all of the above in the past.
1. Michelle Obama
When the former First Lady met the Queen for the first time, she broke the cardinal sin of royals: no touching.
Michelle wrote about the surprising experience in her memoir , writing, “I daresay the Queen was okay with it, too.”
Surprisingly, that wasn’t the only time she — nor the Queen — broke royal protocol.
This happened again in 2016 when the Obamas got personally picked up from the airport by the Queen.
“And so the Queen says ‘just get in, sit wherever’ and she’s telling you one thing and you’re remembering protocol and she says ‘Oh it’s all rubbish, just get in.'”
2. Helen Mirren
She may have played the Queen in 2006’s The Queen , but you wouldn’t know it based on the actress’ awkward meeting with the royal in 2019.
Of the many royal rules she broke , one of them was forgetting to address the Queen’s husband, Prince Philip.
3. LeBron James
Physical contact with royals in photos is a major no-no. And yet, LeBron felt comfortable enough to put his arm around Kate in this photo with her husband.
She and Prince William’s awkward face here pretty much says it all.
4. Angelina Jolie
In case you didn’t know, the Queen has a pretty strict rule on females wearing nude pantyhose.
You’ll also never catch her in open-toe shoes. But you certainly caught Jolie breaking both these rules when she visited Buckingham Place in 2014.
5. Donald Trump
Apparently, no one briefed Trump on not touching the Queen when he was on his royal tour.
In 2019, he appeared to pat her back after he gave a speech in her honor at Buckingham Palace.
6. Allison Janney
There was a lot wrong with the actress’ run-in with Kate Middleton. For starters, she was barefoot when it happened…
Janney recalled to James Corden that she even told Kate to take off her shoes since she was pregnant at the time.
“It was an awkward moment,” she said on *The Late Late Show*.
As if that wasn’t breaking enough protocol, she also called Kate by an unofficial name.
“As I did, I called her ‘honey’ and that might not have been royal etiquette.”
7. Ed Sheeran
When Ed grabbed Prince Charles’ arm when meeting him, he knew he messed up.
“Apparently, I did a big faux pas, though. I shook his hand and then grabbed it and you’re not meant to do that,” he told CBS .
8. George W. Bush
Donald wasn’t the only president to breach royal protocol.
When he gave a speech in the Queen’s honor, he accidentally added two centuries to her age, by saying that she had visited the U.S. in 1776 rather than 1976.
You never mess up a woman’s age! And certainly not the Queen’s.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, he winked at her after his faux pas. Not surprisingly, Bush said that the Queen gave him a glare.
9. David Beckham
While the soccer star hasn’t technically broken royal protocol, he has been accused of sucking up to the royal family over the years in order to win knighthood from the Queen.
You can see for yourself in his many posts about them.
10. Sam Smith
How much bowing is too much bowing when you meet Prince William? Well, for Sam Smith, their bow was far too deep, as they did a 90-degree bow in 2017.
They later blamed the awkward interaction on watching too much Downtown Abbey .
11. Serena Williams
The tennis superstar broke the royal selfie rule in 2016 when she met Kate Middleton at Wimbledon.
“I’m in the ‘in-crowd’ now – I’m with royalty!” she said in a Snapchat video alongside Kate and fellow royal Sophie, Countess of Wessex.
12. Barack Obama
Michelle wasn’t the only Obama to break royal protocol!
When the former president had dinner with the Queen in 2011, he toasted the Queen and then delivered a speech over a rendition of “God Save the Queen.”
This is the national anthem that started playing after the band received a cue from the Queen herself.
Protocol states that Obama should have stopped speaking after his toast.
Basically, when it comes to dining with the Queen, mirror her actions. If she eats, eat. And if she’s done eating, so are you.
13. Margot Robbie
Well, this is awkward!
When the Suicide Squad actress attended Suki Waterhouse’s party, she ended up talking to Prince Harry for 30 minutes without knowing who he was !
While this may not be breaking royal protocol, it’s certainly a faux pas.
14. Anna Wintour
Not even the Queen can make the Vogue editor take off her famous sunglasses!
She should have, though, since royal etiquette experts said that sunglasses should be removed when in the presence of the Queen.
15. Liam Payne
The former One Direction singer broke the “no touching” rule when he shook the Queen’s hand at Commonwealth Day in 2018.
That wasn’t the first time he shook her hand, though, as he had done also the previous year.
16. Brendan Cole
During a charity event, Strictly Come Dancing star Brendan Cole asked Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, to dance.
Shortly thereafter, Brendan was let go from SCD and many speculate that this was the reason why. Brendan himself has refuted the claims.
17. Mickey Rooney
Meeting the Queen was something that Mickey Rooney had dreamed about his entire life.
He was so overcome with emotion, that during their meeting he reached out and kissed her on her hand. The Queen didn’t seem to mind, but this is a huge protocol violation.
18. Vladimir Putin
The leader of Russia is renowned for being casually late to events. In 2003, he kept the Queen waiting for 14 minutes.
Her Majesty repaid the favor by showing up 14 minutes late to her next planned meeting with Putin.
19. Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga is not one to stand on ceremony and refuses to be anything but herself at any given moment.
The bright red dress she wore was a clear violation of Royal Protocol, which dictates that one should wear formal, neutral tones when meeting the Queen.
20. Marilyn Monroe
Sure, by today’s standards Marilyn’s dress doesn’t stand out. But in 1956, the buxom beauty turned her fair share of heads and then some.
Marilyn’s decision to don a low-cut ball gown to meet the Queen was considered highly taboo.
21. Cara Delevingne
Cara is a bad influence and forced Margot Robbie to once again break Royal protocol.
Somehow, Cara managed to convince Margot to prank call Prince Harry! I wonder if she asked him if his refrigerator was running?
22. The Spice Girls (Geri Halliwell)
When the Spice Girls met Prince Charles, Geri (Ginger Spice) decided to get a little cheeky.
While posing for a picture together, Geri took it upon herself to not only kiss the Prince but also pinch his butt. Oddly enough, the Prince didn’t seem to mind.
23. Emilia Clarke
You’d think that if anyone could hold their own at court, it would be “The Mother of Dragons.” But when the time came for Emilia to address Prince William, she became totally tongue-tied .
Luckily, William thought it was funny.
