Queen Camilla has become a very popular royal family member. When she and Prince Charles began dating and later married, the public was still outraged with her as she had been Charles’s mistress during his marriage to Princess Diana. However, now, things are very different.

The former Parker Bowles has taken on a tremendous amount of responsibility when her husband went through with his cancer treatment. Her popularity rating continues to grow, and hopefully, we’ll see her perform royal duties with Kate Middleton again when she recovers from her cancer treatment.

Even though Camilla and Kate are said to have formed a wonderful relationship in later days, some things changed once she became queen. For example, it appears that Kate no longer has a say regarding what she can wear when out on official engagements with the queen—if she hasn’t OK’d it first.

The royal family has many rules and traditions – from what to eat to how to act when appearing at royal events, and even how to greet the public.

Royal royals and etiquette

Some royal rules are strict and absolutely cannot be broken. Others aren’t set in stone but are more guidelines for how a royal family member is supposed to act or behave in certain situations.

Even so, the royal rulebook likely differs significantly from when the average person and their friends go out for dinner.

Let’s start with one we all know: greeting a Royal Family member. Buckingham Palace writes on its website that there are “no obligatory codes of behavior when meeting [The King] or a member of the Royal Family.” However, “many people wish to observe the traditional forms.”

For men, one should greet in a neck bow (from the head only), while women do a small curtsy. However, shaking hands is also accepted.

There are several rules and guidelines for sitting down for dinner. When the king is dining with guests, following his lead is essential. In fact, Charles can even determine when people start—and stop—eating.

When dining with His Majesty, Kate, William, or any other royal family member, they should never begin eating before King Charles. Also, when the king places his knife and fork in the finished position—at 6.30 with the tines of the fork facing upwards—everyone should follow, whether there is food left on their plate or not.

“Starting your meal before or ending it dramatically after the [King] would be noticed by others,” etiquette expert William Hanson said.

Why shellfish is not allowed to be served to the royal family

Another formal rule is that you should never scrape along a near-empty plate.

“It is not a breach of protocol to make noise with the cutlery on the plate, if it happens once or twice by accident, no issue, but to continue to do so is especially unfortunate,” Hanson added.

When thinking about the royals and food, it’s easy to close our eyes and imagine grand buffets filled with all kinds of goods and treats. Of course, the royals eat very healthy and well-prepared food from their personal chefs and kitchen staff, but there are some things the royals are forbidden from eating.

Shellfish, such as shrimp, oysters, and lobster, are not allowed to be served when the royal family sits down to eat. According to Darren McGrady, a chef at Buckingham Palace from 1982 to 1993, this is because of the risk of food poisoning or allergic reactions. Especially when dining out or abroad.

Speaking with the Telegraph, McGrady dropped quite a bombshell, saying that carbs are also pretty much banned.

“No potatoes, rice or pasta for dinner,” the royal chef said.

The list of rules is long indeed. Some might seem ridiculous, but they are essential. However, while these rules exist, royal family members have broken them several times.

Although the royals follow many rules, they don’t like all of them. For example, Meghan Markle reportedly hated one of them.

The one royal rule Meghan Markle hated

In his book Gilded Youth: An Intimate History of Growing Up in the Royal Family, Tom Quinn cited a former staff member who claimed that Meghan struggled with one rule during her tenure as a working royal.

The royal source claimed that she “hated being controlled by royal protocol,” for example, when leaving the house.

One crucial rule within the royal sphere is that family members must always report where they are going before leaving their homes. And Meghan didn’t like this rule.

“The fact, for example, that at Kensington Palace, royals have to announce in advance when they are leaving the Palace and where they are going,” the royal source told Quinn.

“This is partly for security but partly also to avoid a situation where a senior royal is upstaged by a more junior royal leaving just when the more important person leaves.”

Royal rules regarding etiquette and how one should behave around, for example, the king, are one thing. However, some rules could even apply to young royal family members, for example, when it comes to toys.