Since the coronation ceremony, the spotlight has been on Prince William and his wife, Kate Middleton, who have made headlines during their trip to Jordan.
Prince William was caught on camera telling his wife to “chop chop” and move along because she was being too chatty.
The Prince of Wales captivated the media with his decision to announce his major plan to end homelessness within five years.
Over on this side of the Atlantic, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were able to spill a lot of ink without saying or doing much.
Markle and Prince Harry’s decision not to attend the Trooping the Colour raised many eyebrows. The Montecito couple also had tongues wagging for days after it was confirmed that they had been dropped by Spotify.
This week, King Charles III and his spouse have made multiple public appearances to bask in the spotlight.
King Charles accompanied his wife, Queen Camilla, who hosted multiple friends at the Queen’s Reading Room Literary Festival.
Among the attendees were true supporters of the monarchy: Dame Judi Dench, Dame Joanna Lumley, and Gyles Brandreth.
King Charles was first to greet the group and all went down smoothly. According to a royal and body language expert, Queen Camilla broke royal protocol in her eagerness to greet her friends.
Queen Camilla surprised her pals by rushing to give them kisses, and therefore they did not have time to bow or curtsy to her.
Judi James, a professional body language expert, spoke to Express to explain why the moment left a lot of “awkwardness” between Queen Camilla and her guests.
She explained: “Greeting rituals, especially royal ones, need an element of etiquette rules about them to avoid this kind of awkwardness. Presumably, these actor/performer friends of Camilla have offered support and warmth in the past and she seems keen to keep relations at that same level. But now she is Queen there needs to be a proper decision about whether the rituals get an upgrade or not.”
The expert stated that Queen Camilla hinted that she does want to be treated as an equal not as the Queen of England.
She claimed: “Camilla’s body language here seems to suggest she would prefer no upgrading with her friends as she doesn’t seem to offer scope for the kind of bobbing curtseys or head-bows that are being performed.”
According to the royal expert, Queen Camilla wants closeness with her entourage.
The commentator claimed: “She also seems to want to do the kind of ‘closeness grading’ rituals she might have done before she became Queen, where friends get the informal cheek kiss and other people get a handshake. This is not really an option for a Queen though, as it leaves guests or hosts feeling awkward and it also seems to alienate anyone not in the ‘inner circle’.”
She went on to say that Queen Camilla should be fully transparent about the protocols to avoid future chaotic situations.
She opined: “Camilla, as Queen, should be using announcement gestures to show clearly what her preferred intention is, plus some prior notes to anyone she now plans to meet, so they can be ready to reciprocate. The first greeting here is smooth as the host bobs his head as soon as he sees her and Camilla offers her hand for a shake. After that though it is chaotic. The second host offers her hand in a shake but by then Camilla has her bag in that hand and instead extends her left hand in a ‘cheek-kiss’ ritual.”
King Charles and Queen Camilla also attended the special week of horse racing at the Royal Ascot and there were no hiccups.
