Why Prince William and Kate Middleton Can’t Stop Taking Selfies With Fans
It was long thought that getting a selfie with a member of the royal family is something that just wasn’t done. But nowadays if you’re lucky enough to get close to Prince William or the Princess of Wales (formerly Kate Middleton) you just may get that money shot.
Here’s why the prince and princess have embraced the trend and are happy to pictures with fans now.
Meghan Markle told fans royals can’t take selfies
In 2017, fans were told that royals “aren’t allowed” to take selfies when Meghan Markle declined one with two well-wishers during her and Prince Harry’s visit to Nottingham. Although there isn’t a hard-fast rule banning senior royals from being in selfies, most have never been a fan of having them taken.
Back in 2015, the Duke of Sussex told a teenager that “selfies are bad” and asked if they would settle for “a normal photograph” instead. Prince William also joked in the past about not taking selfies, saying he was “allergic” to them.
There are a few theories out there about the reason royals dislike selfies. One fan Greg Agnew, who attended Queen Elizabeth II’s Buckingham Palace garden party in 2017, told Insider that selfies were strongly discouraged because they could be seen as “disrespectful” to the family.
“The one thing they talked about a lot was no selfies, and the reason was that they didn’t want people turning their backs to the royal family and the queen,” Agnew recalled.
Commentator Victoria Arbiter told the publication it was more for security reasons saying: “Royals would always rather have a personal interaction than have people clamoring for selfies … If you grant one, then it quickly becomes overwhelming. From a security standpoint, they’re also not ideal as they warrant a certain closeness.”
Prince William took selfies with fans when he was volunteering
However, in June 2022 just days after the queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations took place, Prince William put aside the royal selfie preference when he went undercover selling copies of The Big Issue magazine.
Once his cover was blown numerous people asked to take a selfie with him and the future king allowed it, as long as they purchased a copy of the magazine of course.
That day the prince and volunteer vendor Dave Martin sold every copy they had in under an hour.
Reason the prince and princess have been taking selfies now
Since then, William and his wife have relaxed their stance on selfies. In fact, the prince and princess have been seen taking more and more of them whether it’s during a royal tour or when meeting members of the public on walkabouts. In fact, King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort (formerly Camilla Parker Bowles) are on board with selfies now too.
There are a couple of reasons for this. For one, it makes royal fans happy and that’s key for the survival of the monarchy and its future. Another reason is now that Meghan and Harry have stepped down, they have been spotted taking selfies with fans during appearances. William, Kate, Charles, and Camilla certainly don’t want to be viewed as members of an old stuffy monarchy who refuse to take selfies when the Sussexes are happily posing for them.
