Tax breaks and tiaras: Weird rules for British royals

For a British royal, the line of succession is just one set of the many, many rules that come with the crown. 

Turns out, being a member of the royal family is not as easy as it looks on TV. Read on for some of the weirdest rules the royals follow — your non-royal life might start to look pretty good by comparison.

The royal family has a lot of holiday traditions, though some are a little less charming than others.

One of the most bizarre traditions requires each member of the royal family to get weighed both before and after Christmas dinner — if they gain weight, it signals that they truly enjoyed themselves at the table.

The tradition was depicted in a scene from the 2021 film "Spencer," in which Princess Diana (Kristen Stewart) expresses her distaste over the entire debacle.

This is probably the silliest (and least strictly enforced) rule on the list, but Queen Elizabethreportedly banned the royals from playing the board game Monopoly.

The reason? The game made the family a little too competitive.

The Duke of York reportedly turned down the gift, saying "we are not allowed to play Monopoly at home," before clarifying that when the family tries to play the game, "it gets too vicious."

The royals are expected to remain politically neutral at all times. This includes refraining from voting in elections.

While their voting is not strictly illegal, the U.K. Parliament's website does say that "it is considered unconstitutional for the Monarch to vote in an election."

The palace often has to deny reports about monarchs expressing political views in public.

For example, during the Brexit referendum of 2016, The Sun ran a story claiming that the queen expressed anti-EU views at a dinner. The palace vehemently denied the allegation, and the tabloid was ordered to print a retraction.

According to the Succession to the Crown Act of 2013, the first six people in line for the crown cannot marry without the consent of the reigning monarch. Failure to do so would immediately disqualify them (and their descendants) from ever ascending to the throne.

In April 2011, Queen Elizabeth gave her consent for Prince William and Kate Middleton to get married.

The official notice of approval (known as the "Instrument of Consent") was written in calligraphy, closed with a red wax seal, and covered in custom artwork that represented the groom and bride-to-be. 

"Generally it is thought that black is not usually worn unless in mourning, although Diana Princess of Wales did occasionally wear it for evening functions," Alexandra Messervy, founder of The English Manner (a famous London-based finishing school), told InStyle.

Diana spoke about the incident while being interviewed for her biography in 1991, claiming Charles saw her in the dress and exclaimed, "Only people in mourning wear black!"

This ensures they have something appropriate to wear in case they have to attend a last-minute funeral or appear in mourning if someone passes back at home.

She didn't have any mourning attire with her, but she knew that her plane would be swarmed by photographers when she arrived back in the U.K., so she had to send an aide to fetch an appropriate outfit for her before she disembarked. (This should all sound familiar if you've seen "The Crown.")

There is no official written edict about pantyhose, though a royal fashion journalist told E! Online that "they are generally a rule for more formal or conservative royal events."

Markle had been sporting a lot of pantsuits up until this point, so her hosiery-centered fashion choice had people speculating that she was finally embracing the unofficial dress code of the British royals.

It's a long-standing royal tradition that the women in the royal family always wear hats to formal events.

"Up until the 1950s, ladies were very seldom seen without a hat as it was not considered 'the thing' for ladies to show their hair in public," said Diana Mather, a senior tutor for The English Manner, to the BBC. "But all that has changed and hats are now reserved for more formal occasions."

But formal certainly doesn't mean boring. The hats donned by the royal ladies over the years have transformed more into wearable art than traditional headwear.

The pink pretzel-esque fascinator Princess Beatrice wore to William and Kate's wedding in 2011 is proof enough.

Another unspoken rule dictates that tiaras must be worn at indoor formal events during the evening.

"The old rule is that hats are never worn indoors after 6 p.m., because that is when the ladies changed into evening dress, and tiaras and the family jewels would come out," Mather told the BBC.

The one exception: A bride may wear a tiara on her wedding day regardless of the time.

In fact, many royals wear their first tiara when they get married — including Kate Middleton, who rocked a Cartier tiara when she walked down the aisle in 2011.

If you're hoping to snag an autograph from one of the royals, we have some bad news. 

Royal protocol prohibits family members from offering their signature to fans, lest someone try to forge it.

In 2010, Prince Charles surprisingly broke protocol to sign an autograph for victims of the Cornwall floods.

According to The Telegraph, after a couple asked Charles for his autograph, he got a piece of paper from his bodyguard and signed it "Charles 2010."

Given how stylish the modern royal ladies are, it should come as no surprise that this rule gets broken rather frequently.

And Princess Diana, royal rule breaker that she was, frequently sported red nail polish in public — including the same day she wore her now-iconic black "revenge dress" in 1994.

According to royal protocol, two direct heirs to the throne must take separate flights while traveling — a failsafe in case something tragic happens en route.

That means that King Charles and Prince William cannot fly together.

When Prince George turns 12, he will also have to start flying separately from his father.

The Cambridges have frequently flown with their children in the past, but typically received special permission from the queen to do so.

The reason? Shellfish poses a higher risk of food poisoning than most other foods, and the family needs to always remain in good health.

"There'd be an hour or so in the sitting room of everyone sitting around making conversation," Heseltine told author Juliet Rieden in her book, "The Royals in Australia." "And Diana was driven to such extremes that she'd excuse herself and go to bed, which was thought to be rather bad form, going to bed before the queen."

While the queen strictly adhered to these guidelines, Charles reportedly skirts the rules and enjoys a shellfish dish every once in a while.

This rule goes way back — about 685 years back, in fact, when King Edward III passed The Fur Act of 1337.

The act effectively banned everyone except for knights and clergymen from wearing fur as part of their outfits.

According to her royal dresser, the queen stopped wearing new clothes featuring fur in 2019 and now asks designers to only use faux fur.

But regardless of the present itself, all items must be entered into a log. According to the Royal Household's gift policy, "Official gifts should be acknowledged wherever possible, recorded and be traceable at all times."

Keeping track of every present you receive sounds tedious, but the records often make for some interesting conversation.

Buckingham Palace frequently releases a list of official gifts the royal family receives each year, and the entries are surprising, to say the least. Some of the strangest items have included an automatic rifle, 12 boxes of mangoes, a PhD thesis, and live sloths from Brazil.

One of the biggest rules is that dinner companions must echo the monarch's behavior throughout the meal — so if the sovereign puts down a knife and fork, that means you're finished eating, too. 

Royals wearing lipstick must also try to always drink from the same spot on their cup, so as not to smear their makeup on the glass any more than absolutely necessary. 

Similar to the dinner table rule, the royal family must also mirror the monarch's actions when it comes to bedtime.

In other words, no one can retire for the night until His Majesty does so first.

Additionally, Queen Elizabeth never had to take a driving test and didn't need to put tags on her car.

That's not to say the queen didn't know how to operate a vehicle.

On the contrary, she trained as a military driver and mechanic during World War II and loved driving her Range Rover when she wasn't in public view.

Prince William and Kate have followed in the queen's footsteps, keeping things strictly professional in public — except for the occasional Olympics embrace, that is.

The couple frequently share some cute PDA moments, and they even — gasp! — kissed on stage when Meghan introduced Harry during the opening ceremony of the Invictus Games in 2022. 

When the royal family is part of a procession, they typically enter and are seated in order of who's next in line for the crown.

That means the order usually starts with the monarch, then Prince William and Kate, and so on.

According to Harper's Bazaar, this lack of formality is quite usual at low-key events. "A true order of precedence really only takes shape at state and diplomatic events," said royal historian Marlene Koenig.

The tradition of including sprigs of myrtle in one's bouquet started with Queen Victoria, and prominently resurfaced with Kate Middleton's wedding in 2011.

Princess Beatrice also followed this charming rule when she got married in 2020.

Along with the sprigs of myrtle, her floral piece featured jasmine, sweet peas, roses and other blooms.

When you're a royal, even something as simple as shaking someone's hand is highly regulated. 

According to Grant Harrold, director of the Royal School of Etiquette, the royal family members are taught the perfect shake from a young age: "A royal handshake should consist of two to three pumps, with your palms open and thumbs down."

There have been several innocent instances of celebrities mistakenly initiating contact with a member of the royal family, from Michelle Obama touching the queen's upper back in 2009 to Ed Sheeran clasping Prince Charles's arm in 2017.

The aristocratic practice of dressing young boys in gowns and then shorts dates back to the 16th century, and we know the British royals like sticking to long-standing traditions.

Prince William didn't wear long trousers until he went to prep school, and Queen Elizabeth put Prince Charles in infant dresses and shorts before he transitioned to pants.

For example, one should never use the word "toilet" in the presence of a royal due to its French origin. "Lavatory" and "loo" are far more acceptable options.

Another example: The royals do not use the word "dessert" to refer to the food served at the end of a meal. When they're craving something sweet, they ask for "pudding."

Some other words kept out of the royal vocabulary include "patio," "perfume," "lounge" and "couch."

As such, every member of the British royal family must be baptized to signify the beginning of their membership to the church.

Before she got married to Prince Harry in 2018, Meghan Markle was baptized by the Archbishop of Canterbury in a secret, closely-guarded ceremony.

Queen Elizabeth II followed royal etiquette after every conversation. 

She reportedly always had to be the first person to leave the room after a talk. 

Subjects were not allowed to turn their back to the sovereign, in most circumstances.

In this photo, you can see the incoming U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss greeting and shaking hands with Queen Elizabeth II just days before the queen's death at age 96. 

Royals are reportedly not allowed to take selfies. 

William, Prince of Wales has broken the royal rules for selfies a few times.

He once made news for taking a selfie with a school girl. In the photo above he is seen making time for a selfie with another fan. 

Death and taxes are said to be inescapable.

But the U.K.'s monarch is exempt by law from one major tax aimed at the wealthy upon inheritance: The estate tax. 

To that end, he won't face the U.K.'s 40% inheritance tax, which otherwise would have eaten up about $200 million of his mother's estate. 

Cosmopolitan has reported that Queen Elizabeth II favored dresses and skirts over pants. 

This is possibly why women members of the British royal family are almost never photographed wearing pants. 

Not all royal etiquette rules are followed by members of the royal family. 

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, was spotted wearing pants on several occasions before she stepped down as a working royal.

The queen herself was often seen carrying a handbag during public outings, making this rule a part of her everyday life.

This rule is in place so the right arm is free to wave, shake hands and greet people. 

In this photo, you can see Catherine, Princess of Wales, mastering the rule as she greets crowds.